European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 10, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Children ride tall the Jordan Wheatley 3-year-old son of sgt. Charles and Laura Wheatley gives his horse a hug after a Riding lesson at the coach House stables. Is Dav Didlo by Nancy . Bureau youngsters enrolled in the air Force services for exceptional children s summer Camp Don t just horse around. They do ride horses but for therapeutic reasons rather than for pleasure said capt. Debbie Cutchin an a Sec physical therapist at Raf Lakenheath Hospital England. Only youngsters with severe handicaps Are allowed to attend the three week Camp on the base and although the activities Are similar to those at purely recreational Camps every activity is designed to improve a youngster s coordination muscle tone speech or social skills. It s not just a Camp to keep them Busy Cutchin said. Three Days a week 13 Day campers Between the Ages of 3 and 10 spend their mornings either working on arts and crafts swimming or attending the coach House stables in Chippenham where they learn to ride horses British rather than american style there s a big difference in the Riding styles said Linda Porter Cohen owner of the coach House stables. A Western Saddle which is the most popular Type of _. Saddle in America has a Horn at the front. Although the Horn is not intended As something to hold onto it does offer some Security Porter Cohen said. There is nothing to grab on to a British Saddle. Western saddles also have Long stirrups which allow riders to sit Long in the Saddle with their legs extending along the sides of a horse s belly. Stirrups Are Short on. British saddles so that a rider has Bent Knees and basically is perched Only on top rather than around the horse. The British Riding posture makes balance critical for staying in the Saddle Porter Cohen said. Balance is something that Many of the children attending the Camp have difficulty with Cutchin said just sitting erect on a horse strengthens a youngster s spine and staying atop a walking or trotting horse also forces youngsters to concentrate on their coordination and balance. A Sec staff members supervise the training sessions. A staff member stands on each Side of a horse As it goes through its paces to make sure no riders Are lost along the Way. The horses Are smaller than average and extremely tame and All horses and riders Are guided around the training ring and out on the trails by a qualified Trainer. Many of the youngsters have difficulty speaking Cutchin said so they can t express in words How they feel about Riding. But their actions and faces said it All during their last Riding lesson. As soon As the Riding helmets were strapped on some of the children began pulling on the arms of a Sec staff members trying to hurry them into the training ring so that the lesson could begin. Although Many faces had serious looks at the outset Short time their determined Mouths broke into grins and then into Toothy Days it Riding can. Really Calm them youngsters Down Porter Cohen said. The stable is a member of the Rideg for the disabled association and specializes in groups such As the one from Lakenheath Porter Cohen said. As a result of the Camp especially the horseback Rideg Cutchin said some of these kids have come out of their shells so Dave senior airman Yvonne Samuel from Raf Lakenheath adjusts the helmet of Michael Buir son of tech. Sgt. John and Sharon Billiar before he sets off on a ride. A Sec services Are tied to the school year and Only youngsters with severe handicaps that require continual therapy to keep their Progress from deteriorating Over the summer Are allowed to attend the Camp Cutchin said. Lakenheath staff members work with More than too youngsters during the school year and demand is growing she said. The nine staff members include occupational and physical therapists a developmental paediatrician a child psychologist social workers and a speech language " a cancer patient shown holding a cuddly Koala May face problems that linger Long after her hair returns. By Leslie Berkman los Angeles times Hen Bryan Stone fell to the Bottom of his class in the first and second grades his parents were bewildered. The California couple refused to believe that Bryan who had conquered leukaemia lagged behind academically simply because he had earlier missed time from school while receiving chemotherapy treatment. We thought he was being Lazy and not trying said Melinda Stone Bryan s Mother. He had been a smart baby very but when a Neur psychologist evaluated Bryan last year he discovered that the boy s learning disabilities including problems concentrating and memorizing probably stemmed from the intense chemotherapy he. Had received for three years starting when he was. 1. Bryan now 11, is among an increasing number of child cancer survivors worldwide who Are the victims of an irony the radiation and chemotherapy that have saved an Ever greater number of Young lives also can produce such major Side effects As learning disabilities stymied growth weakened hearts and lungs and loss of Fertility. It is such a bittersweet thing said Kathy Ruccione a nurse and director of a program at childrens Hospital los Angeles that monitors childhood cancer survivors in search of late appearing Side effects of cancer therapy. Twenty years ago when i entered this Field we did t worry about late effects because so few survived Ruccione said. We have Given More intense chemotherapy and we know there is a Price for generally considered to cause even More harmful Side effects is radiation to the brain which is administered to some leukaemia victims to guard against the possibility that cancer May be hiding in or Migrate to the brain through the spinal fluid. Probably 30 percent to 40 percent of the children who have cranial radiation for leukaemia stand a Chance to have minor to major learning disabilities said or. Paula Kempert director of the late effects clinic at childrens Hospital of Orange county Calif. We know radiation can cause damage to brain cells she said but we Don t know specifically what cells Are pm affected and Why some children have problems and others Don the damage from radiation and chemotherapy was recognized in the 1970s. Since the 1980s, the medical Community has tried to come up with ways to decrease the toxicity of treatments Kempert said. Nevertheless experts Point out that without chemotherapy and radiation the picture would be much Grimmer. Or. Denman Hammond a paediatric hem apologist and chairman emeritus of the children s cancer group a consortium of 112 hospitals and medical schools researching new treatments for childhood cancer said that when the group was founded in 1955, the survival rate was 10 percent. Many died on the operating table and most died in a year or two. Now the survival rate is Over 60 percent and approaching 70 percent.". Radiation to the brain and certain chemotherapy agents have been found to reduce in and harm memory making it especially difficult for some cancer survivors to tackle such subjects As mathematics spelling and foreign languages said Kempert. The most severe learning disabilities Kempert said usually befall children who have received radiation therapy particularly for brain tutors when they wore under the age of 5. Lori Kaplan who works at the late effects clinic at childrens Hospital of Orange county helps children return to school after cancer therapy. It is important she said that the children be assessed for learning disabilities so they can get extra help before they fall several grades behind or grow so discouraged that they become school dropouts. She said school officials often Are unaware that problems in the classroom can be linked to brain damage caused by chemotherapy or radiation. They May think it is because the child misled school or because of the trauma of having a chronic illness she said. Often learning disabilities May not become evident until two or three years after the child has recovered from cancer As classes become More demanding Stu added. Cancer therapy can also affect the pituitary gland Bones and of organs sometimes stunting growth delaying puberty or causing sterility kempt it void. Certain cancer fighting chemicals Ako have been blamed for causing heart failure Long after their use. 18 the stars and stripes tuesday August 10, 1993 the stars and stripes 19
