SSEKIKUBO MOUTASIM is a 6 year old boy a third born of four presenting with cerebral palsy. He was born normal and two days later he developed jaundice (yellowing of skin and whites of the eyes). The mother got concerned after the baby had refused to breast feed and also realized that the baby’s skin had turned yellow. She then rushed the baby back to the hospital for treatment.
At the hospital the baby was put under photo therapy (treatment for reducing high bilirubin levels that cause jaundice in a new born) and also was transferred to the intensive care unit for 3 weeks and was later discharged. Since then the child’s developmental milestones did not progress at all. He could only lie down and depend on the mother for everything.
At six months, MOUTASIM was attacked by severe convulsions which almost took his life. He was then rushed to the hospital where he was admitted and treated for 1 week and was later discharged. All these caused severe damage of the brain cells (cerebral palsy)
At this point the mother was getting frustrated and decided to visit a nuero pediatrician who diagnosed cerebral palsy and advised her to start therapy at Imagination Children’s Learning Centre.
At the time of assessment, the child was unable to; sit, stand, walk, had very high muscle tone (spasticity), could not grasp anything, had difficulty with chewing and swallowing food, drooling of saliva, uncoordinated movements as well as delayed speech.
After a comprehensive assessment, by our team, a treatment plan was drawn and the child started receiving different forms of therapy including; occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy.
All these forms of therapy have been helpful to MOUTASIM and he is now able to; sit independently, stands for a few minutes, takes two to three steps, speaks simple words, feeds self especially solid foods. Also because of the daily exercise, he has an improved range of joint movement and a better coordination of his movements which has enabled him grasps items, pushes the walker.w
Amazingly, MOUTASIM also participates so well in class work activities such as;
- Finger painting
- Scribbling
- Shading/ coloring
- Matching puzzles
- Counting numbers from 1-10 and reciting letters from A-Z
Generally, MOUTASIM has had a remarkable progress compared to how he came and we have hope that he will improve for the best because he is also self- motivated and cooperative during therapy sessions and he has dream of getting enrolled in an inclusive school as it applies to his siblings.