Customer service experience with a kid with a neurological disorder

I'm going to write about something that was inspired by a positive experience at my job during my shift tonight (Wednesday). I had something else planned but I would have needed to include research and I need to replace my laptop so it would have been hard to do. When I was growing up I knew very few people with neurological disorders, and even less people that were around my age with them. If I knew anyone with Hydrocephalus, I wasn't aware of it. I was a couple of high school and had just started to work at my second job when I met my first close "brain buddy". He has Cerebral palsy, and knowing him has helped me recognize it in other people. I've known others with cp since before I knew him, but they usually had a worse case or I didn't realize what was wrong with them until later. Other neurological disorders can show the same symptoms too though, including Hydrocephalus, strokes and seizure disorders.

About half way into my shift during the busiest part of the evening I walked out of the backroom onto the produce sales floor getting ready to write a list for what needed to be on my next cart or two. A kid that looked like he was 10 or 11 stopped me and asked me if I could check the price on a bottle of sparkling juice that we have during the holiday season. I told him that I had a scanning gun and I would be right back. I saw him walk forward and noticed his limp and that it affected his whole right side, especially his arm. I recognized it right away as having to do with Cerebral palsy or another neurological disorder. I felt bad for him, knowing the challenges that my friend has dealt with and the challenges that people with neurological disorders in general have to deal with from personal experiences. Rather it's being more likely to be bullied, the way people see him or different kind of therapies. I went to the department back room to discover that someone had taken my scanning gun so I told him that I needed to go to the front but I would be back in a minute. I went and got a gun from behind customer service and started to sign into it as I started to walk back in his direction, and I was surprised to see that he had walked across the store and was waiting for me in front of the registers. It ended up being too much and I put it back for him. At some point during this time I noticed what looked like a shunt scar on the top of his head, I noticed because of his short hair cut. I didn't ask because I didn't want to find out I was wrong or point out something he may not want to think about. If he does have it, it might have been encouraging to meeting someone else with it, but I'm sure it was obvious that I at least have a neurological disorder of some kind too. Something that I didn't think of until after he and his family left was that if he does have a shunt it would have probably be visible in his neck area and even if I was face to face with him multiple times I didn't think to look. I ended up running into him one last time, somewhat on purpose because I wanted to do something to make his day without him realizing it was because I felt bad him. I still had the scanning gun in my hand and helped him check a couple prices so he could find a different holiday drink.

Brain fatigue and neurological disorders

Brain fatigue in a healthy person is when your brain has been over-worked for a extended period of time.Either that or by a decrease in oxygen,dehydration,or poor nutrition.The main symptoms are difficulty understanding new conceptions,impaired memory and slowed reasoning.

However with people with neurological disorders or brain injury survivors in general it's something that happens more on a regular basis without much reason behind it.There are common reasons like weather and allergies but many are not known.It doesn't always have the same signs as brain fatigue with healthy people either.

I can't speak for the person experiences of others,so this is based on personal experience.For me,it's something that I know I've always had because I remember experiences I had as a kid mainly without losing stuff or getting lost that wouldn't happen all the time.I've slowly become more aware of it among other side effects of brain injury/surgery overtime.It's basically whenever something changes where I end up needing to use my brain more.For example when I started elementary school and then again when I started middle school because how different it was.Then again when I got promoted at work from being a carry out for three and a half years to a job where I have to remember a lot.

Like with anything to do with a brain injuries everyone's experiences are different.But for me I know I have brain fatigue when everything that's connected with hydrocephalus for me just get's worse.Examples are memory,the ability to focus and organize,and knowing which direction I'm going when I'm walking down the street even if I've gone the same route many times.It's when I lose stuff the most or I manage to get lost.It's also when at work when I forgot routines that I've been doing on a daily or weekly basis for the last year and a half.

Thanks for reading,and sorry about not writing on the same day each week,with my schedule at work changing I'll try to pick a specific day to write.I might have a guest blog next week but I'm not sure yet,thanks for reading.



http://www.ehow.com/facts_5254993_signs-symptoms-mental-fatigue.html

http://www.brainharmonycenter.com/brain-fatigue.html

types and signs of ataxia

This week I'm going to talk about something that I've already talked about a few months ago.Except this time I want to talk more about the different types about and less about my personal experience.The topic is ataxia,which is a neurological side effect and Greek for "lack of order".It causes lack of muscle control,most seen in walking.It's a dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that control movement,a example of that is the cerebellum.

There are three major types,cerebellar,sensory and vestibular.I'm going to focus more on the first of these because that's the one most common with people with neurological disorders.People with cerebellar ataxia tend to have problems with muscle contractions,and problems with gait and eye movements.People with it may also have balance problems,which may be hard to figure out if it's ataxia or not because it's also common with brain trauma and brain surgery survivors in general.The common way that it can be determined by how someone walks is either by widened base and high stepping,or by staggering and lurching from side to side.Another common sign is speech impediments.some of the most common of these are slowed speech,stuttering, irregular rhythm and  of the voice.Another common sign is tremors which may include the head,torso and limbs.One of the more interesting ones is abnormal writing,which often include large uneven letters.

Sensory ataxia is usually caused by the spinal cord and signs include stomping gait and postural instability.Vestibular ataxia is caused by caused by the dysfunction of the vestibular system.Common signs include eye movements,problems with walking,,vertigo, nausea and vomiting.

The most common medical conditions that causes ataxia are stroke,brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord disorders,niemann pick disease,chiari malformation,and wilson's disease.Other causes include exogenous substances,radiation poisoning.,and vitamin b12 definceny.Treatment includes both Physical therapy and ,occupational therapy and meds.

 Below are links to where I got my info and my own personal experience with ataxia.Next week I will have a guest blogger because I'll be busy at work  with the summer holiday.Thanks for reading :)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataxia

http://timothy-landry.blogspot.com/2012/01/ataxia.html