Tay-Sachs Disease
Kara Schmucker
Characteristics
Physical:
● Muscle weakness
● Loss of muscle coordination
● Loss of motor skills such as turning over, sitting, and crawling.
● Startled reflex to loud noises
● Seizures, vision and hearing loss, intellectual disability, paralysis
● Speech problems
● Progressively loses the ability to move
Intellectual:
● Mental illnesses
Social:
· Loses ability to communicate effectively with others, can’t smile
Emotional:
· Adults with late Onset Tay-Sachs may experience bi-polar or psychotic problems such as hallucinations
Behavioral:
· Muscle spasms
Modifications
Environmental:
- Child may have a feeding tube
- Have someone around who knows how to deal with seizures
- Child might have a personal care provider or therapist
Curriculum:
- Can be taught as normal, but be sure to make them feel as normal as possible
Schedules/routines:
- Same schedules/routines, be aware of the feeding tube if child has one. Also be aware of any medications child is on to control muscle spasms, pain relievers, or seizure medications
- Make sure students know what to do if child has seizure, have a planned procedure for students if child has seizure so they aren't in the way
Other Information...
Not very many children live past the age of 4 with Infantile Tay- Sachs disease and therefore do not go to school. Children with Juvenile Tay- Sachs live to the age of 15 but symptoms are not quite as intense until later on. People with Late-onset Tay- Sachs disease generally live and have a normal life except for slurred speech and weakness in muscles.