Occupational Therapy

Dr. A. Jean Ayres, a researcher who discovered and developed tests and treatments for identifying sensory integration dysfunction, a neurological disorder of the senses, has died of complications of cancer. Ayres, who died Dec. 16, was 68. Born in 1920 on a Visalia farm, Ayres struggled with learning problems similar to those caused by the disease she would later discover.

It would be so easy for health insurers to avoid ill will if they'd just listen to what customers are saying and do their best to respond in a reasonable fashion. Unfortunately, that's just not how the industry seems to be programmed. Kevin Roberts, 36, has been battling insurance-industry insensitivity since last year on behalf of his 6-year-old daughter, Aubrey, who has autism. What should have been a relatively simple matter has ballooned into complaints to the California Department of Managed Health Care, failed attempts at arbitration and a seeming reluctance on the part of Roberts' insurer, Aetna, to simply sit down and hash things out. "We're basically in limbo," Roberts told me. "All we've wanted is for them to take care of treatment that's covered by our insurance policy.

Specialists in treating pain use several different approaches to therapy. They are:. * Drugs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen; other classes of drugs that interfere with pain signals to the brain, such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants; and narcotic painkillers such as morphine; some medications are infused directly into the spine.

On Valentine's Day 2009, Danny Rodriguez, then 28, was leaving a party with friends in Pico Rivera when they were accosted by a group of young men from a gang active in the neighborhood. Rodriguez and his friends explained they belonged to no gang and just wanted to go home. But as they drove away, they made a turn down a dead-end street. Gang members followed them, opening fire. Rodriguez, in the back seat, was the only one hit. The bullet entered the back of his head and exploded into pieces as it drove through his brain's right parietal lobe and right frontal lobe.

The troubled boys at Masada Placement School in Lawndale are working on wood projects when an outburst from one side of the room threatens chaos. Kristoffel H., a tough, but baby-faced 17-year-old who spent 3 1/2 years in county probation camps for theft and other crimes, is having a problem with the electric router. "What's wrong with this (expletive) wood?" he shouts, flinging his goggles on the table. "Where's James? He (clamped) it on wrong!"

I would like to let you know why some of the students here at L.A. Community College are more than upset with the faculty that will be laid off, because the board of trustees doesn't see the need for some of the classes that are being held here, like human services, dental assisting, occupational therapy, optics vision. These are the ones that are hard hit. There are students in these programs who only have one year to go to get their A.A. degree, but they will not get it because the classes will be dropped.

It doesn't look much like a hospital. The floors are covered with soft carpeting and the soft, muted color scheme is a departure from the antiseptic white and drab tans normally associated with hospital rooms. But then again, this isn't your normal hospital setting. It is Saddleback Community Hospital's newly expanded rehabilitation center, designed to help victims of moderate to severe brain injuries, strokes, arthritis and other debilitating ailments to re-enter society.

A new vaccine against the rotavirus, an infection that kills hundreds of thousands of children around the world each year, has cleared its last major hurdle by showing that it works in developing countries. Rotaviruses are the leading cause of severe diarrhea in childhood, and strikes especially hard in poor countries. The vaccine has been tested on nearly 18,000 children and has already been shown to be highly effective in the United States and elsewhere.

On Valentine's Day 2009, Danny Rodriguez, then 28, was leaving a party with friends in Pico Rivera when they were accosted by a group of young men from a gang active in the neighborhood. Rodriguez and his friends explained they belonged to no gang and just wanted to go home. But as they drove away, they made a turn down a dead-end street. Gang members followed them, opening fire. Rodriguez, in the back seat, was the only one hit. The bullet entered the back of his head and exploded into pieces as it drove through his brain's right parietal lobe and right frontal lobe.

While paging through the Occupational Outlook Handbook several years ago, Anthony Simpkins discovered good news: Demand for his chosen new career--occupational therapy--was expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the upcoming decade. The Colton resident earned an associate degree in occupational therapy (with a minor in anthropology) at Loma Linda University, then applied for work as an OT assistant so he could generate much-needed income.

When my son's preschool teachers recommended that we send him to speech therapy, I can't say that my husband and I were completely surprised. Clay wasn't entirely easy to understand; his "r" sounded like a "w," his "th" was indistinguishable from an "s," and his "l" was essentially nonexistent. But he was only 3 years old. We believed his speech would clear up on its own with time, but agreed to have Clay tested for a speech disorder.

While paging through the Occupational Outlook Handbook several years ago, Anthony Simpkins discovered good news: Demand for his chosen new career--occupational therapy--was expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the upcoming decade. The Colton resident earned an associate degree in occupational therapy (with a minor in anthropology) at Loma Linda University, then applied for work as an OT assistant so he could generate much-needed income.

Specialists in treating pain use several different approaches to therapy. They are:. * Drugs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen; other classes of drugs that interfere with pain signals to the brain, such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants; and narcotic painkillers such as morphine; some medications are infused directly into the spine.

A new vaccine against the rotavirus, an infection that kills hundreds of thousands of children around the world each year, has cleared its last major hurdle by showing that it works in developing countries. Rotaviruses are the leading cause of severe diarrhea in childhood, and strikes especially hard in poor countries. The vaccine has been tested on nearly 18,000 children and has already been shown to be highly effective in the United States and elsewhere.

The troubled boys at Masada Placement School in Lawndale are working on wood projects when an outburst from one side of the room threatens chaos. Kristoffel H., a tough, but baby-faced 17-year-old who spent 3 1/2 years in county probation camps for theft and other crimes, is having a problem with the electric router. "What's wrong with this (expletive) wood?" he shouts, flinging his goggles on the table. "Where's James? He (clamped) it on wrong!"

Dr. A. Jean Ayres, a researcher who discovered and developed tests and treatments for identifying sensory integration dysfunction, a neurological disorder of the senses, has died of complications of cancer. Ayres, who died Dec. 16, was 68. Born in 1920 on a Visalia farm, Ayres struggled with learning problems similar to those caused by the disease she would later discover.

It would be so easy for health insurers to avoid ill will if they'd just listen to what customers are saying and do their best to respond in a reasonable fashion. Unfortunately, that's just not how the industry seems to be programmed. Kevin Roberts, 36, has been battling insurance-industry insensitivity since last year on behalf of his 6-year-old daughter, Aubrey, who has autism. What should have been a relatively simple matter has ballooned into complaints to the California Department of Managed Health Care, failed attempts at arbitration and a seeming reluctance on the part of Roberts' insurer, Aetna, to simply sit down and hash things out. "We're basically in limbo," Roberts told me. "All we've wanted is for them to take care of treatment that's covered by our insurance policy.

When my son's preschool teachers recommended that we send him to speech therapy, I can't say that my husband and I were completely surprised. Clay wasn't entirely easy to understand; his "r" sounded like a "w," his "th" was indistinguishable from an "s," and his "l" was essentially nonexistent. But he was only 3 years old. We believed his speech would clear up on its own with time, but agreed to have Clay tested for a speech disorder.

Joel Willis of Annapolis, Md., came to Los Angeles a few days ago for his sister's wedding. He had a brief problem at the airport, though, because he didn't know what she looked like. Willis, 21, and his sister Debra Vitello, 24, and brother, Robert Vitello, 22, had been adopted by different families 20 years ago in Virginia.

I would like to let you know why some of the students here at L.A. Community College are more than upset with the faculty that will be laid off, because the board of trustees doesn't see the need for some of the classes that are being held here, like human services, dental assisting, occupational therapy, optics vision. These are the ones that are hard hit. There are students in these programs who only have one year to go to get their A.A. degree, but they will not get it because the classes will be dropped.