It seems that for quite a long time no one thought that there could be
behavioural problems associated with Hydrocephalus but then a rather switched on
lady (to whom we must all be eternally grateful) realized that she was being
asked the same questions by a lot of parents.
You know, the kind of questions that start "can Hydrocephalus cause a child
to - - - " and "does anyone else's child - - -". the initial
answer to questions like these was "no, Hydrocephalus does not affect that" but
this lady started to wonder and looked into it. Now it is believed
that Hydrocephalus can and does affect behaviour.
We now know that Ryan is not the only child who seems to have little interest
in eating. He does not seem to feel hunger, neither do a lot of
Hydrocephalics. There are a variety of "eating problems" and
basically everyone seems to agree that it's best not to make an issue of it, so
what, if your child will only eat baked beans. Don't let him or her
know that it worries you (easier said than done we know) but it does help if you
try to relax about it -
honest.
Ryans reaction to pain can appear to be delayed and sometimes non existant.
This also seems to be quite common in Hydrocephalics.
If there are any problems you've come across please let us know.
Possibly someone else has had the same problem and would be willing to compare
notes. If you've also found a way to solve (or get around) it then
that could be very helpful to others. Above all it seems do
not just accept what doctors and "experts" tell you. At our last
appointment with the main pediatrician in charge of Ryans case (we see loads of
specialist but this lady was in overall charge) she said that Ryan was
doing far more than it was expected he would ever be able to do. So
remember that and don't accept defeat. YOUR child will possibly do
more than expected as well - who knows what each child is capable of given the
chance? I have been known to look at Ryan and say "he's not doing
bad for a vegetable, is he" That may sound harsh and nasty but if we
had listened to and believed everything we had been told by the "experts"
that is just about all we would have expected of him.