Diseases and Disorders 6 Articles

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'It's Just Part of Who I Am': A Teen Learns to Live With Chronic Illness 635 words

Healing Power 356 words

Alzheimer's Disease: The Mind Robber 1053 words

Understanding Tourette's Syndrome 1169 words

Why Am I So Tired? 915 words

The Scoop On ADHD 789 words

'It's Just Part of Who I Am': A Teen Learns to Live With Chronic Illness

Actress Halle Barry, musician Nick Jonas, and tennis legend Billie Jean King all have something Win common . They alil havee a dsisease caelled diabetes.ak lrye Rgeisatdeerred trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation. Diabetes (die-uh-BEE-teez) keeps the body's tissues from absorbing glucose, or sugar, from the bloodstream. The body uses glucose as a source of energy, and much of the body’s glucose comes from food. When food is digested, glucose goes into the bloodstream to be absorbed by the body’s tissues. For diabetic people, the glucose stays in the blood, causing high blood sugar levels. Some symptoms of high blood sugar levels include fatigue, hunger, a lot of thirst, and blurry vision.

According to the American Diabetes Association, about two million Americans learn that they have diabetes each year. Jessica Pray became one of those people at age 13.

At that time, Jessica was a typical teenager. Her life changed forever, though, when she found out about her disease. She made plans to go to college and study medical research. She wanted to help people with diabetes.

There are several treatment options and lifestyle adjustments for people with diabetes. How did Jessica learn to cope with having diabetes? Here is the story in her own words.

I was told I had diabetes when I was 13. It all began when I got the flu. It went on for weeks. I was still thirsty all of the time. I felt really tired. The symptoms were odd.

My mom and I thought about going to the doctor, but then we'd put it off. We thought that I had some kind of virus, but I kept getting worse.

We finally went to the doctor. I was told I had diabetes right before Halloween. I'll never forget it. I was told I would have to inject myself twice a day with a chemical called insulin. I would have to test my blood and watch my diet.

Learning to Cope

My doctor showed me how to inject the insulin. I also had to learn a lot about nutrition

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because of my disease. There were lots of foods I could no longer eat. I was really unhappy. I knew the diabetes was going to be there forever.

I learned to test my blood to see how much insulin I needed. I had to prick my finger with a needle and squeeze a drop of blood onto a strip of paper. Then I'd put the paper into a machine to get a reading. Soon, I got the hang of knowing how much insulin I needed.

I had a lot of trouble adjusting to my diabetes the first year. I had to wake up by 9 o'clock every morning to inject myself.

Slowly, my internal clock began to wake me in time for my injection. I didn't like this routine. But it was something I had to do.

Living with Disease

After I learned I had diabetes, I talked to my class about it. No one was upset or anything. I didn't want them to think I was contagious and be afraid to be around me.

Diabetes can be overwhelming. Sometimes, I break down and cry. Sometimes, I take my anger out on my family, but I don't mean to. If I start dwelling on my illness, I get upset and have a hard time.

“I've Adapted”

In some ways, diabetes has made me a more responsible person. It keeps me in line. It teaches me about life. If a cure for diabetes is found, that would be great. But in the meantime, I'm doing OK. It's just part of who I am. I've adapted.

What would I say to other people with chronic illnesses? Follow your treatment and stay positive. Having a chronic illness will just blend in, like learning to walk and everything else new in life.

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Healing Power

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) did not go to medical school. Yet Montagu has gone Wdown in his tory as ai heaeler. Sshe helpeed sla y the "sapekckled monst elr." rye Rgeisatdeerred trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation.

Investigation

Montagu was a British noble. At age 26, she caught smallpox, a disease known as the speckled monster. Smallpox started with a high fever, chills, pain, nausea, and vomiting. After a few days, the fever went away. A rash appeared on the face and inside the eyelids.

Three in 10 smallpox sufferers died. Montagu’s brother was among them. Those who survived carried reminders of the disease. Some lost their eyesight. Montagu was among those scarred with pockmarks.

In 1717, Montagu traveled to Constantinople (now called Istanbul). That was the capital of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, to which her husband was an ambassador. There, she studied local culture. She witnessed healers battle smallpox with a method known as variolation.

The healers rubbed smallpox scabs onto scratches on the skin of healthy persons. Sometimes they blew dried smallpox scabs up a person’s nose.

Variolation had been performed for centuries. It was believed to have come from India and China. Montagu wondered: How did these practices work?

Solution

Montagu believed in the treatment enough to allow her son to be variolated. When she returned to England, Montagu publicized the method. During a smallpox outbreak in 1721, she had the treatment performed on her daughter in front of royal court doctors.

Royal family members were convinced that variolation worked. The method then became fashionable in Europe.

The practice was the basis for vaccinations. Dr. Edward Jenner performed the first vaccination in 1796. The injections, or shots, that patients get contain a mild form of the disease that the

Page 4 of 19 © 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Weekly Reader Corporation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Weekly Reader is a registered trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation. Healing Power injections are meant to fight. In response, the body builds up a natural defense to the disease.

Conclusion

Montagu understood how dangerous smallpox could be. She trusted a new found treatment enough to allow her children to be treated. Her caring and experience helped save many lives in England during her lifetime.

Once a universal killer, the last natural case of smallpox occurred in 1977 in Somalia, Africa. There is no more speckled monster.

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Alzheimer's Disease: The Mind Robber

Conner stared at his grandmother. "Grandma, I'm not Patrick. My name is Conner."

WConner's g randmoither eraisesd her eyeebrow s and saaidk, "I know my olwn chirlydren. You'ree P atrick.R" geisatdeerred trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation.

"Okay, Grandma, I'm Patrick," he said. Conner turned away. Boy, was Grandma acting weird, he thought. Lately she kept calling him Patrick--that was his dad's name, not his. Why did she do that? It was as if she didn't know him at all. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Yesterday he had told her several times that he wasn't Patrick. He had thought she was playing games with him. But she became angry and yelled at him after the fourth or fifth time that he insisted he was Conner. He cried yesterday too.

Confusion

Conner's grandmother wasn't playing games with Conner at all. She really did think he was his father, Patrick, when he was a boy. Grandma mixes things up in her mind. She can't help it. She has Alzheimer's (AHLZ-hi-merz) disease, or AD. If you have an elderly grandparent or friend, you have probably heard of this disease. Some call it the disease of forgetfulness.

Everyone forgets something from time to time. That's pretty normal. You might forget to turn in your homework. Your father might not remember to buy milk and bread on his way home from work. And as people age, they may forget more things--like a birthday, or whether they took their medicine.

The Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center (ADEAR) says that with Alzheimer's, the forgetting is about things that are part of everyday life. You might not notice the symptoms of AD at first. The early symptoms are mild and usually develop slowly. Only later, when a person starts saying and doing things that seem very different from before, are the symptoms noticeable. A person can forget how to get dressed. He or she might not remember how to get home from the grocery store that is visited once a week. Like Conner's grandmother, a person may not recognize loved ones at all. This is why Alzheimer's has also been called a mind-robbing disease.

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An Age-Related Disease

Alzheimer's disease is mostly a disease of old age.

As people age-into their seventies and eighties-their chances of having AD go up. Children never get it. And one person cannot catch it from someone else.

Alzheimer's does occur in people younger than 60 or 65, but this is rare. Tracy Mobley was diagnosed when she was 38 years old. "My husband began to notice that I was forgetting a lot of things, such as recent conversations or decisions that we had made." One day, Tracy didn't recognize her own dog. She watched the dog for 10 minutes, and then asked her son whose dog it was. "Mom, that's Daisy!" he replied. According to ADEAR, Alzheimer's in people younger than 60 may be inherited.

One of Several Diseases

There are several disorders that cause forgetfulness. Alzheimer's is one of them. The disorders cause brain cells to be destroyed. When brain cells are lost, dementia (dih-MEN-shuh) is the result. Bleeding or blood clots in the brain can also cause this damage. In AD, the damage is caused by deposits in the brain that keep the cells from working properly. The symptoms of dementia, besides forgetfulness, are

problems with reasoning, such as having trouble balancing a checkbook poor judgment, such as driving a car incorrectly becoming lost in the neighborhood or other familiar places having trouble finding the right word or making sense when speaking not being able to get dressed or bathe without help.

Treatment

There are several treatments for Alzheimer's. Research is ongoing to find more and better treatments too. So far, Alzheimer's cannot be stopped or cured. Drugs and other treatments can help slow down the development of Alzheimer's, or help people with it function better. Some of those medicines can help control some symptoms that AD causes, like not being able to sleep, wandering around the house or away from home, nervous excitement, anxiety, and depression.

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Lately, research has looked into other treatments. They include anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin E, and statins-cholesterol-lowering medicines.

Experts say that an important "treatment" for people with Alzheimer's disease is activities that keep the mind active. Reading, learning new things, and staying active with social groups can help.

Ad Affects You

Caring for a person who needs help with everyday living takes a lot of time and energy. If a grandparent or another person with Alzheimer's lives with you, your parents may not have much time to spend with you. This can cause a mix of unpleasant feelings.

These feelings are normal. You may experience any or all of the following: sadness, anger or frustration, fear, and even resentment.

Ways to Cope

You can cope by letting your parents know how you feel. If you are angry because Grandma acts differently, learn what you can about AD and how it is affecting her. If you resent her for the time your parents spend taking care of her, ask how you can help out. If she lives with you or near you, you can do little things together. And you can help your parents with some of the household work. Then they may have more time to spend with you.

Tracy Mobley's 9-year-old son keeps an eye out for his mother. If Tracy is very tired and her symptoms are worse, he lets his dad or his grandmother know so that they can help.

Alzheimer's is a devastating disease. Coping with an Alzheimer's patient will take understanding and patience on your part. Remember that.

Things You Can Do Together

There are still many things that you can do together with your grandparent or other person who has Alzheimer's. Here are a few of them--check off the ones that you would like to do.

Listen to music

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Paint pictures String beads Rake leaves Brush or comb one another's hair Fold laundry Look at family photos Make a memory book Take a walk Toss a ball Put a puzzle together Blow bubbles

There are many more things that you can do together. Your loved one will enjoy doing the activity and love being with you, even if he or she can't always show it.

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Understanding Tourette's Syndrome

Twitching, shouting, and repeating the same behavior over and over are just a few of the symptoms of this Wdisorder of th e nervouis systeem. se ak lrye Rgeisatdeerred trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation. Justin started having tics (sudden movements, twitches, or vocal sounds) when he was about five years old. He would blink his eyes or shake his head. Sometimes he made unusual noises. Sometimes he would touch the same object over and over.

Justin also began to have trouble sleeping and paying attention in school. His doctors found that he had Tourette's syndrome (TS) when he was seven. He also had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

OCD and ADHD are not a part of Tourette's, but people who have TS often have them too. People with OCD feel they must do certain things. They might count all the letters in a book or clean the same spot over and over again. People with ADHD have trouble focusing on a task. They may have wild bursts of activity.

What Are the Symptoms?

TS is a disorder of the nervous system. It involves a variety of voice and movement tics. Different people with the disorder may have different symptoms. These change over time and can affect any muscle group in the body. People with TS may jerk their head or flail their arms. They may clear their throat repeatedly, sniff objects, grunt, or bark. A very small number may even curse.

Being anxious, stressed, or tired can make the tics worse. Often exercise, sleep, and concentrating on a task can reduce the number of tics. In any case, it's important to know that the person cannot control them.

Sometimes the individual can hold back the tic, but only for a while. The pressure will build up. Then the tic will have to be released. "The impulse to twitch is stronger than three hundred mosquito bites in want of a scratch," Jason explains. He developed TS in the fourth grade.

Who Gets Tourette's?

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TS usually begins in childhood. Symptoms may be mild or severe. Sometimes TS goes away on its own as the child grows older. But some cases get worse over time.

TS affects people of all races and ethnic groups. But males get it three or four times as often as females. TS tends to run in families. A parent with the gene can pass it on to his or her children.

The National Institutes of Health estimates that about 100,000 Americans have TS. Sadly, there are many more people with TS who don't know they have TS. Also, many doctors do not recognize the signs of TS.

Genes and Other Causes

Scientists have not yet discovered which gene is responsible for TS. And there may be more than one involved. But they do know that the gene somehow disrupts certain brain chemicals. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters (nur-oh-TRANZ-mitt-erz). They carry signals from one nerve cell to another. People with TS have too much of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DOPE-uh- meen) in certain areas of their brains. The excess dopamine may be the cause of many of their symptoms. Researchers also believe other brain chemicals are involved. Other factors may also play a role in TS.

Treating Tourette's

Doctors can prescribe medicines that will help people with TS. But patients have a wide range of symptoms. That means that no one drug will help in all cases. Unfortunately, no drug completely stops the symptoms.

The drugs can have severe side effects—effects that aren't wanted. Patients may feel drowsy or gain weight. They may have headaches, or their muscles may go rigid. To help avoid side effects, doctors prescribe very low doses whenever possible. And most doctors recommend that patients not take any drugs at all if their tics don't interfere too much with their lives.

A few TS patients use nicotine patches to help control their tics. (People usually use the patches to help them quit smoking cigarettes.) The patches allow the patients to take lower doses of their other medications. Unfortunately, some people have side effects from the nicotine patches.

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Some patients are helped by behavior therapy. They receive rewards for concentrating or controlling some of their tics.

Living with Tourette's

People with TS agree that the social effects of the disorder can be worse than the physical ones. Children often find that others make fun of their tics. This makes them feel unwanted. Jason's classmates imitated his throat and arm-stretching tics. He remembers, "I felt humiliated." That's why TS patients and their families often seek out support groups to find out how to cope.

Support groups also provide information to teachers and school officials. The information helps them understand a child's special needs. Susan, for example, had trouble reading. Her tic caused her eyes to move back and forth. When her teacher understood the problem, she was able to give Susan extra help. Other kids with TS may be allowed to take breaks from the classroom. This allows them to express their tics in private. These small changes can make a big difference in these children's lives.

Educating the Public

In addition, famous people help educate the public. They also inspire others with TS to lead happy, productive lives in spite of their symptoms. Michael Wolff of the Tourette Syndrome Association, for example, is a jazz pianist. He was deeply embarrassed by his tics. Then his wife, actress Polly Draper, convinced him to help others by speaking out about TS. He also wrote the music for the film The Tic Code, which received rave reviews.

Professional athletes who have TS also speak out. They encourage others to achieve their dreams in spite of TS. Pro baseball outfielder Jim Eisenreich has had Tourette's since the age of six. But he wasn't diagnosed until he was twenty-three. He had to put his career on hold while his doctors found the right combination of drugs to control his tics. Then he was able to get back to being a top-notch player. Now he enjoys visiting with young people who have TS. He lets them know they can succeed too.

Other pro athletes with TS include NBA star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (formerly Chris Jackson), baseball player Charles Johnson, and soccer goalie Tim Howard.

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Anyone can have TS. There are doctors, lawyers, teachers, actors, nurses, and many others in all walks of life who have TS. Most people with TS lead normal, productive lives. And many are very successful.

How Can You Help Someone With TS? Understand that the tics, twitches, and strange sounds are not done on purpose. Never imitate or make fun of someone's tics. It is hurtful to him or her—just as it would be to you. Many people with Tourette's will tell their friends and classmates about the disorder. Others feel embarrassed about doing so. It's best not to pressure someone who would rather not talk about TS. Understand that people with TS can be as smart, athletic, and talented as anyone else.

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Katy plopped into bed exhausted. Her first day in the new neighborhood had been stressful for her. There was the work of unpacking. There were the curious stares from the neighbors. Would she make friends? Would this new place ever feel like home? Now she just needed to get some sleep. But tomorrow was going to be worse. It was the first day of school!

She turned out the light, punched the pillow into a comfortable shape--and stared at the wall. And stared. And stared. Oh, no--not again, she thought to herself. When the lighted dial of her clock showed midnight, she turned over on her back. The next time she looked, it was 1 a.m., then 2 a.m. Perfect. I'll certainly make an impression on the kids in the lunchroom tomorrow, especially if I fall asleep face down in my soup! I'll bet they haven't seen that before.

Katy has a sleep disorder called insomnia. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 40 million Americans have sleep disorders that keep them awake most nights. Sleep disorders affect people in every age group.

Here's a look at some of the most common sleep disorders.

Insomnia: Eyes Wide Open

People with insomnia have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. They are often grouchy the next morning and can't concentrate in class.

Poor sleep habits, such as irregular bedtimes and waking times, staying late at a party, watching

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TV, being on the Internet endlessly, and playing computer games right before bed can cause insomnia.

Stress causes a lot of insomnia. You may have had mild insomnia the night before a big test. Like Katy, you probably have had some sleepless nights when something stressful was going on in your life, such as moving or the divorce of your parents. This kind of insomnia goes away when the event that causes the stress is over.

Changing your habits or talking with someone about your problems is a good way to cure insomnia. In some cases, a doctor can recommend a drug to help you get to sleep.

Restless Leg Syndrome

If you have Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), your legs tingle and ache when you lie down in bed. The only way to stop the unpleasant feeling is to get up and move around. That keeps you from falling asleep or wakes you up if you were already asleep.

RLS may be inherited, or it may occur because of nerve damage in the legs. Although RLS is not serious, it is annoying for the person who can't get to sleep. Certain drugs may help relieve RLS.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder in which you actually stop breathing. It usually happens when your windpipe flattens and air can't get through. Your brain wakes you just enough to signal you to breathe. These pauses may happen from 20 times a night to several hundred times a night. You're sleepy in the morning because you didn't get enough deep sleep, but you don't remember waking up.

Some people with sleep apnea can avoid the problem by sleeping on their sides. Children with sleep apnea can often be helped by having their tonsils and adenoids removed.

Sleepwalking and Night Terrors

Most kids outgrow these two disorders by the age of 12. If you or someone in your family sleepwalks, lock the windows and doors to the outside, and put gates up by staircases. You don't

Page 15 of 19 © 2016 ReadWorks®, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Weekly Reader Corporation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Weekly Reader is a registered trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation. Why Am I So Tired? need to wake up a person who is sleepwalking; just lead him or her back to bed.

Someone who has night terrors wakes up screaming. He or she has not been dreaming and doesn't remember the incident in the morning. A few minutes of quiet talk will be calming and help the person go back to sleep.

Sleep Rhythms

This isn't a disorder, but it affects many preteens and teens. Researchers have found that a teenager's brain works on a different schedule. A teen may not be ready to go to bed until after 11 p.m. One school district in Minnesota changed the starting time of the high school from 7:20 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The teachers found that the students were then ready to learn in their first period class. Many students' grades went up.

Sleep gives the brain time to repair nerve connections and to store information. When you're not getting enough sleep, you can lose your good judgment. You don't do well in school, and you start to think you can't succeed in anything. Kids in elementary school need nine to eleven hours of sleep each night. Don't let a sleep disorder rob you of your ZZZ time.

How to Get Enough ZZZs

Here are some tips for getting to sleep and staying asleep.

Avoid caffeine within four to six hours of bedtime. That means staying away from sodas and coffee. Exercise daily, but avoid strenuous exercise within six hours of bedtime. Keep your bed for sleeping. Don't do homework on it. If you can't fall asleep, leave your bedroom and go somewhere else to read. Go back to bed when you are tired. Get up at about the same time on weekdays and on weekends. If you nap, do it before 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and don't sleep for more than an hour. Get into bright light quickly in the morning, but avoid it in the evening. Wind down before going to bed. Avoid heavy reading, studying, and computer games within an hour of going to bed.

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The Scoop On ADHD W iese By Kirstena Wkeir lrye Rgeisatdeerred trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation.

Image 100/Alamy

Maybe you’ve heard of ADHD. Perhaps your brother, your sister, or a friend has it. You might have received such a diagnosis yourself. But what exactly is ADHD? And what is it like to have it? Current Health talked to four students with ADHD. They give us the scoop and offer tips on how to be a helpful friend.

What Is It?

ADHD stands for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. (In the past, it was just called attention deficit disorder—ADD for short.) In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association reported that 5% of children had ADHD.

The disorder shows itself in different ways. People with ADHD might have trouble paying attention, sitting still, staying focused, or following directions. They might say or do things without thinking.

“I daydream, and I don’t really hear what people are saying,” said Hannah S. when she was 12 years old. “If there’s something on my desk, I play with it.”

Shyanne D. could see the way her ADHD symptoms showed up while she was at school in the seventh grade. “I can’t sit still. I always get hyper,” she said.

Why Do Some Kids Have It?

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Researchers aren’t sure what causes ADHD, but they think genes play a big part. Genes carry the instructions that make us who we are, and they are passed down from a father and mother to their child. Often, ADHD is passed along from parent to child as well.

Having ADHD can sometimes make it hard for kids to do well in school. Kids with ADHD might have trouble listening to directions or forget to turn in homework. They might get out of their seats a lot, even when the teacher says to sit still. That doesn’t mean that they are “bad kids” or aren’t smart, Janet S. Reed, a neuropsychologist, told Current Health. When kids with ADHD show those behaviors, she said, “It’s not their fault.”

Kids with ADHD say that having the disorder can be frustrating. “You don’t get to choose if you want to pay attention or not. You can’t control it,” Hannah said.

Shyanne agreed. “Some people think it’s an excuse. People sometimes think that you’re lying about it. It’s not an excuse—it’s really something that you have.”

Working through ADHD

Luckily, strategies exist for dealing with ADHD. “There are things [kids] can do to work around it,” Reed said. Young people with ADHD often take medications to help them stay focused. For many kids, the medicines help them concentrate on their work and do better in school.

“I take medication in the morning,” said Lauren K. She said that it helped her focus. “It’s enough to get me through the school day, but when I get home I get kind of crazy and have a lot of energy.”

If you have a friend with ADHD, you can be a help to him or her. Friends can gently give kids with ADHD reminders about what they’re supposed to be doing and help keep them on track, Reed said. The kids Current Health spoke with have some helpful pals. “My friend sometimes wakes me up when I’m staring into space,” Hannah said.

Everyone’s Different

Each student can learn his or her own ways of dealing with symptoms that get in the way of everyday tasks.

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“Sometimes I put things where they don’t belong,” said Lauren. “If you lose something [such as homework], you’re going to get a bad grade.”

Keeping things organized is a good strategy for staying on top of assignments. Reed recommended that when it’s time to study, kids with ADHD find a clean, quiet workspace away from windows, TVs, and other distractions.

Sometimes, relaxing outside can help calm ADHD behaviors. Scientists recently reported that kids with ADHD concentrate better after taking walks in a park.

Counselors and therapists can help each person come up with strategies to calm down and focus.

“I used to not be able to hear what people were saying,” said Robert F. at the age of 13. He would sometimes miss something important while he was daydreaming. “Then I taught my ears how to listen,” he said.

Up to the Challenge

What do Magic Johnson, Will Smith, and Justin Timberlake all have in common? They’re all superstars in their fields, and—you guessed it—all are reported to have ADHD.

Vaughn Soso, from New York City, also has ADHD. He’s a champion chess player. Vaughn started playing in second grade and has entered more than 50 tournaments. In 2009, he came in first at the SuperNationals, a huge tournament that happens only once every four years.

Living with ADHD can be a challenge. But people with the disorder can be just as successful as anyone else.