Prader-Willi Syndrome

Prader-Willi Syndrome Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder presented at birth that results in numerous physical, cognitive, and behavioral problems, most notably food-related issues and obesity. Infants with PWS are characterized with severe low muscle tone, feeding difficulties, poor growth, and delayed development. Later on, these infants begin to eat excessively and become obese due to the hypothalamus not working properly. Most cases of PWS are not inheritable and are a result of an error that occurred in the region of chromosome 15. When diagnosing PWS, an individual’s patient history is looked at, a through clinical evaluation is given, and any characteristic symptoms are identified. All newborns and infants with an …show more content…
For individuals who are diagnosed with PWS, there is an effect on all areas of development. One area that is affected by PWS is an individual’s cognitive skills. Many of these individuals have an average IQ score of 70 and have receptive and expressive language milestones that are delayed. These individuals often have deficits in visual and auditory attention and short-term memory. In regards to standardized testing, reading and spelling scores are typically higher than math scores due to problems faced with math skills such as multiplication facts, calculation procedures, and mental calculation. Besides low IQ, deficits in memory/attention, and low math skills, many individual with PSW also have an intellectual disability. Many suffer from learning disabilities and have mild to moderate impairment in intellectual functions such as thinking, reasoning and problem-solving (Kundert, 2008). Another area affected by PWS is the …show more content…
Some families react with denial and anger while others react with acceptance of the diagnoses. The way a family responds to a disability mainly depends on the severity of the disability, the preparedness of managing with this situation, prior knowledge about the disability, experiences with other individuals with a disability, and the professional’s manner of delivery of the news. The way the family handles the needs and stressors of taking care of a disabled child influences the development and growth of the disable child. For example, parents of children with PWS may respond to the diagnosis with shock, disbelief, and a sense of loss. If the family does not positively handle the changes and support their child’s need, there is possible a lack of growth and development in the child. Besides the challenges of adapting to caring for a disabled child, families also need to make ethical considerations in regards of treatment and intervention for their child. Some of the factors a family need to think about include determining which types of intervention to use, whether to allow testing to be done, or which type of treatment should be given. An example of parents facing this issue would be whether parents of PWS would want to give their children the growth hormone treatment. The parents would have to make decisions based on whether this was what they want for their child and whether they