According to many doctors Parkinson’s disease is one of the most baffling of all neurological disorders and sadly one of the most common.
Because the overall numbers of aging people in our society has risen its very likely that more children than ever before will have a grandparent or an older friend of the family with Parkinson’s.
For this reason it’s important that children have access to information about PD that they can understand and relate to. Many parents don’t have the information or may find it difficult to talk about it to a child, especially if the person affected is a close relative.
A child could find Parkinson’s signs and symptoms frightening or very strange in some ways. The mask like facial expression could indicate disinterest or lack of understanding on the part of the sufferer and a pronounced tremor or shaking could also be hard to understand and also a little frightening. Very soft or slurred speech at times can also make it hard to converse with someone who has Parkinson’s. These symptoms make it even harder for someone with advanced Parkinson’s to communicate in a meaningful way, especially with kids.
A few years ago I wrote a series of kids books because of a lack of information available on commonly seen diseases like Parkinson’s.
This book chronicles the story of three young girls and a favourite Aunt who has PD, what she has to go through, their relationship and caring for one another and the Aunt’s eventual move to a home where she would be looked after when she required more care.
Illustrated in a fun and instructive way, this book also has resources that parents, grandparents and teachers and the age 8-12 years student would find helpful.
Checkout my website for more information.
http://www.parkinsons-explained.com/
To learn more about Elizabeth’s other medical-health related publications:
http://www.dementia-explained.com/ – a book for young children                                                                                                                           http://www.stroke-explained.com/ – a book for young children                                                                                                                        http://www.arthritis-explained.net/ -a book for young children
http://www.painfree-arthritis.net/ – a self management program for arthritis sufferers                                                                                  http://www.constipationrelief911.com/ – a self management program for severe, chronic constipation
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