Post by Patti on Oct 16, 2005 8:47:58 GMT -5
Is your teenager with Lyme disease struggling in school?
WILTON, CT - October 13, 2005 - Have you watched with sadness and frustration as your teen's academic skills have declined since he developed Lyme disease? Does she forget the simplest assignments or seem unable to stay organized? Does he stumble over tasks he used to perform with ease?
Patrick McAuliffe, M.Ed.-a doctoral candidate at Teacher's College, is recruiting teenagers for a study on the relationship between Lyme disease and cognition. As a school psychologist in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and as a facilitator of the Wilton Lyme Disease Support Group for Teens, Mr. McAuliffe has extensive experience with emotionally fragile teens in general and Lyme disease patients in particular.
Lyme disease may have a dramatic, disruptive effect on teens trying to meet the academic and emotional challenges they encounter every day. Some students become so ill they can't attend school on a daily basis. Those who make it to class may struggle with debilitating symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and joint pain. They may also experience a sharp, sudden decline in academic achievement. Teens with Lyme may well be overwhelmed as they try to meet the intense academic and social pressures of teenage life.
Mr. McAuliffe is conducting the first research project to examine the cognitive effects of Lyme disease in adolescents. The need is great, since Lyme is a controversial disease and spreading rapidly. Estimated to affect as many as 54 % of households in some communities, Lyme disease case reports doubled from 1991 to 2000, and have since risen a dramatic 40% between 2001 and 2002. Children are at special risk, since they spend so much time outdoors in their yards or on school grounds.
Objective research with appropriate psychological instruments is vitally important in order to properly evaluate teens suffering with Lyme. If Lyme's cognitive consequences are not identified and treated, the results can be devastating, leading to school difficulty and even school failure. The social consequences can also be extremely painful.
About the study
Adolescents in high school between the ages of 13 and 18, both with and without Lyme disease, are eligible to participate. Parents will be screened by phone about their teen's medical history. If eligible, the teen will be given various psychological tests that measure cognitive functioning. Teens and parents will learn the results of the tests, which will provide helpful insights into their issues and needs. Participants will also receive a $20.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com.
About the researcher, Patrick McAuliffe, M.Ed.
Patrick McAuliffe, M.Ed. is a doctoral candidate in the school psychology program at Teacher's College, specializing in Neurosciences and Education.
In that capacity, he has trained at a hospital-based neuropsychological assessment service, a residential treatment facility for children and adolescents, a school-based health clinic, and in the public schools.
Mr. McAuliffe is currently a school psychologist in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He designed and runs an in-school therapeutic program for emotionally fragile high school students.
Before graduate school, Mr. McAuliffe worked as an evaluator with Dr. Brian Fallon of Columbia University on a pioneering study regarding neuropsychiatric Lyme disease in children and adolescents. Dr. Fallon is an advisor on Mr. McAuliffe's current research project.
For more information about Mr. McAuliffe's research study, please visit lymediseaseresearch.com/webpage or write Pmcauliffe@lymediseaseresearch.com.
Wilton Lyme Disease Support Groups
203 594 9077 kos1@earthlink.net