Congenital Heart Diseases Congenital heart diseases are abnormalities of the heart's structure and function caused by abnormal or disordered heart development before birth. Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a broad term that can describe a...

Diabetes Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism--the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body....

Comprehensive Overview of Speech and Language Impairments Definition Speech and language disorders refer to problems in communication and related areas such as oral motor function. These delays and disorders range from simple sound...

Comprehensive Overview of Visual Impairments Definition The terms partially sighted, low vision, legally blind, and totally blind are used in the educational context to describe students with visual impairments. They are defined as follows:...

Comprehensive Overview of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by the head being hit by something or shaken violently. (The exact definition of TBI, according to special education law, is...

Allergies An allergic reaction involves two features of the human immune response. One is the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE), a type of protein called an antibody that circulates through the blood. The other is the mast cell, a specific...

What is spinal muscular atrophy? Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a group of hereditary diseases that progressively destroys motor neurons—nerve cells in the brain stem and spinal cord that control essential skeletal muscle activity such as...

Osteoporosis Osteoporosis Overview Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased susceptibility to fractures of the hip, spine,...

Paget's Disease of Bone What is Paget's disease of bone? Paget's disease is a chronic disorder that typically results in enlarged and deformed bones. The excessive breakdown and formation of bone tissue that occurs with Paget's disease can...

Table of Contents Introduction What is Cerebral Palsy? What Other Medical Disorders? What Causes Cerebral Palsy? What are the Risk Factors? What Are the Early Signs? How is Cerebral Palsy Diagnosed? How is Cerebral Palsy Managed? What Specific...