Ahmad is now four years of age, and he has met every developmental milestone and then some. Khalid and Sasha are thrilled to be with one another and with Ahmad whenever they are able to be. Ahmad has been attending a local Montessori school since he was 2 1/2, and he has been thriving in that environment. More incredibly, Ahmad signs with ease, and he speaks Arabic and English.
Ahmad has friends at his Montessori school that he gets along with well. His parents decided to sign him up for soccer with the local health club, something that he seemed to enjoy at his young age. It was a hot summer, and the Saturday mornings out on the tennis-court-converted-to-soccer-field were often long. Ahmad loved it, though, and the Fall came quickly that year. It was in September during a bath that Sasha noticed the large, bullseye-like mark on Ahmad's leg. She had never seen such a thing before and called Khalid in to take a look. Khalid had never seen anything like it, and the two decided to take Ahmad to the pediatrician the next day.
Ahmad was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Khalid and Sasha made it a point to check Ahmad for ticks throughout the summer, but they missed the tick that infected Ahmad. Deeply concerned, they were somewhat comforted by the pediatrician who told them that Ahmad should be fine after treatment with antibiotics. Ahmad was strong all the way through the blood test and into the time that he had to take the antibiotic. He experienced some flu-like symptoms during the time he was taken the medication, but those went away after several days. Khalid and Sasha thought that everything was OK, and they went back to their busy Fall schedule.
It was around November that Ahmad began to act differently than he had before. They couldn't put their finger quite on it, but he seemed more irritable than he had in the past. He started complaining about pain in what they thought were his muscles, and they weren't sure what was happening with him. They also noticed that his Arabic wasn't as fluent as it had been, and he seemed to struggle to remember words that he had formerly used for some time. They began to worry and wondered what to do next.
* What are the possible effects of Lyme disease if treatment has been inadequate?
* What kind of testing might be appropriate for Ahmad at this point to rule out any cognitive deficits?
In addition to the questions above, please also answer the following questions posed to you by the other groups (not all questions are included from all groups) :::
From the Lisa Yoo group :::
1) Ahmad has been able to master three languages before some children
can even master one. What does advanced language development predict for
Ahmad’s later cognitive development? Find research that ties early
language abilities to maturing cognitive growth.
From the Thomas Mahoney group :::
1) Has the Khalid’s hearing impairment affected his relationship with
his son in any way? Does Admad understand why he was being taught sign?
From the Wendy Marianna group :::
1) Do you think Ahmad’s use of three different languages will make
it difficult for him to communicate effectively with his peers once he
is old enough to attend school? Do you think his attachment style to his
parents will make it difficult to use anything but Arabic and sign
language when communicating outside of the family? Why or why not?
2) Ahmad’s parents had heated discussions about which religion should the family practice while raising children. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages to be raised in a multiple religion household? Should Ahmad’s parents wait until he is old enough to decide which religion to practice? Why or why not?
2) Ahmad’s parents had heated discussions about which religion should the family practice while raising children. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages to be raised in a multiple religion household? Should Ahmad’s parents wait until he is old enough to decide which religion to practice? Why or why not?
