| Orthopedic Impairments |
| IDEA DEFINITION OF ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRMENTS: A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures). Other causes of orthopedic impairments may include: Nervous system disorders Spina Bifida Traumatic spinal cord injury Stroke Muscular Dystrophy Cerebral Palsy Epilepsy Muscular-skeletal disorders Rheumatoid arthritis Cardiovascular disease Coronary heart disease Respiratory Disorders Emphysema Asthma Endocrine-metabolic Diabetes Criteria A child displays an orthopedic impairment when: An orthopedic impairment has been diagnosed by a licensed physician; AND/OR The physical impairment adversely affects the child’s educational performance. Referral Characteristics The referral characteristics for a student with an orthopedic impairment fall more into the area of physical characteristics. These may include paralysis, unsteady gait, poor muscle control, loss of limb, etc. An orthopedic impairment may also impede speech production and the expressive language of the child. It is important to note that appropriate seatng/positioning of the child is of primary consideration for effective screening, evaluation, and instruction. |
| Club Foot (talipes equinovarus) -- malformation of the foot; cause unknown generally; incidence approximately 1 in 1000 infants. There are 3 components of club foot -- equinus, hindfoot varus, and forefoot adductus. Club foot can also result from deformity of a normally shaped foot. This can occur when a fetus has spinal muscular atrophy, is caught in an abnormal position in utero, and is too weak to move. It may also result from "packing syndromes," such as oligohydramnios, where there has been a leakage of amniotic fluid, resulting in abnormal pressure on the foot. Club foot is more common in boys. |
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| A FEW DISORDERS IN MORE DETAIL: Spinal cord injuries: usually the result of a traumatic blow to the spine. Some spinal cord injuries can completely heal; others will cause paralysis. Cerebral palsy: a group of non-progressive conditions involving muscle control, posture, and movement; caused by brain damage. Osteoporosis: bone tissue becomes brittle, thin, and spongy. Bones break easily and the spine begins to crumble and collapse. Achondroplasia: the most common form of short stature, associated with disproportionately shortened limbs. Genetically inherited. May cause cervical spinal cord compression. Fractures: when a bone breaks, it may crack, snap, or shatter. After a fracture, new bone cells fill the gap and repair it! But this is not always so easy, especially if there is a disorder that gets in the way. Osteogenesis Imperfecta: a genetic disorder characterized by bones that break too easily, with little or no apparent cause. Polio: a highly contagious infectious disease caused by polioviruses. It is destructive to the nervous system and can cause paralysis. Spinal Muscular Atrophy: a genetic, motor neuron disease which causes a progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord. Muscular Dystrophy: an inherited group of diseases that affect the muscles, causing them to weaken and break down over time. Multiple Sclerosis: a nervous system disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms are vision problems, weakness, trouble with coordination and balance, numbness, and memory problems. Contractures: permanent tightening of muscles and joints Hypertonia: high muscle tone Hypotonia: low muscle tone Prostheses: devices used to replace or aid an injured or missing body part. Amputations: the loss of all or part of a limb, usually the result of an illness or an injury. Arthritis: inflammation of joints, with swelling, warmth, pain, and trouble moving. Kinds: juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Lyme disease, septic arthritis. Bone tuberculosis: a chronic, recurrent infection that affects the skeleton. It usually attacks the long bones of the body. It can lead to bone deformation or bone necrosis. Burns: Severe burns are orthopedically damaging due to contractures that may occur as a result of the burn. Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD): an inflammation of the bone, cartilage, and tendon at the top of the shin bone, where the tendon from the kneecap attaches. It usually strikes teenagers. Osteomyelitis: a bone infection that is often caused by a staphylococcus bacteria. It usually affects the long bones of the arms and legs. Often develops after an injury. It is very rare. Bone cancers: osteosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, chordoma, lymphoma (lymphoid tissues), multiple myeloma (cancer of plasma, involvement of bone marrow), leukemia (cancer of blood cells, bone marrow involvement) Repetitive Stress Injuries: inflammation, muscle strain, tissue damage from too much stress (repeating the same movement over and over and over). Tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc. Scoliosis: abnormal curvature of the spine. This can be hereditary. Spina Bifida: a neural tube defect caused by the failure of the fetus’s spine to close properly during the first month of pregnancy. Sometimes orthopedic disorders are ranked according to severity and by the number of limbs affected: Monoplegia: one limb only affected Hemiplegia: two limbs on the same side affected Paraplegia: both legs affected Diplegia: both legs affected with some arm involvement Triplegia: three limbs are affected Quadriplegia: all four limbs are affected Total Body Involvement: the entire body, not just the limbs. |
| Arthritis Fractures and amputations Muscular Dystrophy Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD) Osteomyelitis Osteoporosis Repetitive stress injuries Spine fractures and injuries Spina Bifida Scoliosis Strains and sprains Tendinitis Birth injuries Genetic disorders Stroke Multiple Sclerosis Polio Osteogenesis Imperfecta Cerebral Palsy |