Purchase a copy
A Medical Companion to the Developmental Disabilities
This book describes 55 medical conditions that cause developmental disabilities. It also describes 12 disorders – epilepsy plus 11 psychiatric illnesses – that commonly afflict disabled individuals, as well as the medications used to treat them. The material should be accessible to care providers with little or no medical background yet detailed enough for physicians and nurses to use as a quick refresher. Its intended audience includes:
- teachers, students and support staff in special education
- clinicians, assistants, and students of physical, occupational, and speech therapy
- psychologists and social work counselors
- workers in Special Olympics and at camps for people with disabilities
- nurses, day habilitation and residential staff, work supervisors, job coaches, and support personnel at agencies that provide comprehensive care to individuals with disabilities, such as The Arc, Easter Seals, and United Cerebral Palsy
This book should prove useful – and hopefully interesting – to anyone involved in the care of people with disabilities. It will help providers better understand the medical issues affecting their clients, enhance communication with their clients’ physicians, and, perhaps, even expand the care they can provide.
About the book
- teachers, students and support staff in special education
- clinicians, assistants, and students of physical, occupational, and speech therapy
- psychologists and social work counselors
- workers in Special Olympics and at camps for people with disabilities
- nurses, day habilitation and residential staff, work supervisors, job coaches, and support personnel at agencies that provide comprehensive care to individuals with disabilities, such as The Arc, Easter Seals, and United Cerebral Palsy
This reference should prove useful – and hopefully interesting – to anyone involved in the care of people with disabilities. It will help providers better understand the medical issues affecting their clients, enhance communication with their clients’ physicians, and, perhaps, even expand the care they can provide.
Q&A with Dr. Verme
I am a Family Practice physician currently serving as Medical Director of The Arc Wayne clinic system. This system delivers clinical care to adults with developmental disabilities over a four-county area in upstate New York.
Why did you decide to work with people who have DD?
I have a long history of involvement with individuals who have developmental disabilities. I worked at Bay Cliff Health Camp, a summer therapy and wellness camp for children with disabilities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, for three summers while in high school and college. In addition to various volunteer activities over the years, I have provided medical care to a large number of children and adults with disabilities during my residency at Marshall University in West Virginia and in my medical practices in New Mexico and upstate New York.
Can you give a brief overview of the contents of the book and explain why you decided to write this book?
Many people with developmental disabilities have rather complex medical disorders. Yet, much of their day-to-day care is provided by therapists with very focused medical training or by family members, teachers, and support staff with little or no medical training at all. I wrote this book with such individuals in mind to provide them with background information about a number of these disorders in a way that is medically accurate yet understandable to those without medical training.
Who is this book written for?
I wrote this book as a medical reference guide for people who work with individuals with developmental disabilities. It explains 55 medical disorders that cause disabilities in a way that is medically accurate yet understandable to those without medical training. It also describes 12 disorders – epilepsy plus 11 psychiatric disorders – that commonly afflict individuals with disabilities, as well as the medications used to treat them. Those who will benefit from this book include: physical, occupational, and speech therapists, mental health professionals, and special education teachers, as well as students in these educational programs. Nurses and staff working in group homes, day habilitation programs, Special Olympics coordinators, and others who work or spend time with individuals with disabilities will also benefit. Physicians, nurses, and other health care providers may also find it useful to quickly review certain topics or to learn about less common disorders.
What do you hope will come out of people reading this/using it as a reference?
I hope this book will prove interesting to providers and, more importantly, help them better understand and appreciate their clients’ medical issues, improve communication with their clients’ specialists, and, perhaps, identify ways to improve the care they (or their clients’ physicians) provide for these individuals.