Learning Tools & Ideas #1

Agenesis Corpus Callosum
Parent Teaching Tip:

Parent of 2 1/2-year-old child with ACC, says:

"I saw your email in the ACC listserv and wanted to add something that has helped my daughter. One thing that has helped her learn her letters is the Leap Frog Refrigerator Magnets."

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set (uppercase)

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set (lowercase)

Note: there are a few older versions of this LeapFrog toy that look different

"I got it for her 2nd birthday and her speech person told me it wouldn't help her at all. But she loves the music and whenever I am in the kitchen cooking dinner she would play with it. She is just about 2 1/2 and now knows a lot of her letters and even goes in the kitchen, takes a letter off the fridge and brings it to me in another room and tells me the letter and what sounds it makes."

I asked the parent if her daughter uses it with uppercase or lowercase letters.

Parent's reply:

"We are using it with the uppercase letters."

Parent also said:

"Another thing that has helped her (I forgot until you mentioned the lowercase letters) is the Rock 'N Learn: Letter Sounds DVD. (We only focus on the beginning part with the letter sounds. The later part of the DVD goes into sentences and things that are a little advanced for her right now). It has both upper and lower case letters and says the letter, the sound and a word that begins with that letter with a picture. It also shows a mouth of a person saying the letter and sound."

click picture to enlarge

Read more about the DVD:
http://www.rocknlearn.com/html/letter_sounds.htm

Surprisingly, I recognize and am very familiar with both of
these learning tools, mentioned by the parent. I have owned
both of these learning tools for several years and use them
with my own child, Matthew, who has complete Agenesis of
the Corpus Callosum.

My child LOVES watching the part in the video where the
person's mouth/lips move to say the letter, make the sound
of the letter and say the word of the object that begins
with that letter! This DVD has a lot of music and singing
in it, a big plus!

The LeapFrog Fridge Phonics toy also helps encourage fine motor skills, requiring a child to manipulate the letter, turn it to the correct position to put it in the toy, then take it back out.

We own the older version of the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics toy below.

Note: Please be aware that the magnetic alphabet letters are not interchangable between the old and new versions.

Put the letter "A" in...
Push the "A"...
And you hear it say and sing (in a kid voice) with music...
♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

"A"
A says "A"
A says "ah"
Every letter makes a sound
A says "A" and "ah"

And when you push the musical note, you hear the "ABC's" song (in a kid voice).

Lastly, the parent adds this info regarding Sensory Input:

"Some sensory related things that have helped her lately are the swing and the pool (which I found out just kind of by chance since it is summertime and we are outside doing those activities a lot more now)."

"Her speech has improved greatly just recently and it seems to be a lot better when she is on the swing or in the pool. Her OT and PT say it is all sensory related. The swing is because of the motion and how it relates to her vestibular system and the pool because of the added pressure the water has on her body."

OT = Occupational Therapist    PT = Physical Therapist

Thank you to the parent of a 2 1/2 year old child with ACC for all of your very informative input and ideas!

Have a learning tool that YOU want to share on the ACC blog?

Tell me all about it here. I'd love to hear from you and so
would a lot of other people, too, who will be able to
see and read all about the learning tools and ideas
that you use with your child who has Agenesis of the
Corpus Callosum.

It is my hope that this section will become a collection
of multiple learning tools (for families to browse, see and
read about) to find a variety of new and inspiring ideas to
help their young child, teenager or grown child in many
different areas--from academics, to fine motor/large motor
skills, to sensory issues, to potty training--and anything
else that comes to mind.


Note: this new topic was inspired by Amanda, the mom of a child with ACC, at Blogging for Beau, where she shares some excellent ideas and fun "Learning Tools".

ACC and the Heart ♥ medical awareness

Does your child have Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum?

Do you have a loved one or family member with ACC?

This is a serious and very important message regarding
the heart!

20% of kids who have ACC have heart problems.

That means:

1 out of every 5 kids with ACC has a heart condition.

Read what Dr. Elliott Sherr, an expert on ACC, says:

"Almost 1/4 of the kids had heart problems. Now these are not innocent murmurs that then go away. These are actually kids who have real heart disease.

So my recommendation on any child with ACC is that they get a comprehensive heart evaluation."

Who is Dr. Sherr?

Dr. Elliott Sherr is a Pediatric Neurologist at
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Sherr is highly knowledgeable and an expert on Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. He sees many patients, children, who have ACC and Dr. Sherr is highly respected and well-liked by parents. Dr. Sherr is on the Board of the National
Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum (NODCC) and he speaks at the annual Conferences.

A few of the congenital heart conditions seen with ACC are:

Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)
Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD)
Coarctation of the Aorta
Tetralogy of Fallot
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)

The fact that 20% of kids with ACC have a heart
condition is not limited to just babies or very young
children with ACC. It can affect older kids with ACC, too.

See for yourself. I came across the parent of a teenage child
with partial ACC who shares a very eye-opening story about
her daughter's heart.

Jody, parent of 15-year-old child, said:

"My 15 year old daughter, Jurie, has Partial Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (P-ACC) with dilated lateral ventricles of the occipital and temproal horns. Due to the dilated lateral ventricles, she has hydrocephalus which fills the ventricles. She doesn't need a shunt because there is no extra pressure from the fluid. She has a lot of sensory issues with this condition, as well as, dyspraxia symptoms. I homeschool her because she had difficulty learning in a classroom full of kids.

I have four children, and Jurie is the onlly one on mine who has P-ACC. The doctor, however, ordered the genetic testing, and Jurie's was not genetic. Jurie was also born with an Atrial Septal Defect, which is a hole in the heart. We jjust found out that she had the hole less than two months ago [at 15 years of age] because no doctor had ever heard the heart murmur. This was because the hole was rather large, 19 mm, and the blood flow was large through the hole. She had the hole repaired on April 15 using a heart catheterization. She has strabismus/crossing of the eye and moderate scoliosis, also. She suffered from migraines for years, but by fixing the heart this has taken care of the migraines."

Jody's child was not diagnosed with partial ACC until she was 14 years old.

When a person is diagnosed with Agenesis of the Corpus
Callosum, they are at risk for having midline defects.
One of those possible midline defects includes the heart.

A person who has ACC (a congenital birth defect) is at
risk to possibly have a congenital heart defect.
Congenital means they are born with it.

My own child, Matthew, who is 17 years of age, who has
complete ACC, was sent to a Pediatric Cardiologist when
he was an infant, after he was diagnosed with ACC.

He had a comprehensive examination and he also had tests
done when he was a baby, which ruled out a heart defect.

Possible tests might include:

echocardiogram

electrocardiogram (EKG)

The medical tests (for my child) were done right in the
doctor's office and I received the results of the tests
immediately.

If my child, Matthew, had not been seen by a Pediatric
Cardiologist and had not been tested when he was a baby
to rule out a heart defect, I would definitely schedule
an appointment for my child now to have a comprehensive
heart evaluation by a Pediatric Cardiologist, even at
his age of 17 years old.

Please be aware that there are some congenital heart
defects (present at birth) that may remain unrecognized
until adulthood.

As a parent, myself, of a child with ACC, this is a message
from my ♥ heart to each one of you reading this who have a
child, a family member or a loved one who has Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum.

Please be advised the National Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum (NODCC) website states:

"Twenty percent (20%) of patients with DCC have cardiac anomalies and therefore all DCC patients should have a careful cardiac evaluation."

DCC=Disorder of the Corpus Callosum

Note: Dr. Sherr's quote about ACC and heart defects is found at Dr. Sherr Talks about ACC

Click on "comments" below and read what others are saying:

NODCC Regional Gathering - IA, MN & WI, Join the fun

I was recently contacted by Amanda Weichers, the mother
of 3 1/2 year old Beau. Her son, Beau, has partial
Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum and Epilepsy.

Amanda is a volunteer for the National Organization
for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum (NODCC) and she agreed
to put together a USA regional family gathering. Amanda is
specifically in charge of the states of:

Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The upcoming regional gathering will take place on:

Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (noon)

AT:

Radisson Hotel by Mall of America/Water Park of America
in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Note: Water Park of America is located right in the hotel

Amanda says:

August will be here soon and I can't wait for our Midwest area
to get together in Minneapolis for our NODCC regional gathering.
I have organized this event in the hopes that families (affected
by a disorder of the corpus callosum) from Iowa, Minnesota,
Wisconsin and any other surrounding states might attend and find
comfort in meeting others that "understand".

I was certainly hoping that more might step forward and be able
to attend, but as of right now there are only 3 other families
besides ours that are coming. Some is always better than none,
so I am grateful for those that are able to attend.

It will be an awesome day with a great meal, great
opportunities to talk and then fun at the indoor water park.

We plan to follow it up the next day with a trip to the
Como Park Zoo in Minneapolis.

It will be a nice little vacation for our family from Iowa and
we'll be able to make some new friends as a result.

If anyone else is interested in attending, please contact me for
details. The more the merrier.

Amanda also states:

"Because some states around us don't have a volunteer,
I've been contacted by some in South Dakota and Nebraska
and I've told them they are more than welcome to join us."

Please contact Amanda Weichers for complete details.

Amanda@campfirestoriestv.com




Visit Amanda's new blog about her son, Beau.

Fireworks - a dazzling 'sign language' discovery

Yesterday evening, the 4th of July, we were
strolling through our neighborhood with our child,
Matthew, who was riding his bike - 3-wheel trike.
It was nearing dusk and excited kids were outside
with their sparklers and other fireworks.

We could hear the beginning pops, booms and
thunderous noises of fireworks during our walk.

At one point, while Matthew was riding his trike next
to us, I noticed that he made his right hand into a
fist (thumb sticking out) and raised his fist
straight up by his face (holding it tightly and
shaking his fist slightly). I haven't ever seen
him do that before and thought it was unusual.
But he stopped and went back to riding his bike.

Several more times, Matthew's raised shaking fist
went up in the air by his face. I got a little
concerned and wondered why.

Then all of a sudden it hit me that Matthew had made up
a sign for fireworks!!!

His raised shaking fist corresponded with each time
he would hear the noises of fireworks.

Matthew has Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum and
he is non-verbal. With the exception of a handful
of words, he communicates through a Dynavox V
communication device and through some sign language,
too.

BIG, beautiful fireworks were going off up in the sky
(a few streets away from us) that caught Matthew's
attention (and our's, too). They were spectacular!
Matthew was enthralled!

Between the few big booms of exploding colorful sparkles
against a darkened sky and the two groups of kids on our
street (to our left and right), busily putting on their
own show, we were right in the middle of a fireworks display
that we weren't even expecting.

As we headed home, I went straight to the computer
to look up the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for
"fireworks" because I didn't know the real sign for it.

Although I loved that he created his own made-up sign.

I wanted to know the real sign and I want him to know it, too.



My search for how to sign the word "fireworks" led me to
an awesome baby sign language website with free video
demonstrations that I want to share with you.

Check it out:

My Smart Hands-Baby Sign Language Dictionary

The Main website is My Smart Hands



They also offer My Smart Hands baby sign language dictionary app with over 300 signs as well as a few other apps available for your iPhone, iPod or iPad, for purchase at itunes.

You can also explore previous ACC blog posts regarding
other sign language resources:

Sign Language: My First Signs

Learn Sign Language - Baby See 'N Sign

Sign Language - Signing Time

Meet Kelley - An Adult with ACC

photo taken by Kelley on recent camping trip on a hike up Table Rock Mountain in South Carolina



"Hi, I’m Kelley and I currently live in North Carolina.
I was encouraged by Sandie to share my story, although
I don’t know how informative it will be for those looking
for ways to help their struggling ACC kids.

I first found out I had Complete ACC and a small Chiari I
malformation eleven years ago at the age of 35, after an
MRI was done because I was having tingling in my hands
and feet. The tingling was apparently partly due to the
nerve compression that can come with Chiari and was
successfully resolved with bodywork such as myofascial
release. I was deemed asymptomatic by my neurologist in
regards to the ACC.

I have been on a medication to treat a mild seizure disorder
since the age of 17. It was not until the diagnosis of C-ACC
that the likely reason for the seizures was determined. The
ACC probably also explains why I am left handed (at least
according to one doctor I’ve talked to).

I had no developmental delays as a kid. I attended
mainstream classes throughout school. In addition, I
took some classes geared to gifted and talented students
during high school. I got As and Bs in all of my classes
except math, where I got Bs and Cs. I also struggled with
the math-heavy science of physics. When it came to math,
I could learn and understand the lessons, but would not
necessarily retain the knowledge three months later. The
classes I loved most were English, history, science, and
foreign languages. I liked math and physical education
the least. As far as extracurricular activities, I played
clarinet for three years and was a member of the yearbook
committee and school astronomy club for a few years.

I went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a
Master’s Degree in Library Science by the time I was 25.
I have been working in various corporate and academic
libraries ever since. I own a home, drive a stick shift
car, ride a bike, and recently completed training for and
running my first half marathon (13.1 miles).

I was a bookworm and a teacher’s pet through most of K-12.
I was very shy and easy to tease due to my curly hair and
my love of learning. This caused me to prefer the company
of adults from an early age. The serious-minded social
world of adults just made more sense! I am also the
child of a divorce and I think that impacted my early
self confidence around others. But I always had a few
very close friends in school. And I never had trouble
reading social cues. I’m sure there were plenty of times
when overall I felt excluded, different, and lonely.
But I learned to cope with the friends I had and make up
for anything missing by immersing myself in schoolwork
and reading.

I read a lot while growing up. I remember taking a
standardized test in 6th grade that measured reading
and math competency. I don’t remember what my math
score was, but I tested at a 12th grade reading level.
While I may not have had as many friends or social
outings as I’d have liked in grades 7-12, the worlds
of JRR Tolkien, Charles Dickens, James Michener, and
many others, kept me pretty satisfied.

I was an only child until the age of 11. I sometimes
wonder if I would have been a little more adept socially
if I’d had an older sibling to learn from. Most of the
other kids at school seemed so immature that I reached a
point as a preteen where I just didn't bother to try to
associate much with them!

The three very good friends I had in junior high and high
school are people I still have some contact with today.
And I also keep in touch regularly with my two closest
friends from college.

For any ACCer or the parent of one who has challenges
with social skills, my best advice is just to observe
and practice those skills until they become easier. As
I stated earlier, I was shy and introverted growing up.
I didn't always know what to say to people. But I had
the good fortune to date a very extroverted man for
several years in my 20s. He would turn to strangers
sitting in the next booth at a restaurant and ask them
what they thought of some current, newsworthy event.
I watched him have many fascinating conversations and
make new friends and acquaintances using this technique.
I asked him how he had the courage to be so open, because
sometimes the stranger(s) he addressed would just give
him a rude look and turn away. He said he never took
these rebuffs personally and always looked forward to
what the next new conversation might bring. I more or
less picked up this same attitude and now really do
enjoy interacting with strangers. But I still consider
myself an introvert, because to recharge my mental energy
I need to spend quality time alone.

I am not married and have no children, but I have had
half a dozen healthy, long-term relationships. I have
been dating a wonderful man for a year now and am very
happy. While I currently live 2,000 miles away from my
parents and extended family, I keep in good touch with
them through regular phone calls and visits home a few
times each year.

My ACC has not been a defining element of who I view
myself to be. I am a little clumsy in that I brush into
walls sometimes while rounding corners or stumble over
my own feet. But I accept the bruises that occur. I
have a relatively serious and rational outlook on life
which gets me impatient when I'm hanging around anyone
whose only interest is joking around. (Don't get me
wrong - I love and cherish humor, especially British
comedy!) I have a poor sense of direction. But patience,
maps, asking for directions, and/or using a GPS unit
always eventually get me where I want to go. Excessive
multitasking mentally wears me out, but I make do. Are
any of these traits related to my ACC? Maybe. Maybe not.
I am not convinced that they are because plenty of people
with ‘complete’ brains have similar issues.

I met a few other adults with ACC issues at a conference
a few years ago. The one trait that I seemed to share
most with them was a tendency to ramble while having a
conversation. My conversation style is not succinct,
but rather very stream of consciousness oriented. I
can tend to verbalize tangential information that is
not of immediate relevance to the topic at hand, so it
may take me a while to get to a point! This trait
sometimes gets my family, friends, and boyfriend
frustrated. But for the most part they have learned
to adjust to it. But is this characteristic attributable
to ACC? Again, I do not know for sure. Before meeting
the others with ACC, I thought I communicated that way
due to all of the long-winded 900 page Victorian novels
I read when I was young!

My passions include reading, hiking, travel, and being
a lifelong learner. It is important to grow personally
and professionally throughout life and I endeavor to do
that!

I hope my story will at least demonstrate to people that
ACC comes in many shapes and sizes. I do not know why I
have no obvious deficits. One ACC researcher I talked to
at a conference asked me about my family background.
After I filled him in, he determined that my high
functionality was due in part to being raised in an
environment with a lot of intellectual activity and
stimulation. Yes, all of that was encouraged in my
family, but I know that there are additional pieces
to the puzzle that may never be clear."


I am thrilled that Kelley contacted me because her
story IS very interesting, worthwhile and helpful.

Many parents who have a child with ACC are told by the
doctors (myself included) that there are people out there
leading 'normal' lives who are not affected by ACC - who
may not know they are missing their corpus callosum.

As parents we hear about this possibility but seldom are
able to see it backed up with the reality. However,
thanks to Kelley...she has made this truth very real.

I am grateful to Kelley for contributing her personal
ACC story and making it available here on the ACC blog
for others to read. Thank you very much, Kelley, for
taking the time to touch the lives of other people.

If you want to leave a comment for Kelley I am
sure she would appreciate hearing from you.

If you are an adult who has ACC or a corpus callosum
disorder, do you want to share your story?

Each person is unique. Every story is welcome and
every story is worthy.

I would love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail

Considerations For Educators of Students With ACC

“Considerations For Educators of Students With ACC”:

Mr. McCallum wrote this document. He is a teacher
who taught a child with Agenesis of the Corpus
Callosum in his classroom. He offers detailed and
valuable information.

If you would like to receive a copy of
“Considerations For Educators of Students With ACC”
sent to your e-mail please send me an E-Mail request.

In your e-mail it is helpful to know if you are
a parent or a teacher requesting the information.

Meet Abbie - An Adult with ACC

Abbie and her dog, Scout.


Abbie's Story:


When did you find out that you have partial ACC? How old?

"I think I was probably told about it when my parents found out,
which was through an MRI when I was about 2. The doctors were
actually looking for something more life threatening when they
found it, so they didn't take much notice or act on it. I didn't
really start to feel any different from others or notice until
I was about 8 or 9. I was also diagnosed with congenital
panhypopituitarism and absence of pituitary gland."


What did you struggle with in school?

"Being a shy one and not looked up to or noticed much by other
students, not knowing what to say when other girls did talk to
me did not help this. The fact that the teachers and students
thought I looked fine and coped so well, so they didn’t always
believe I needed extra help and understanding."


What did you enjoy most and do well at in school?

"I was always very organized, otherwise I was not able to keep
up and got anxious and stressed. I was always waiting for a big
load to come that I would struggle to keep up with, but it never
did because I worked really hard, maybe a little too hard and
managed to keep up more then some of the other students. And I
completed my VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education), which I
did’nt think I would be able to do many time during my years at
school, because it was hard."

VCE is the certificate awarded to secondary students who complete
high school studies Year 11 and 12 or equivalent in Victoria, Australia.


Did you struggle with social skills in school?

"In primary school I don’t remember struggling much. Since I moved
to the city from a small community and started high school, I have
never had the same kind of friendship/s I had in primary school. I
feel anxious and awkward all the time when having to talk to people,
I sit for a long time without saying anything because I can’t think
of what to say to match the situation, I get exhausted after spending
time with any friends. I have a couple of anallergies that may help
people with a DCC out there.

1. Socialising for me is like standing on the side of a wide,
busy road with cars going both ways. You have to get across the road
with no traffic lights, then when you finally get to the other side,
you have to turn around and cross back over the road again. Do this
over and over a few times and you will discover it is physically and
mentally exhausting. This is what socializing feels like for me.

2. When you feel exhausted from being with people and socializing,
or crossing the busy road over and over again, your body and your
brain becomes like a torch with a flat battery. It still has a
little light left and can put on an act and work a little bit,
but eventually the light goes out and it can’t work any more.
An ACCer’s or DCCer’s brain cannot work as fast and as long as
a person with normal brain connection, because they have to work
twice as hard to keep up with everything, therefore, we get tired
quicker and things become harder then they may really be.
Depending on how much work my torch has had to do is how much
I can put into socializing and how how normal I can act. More
often then not, this is not very much. I hope this makes sense
to people, it was a bit hard to explain."


Did you make friends easily in school?

"Not at high school. I had a couple of friends but talking and doing
things together was always very awkward and hard to organize. Our
families and upbringings were very different and I had nothing in
common with them. I never had the courage or the no how to mix
with others and make other friends, so I stayed with the 2 I had
and in the end did not continue contact with them. I am still on
the search for how to make friends and who to make friends with,
but in 7 years, now at Uni in adult education, I still feel I am
not getting anywhere. I have a couple of friends who I hang out
with one at a time, but am not really connecting with them and
often don’t enjoy spending time with them because it is too
awkward. They also have their own issues with how to socialize."


Do you still struggle today with social skills as an adult?

"Yes. I am not really sure what else I can say without repeating
myself. I could go on forever but it might get confusing, because
I am confused about the whole issue myself."


Did you attend a mainstream classroom?

Yes. All my schooling was mainstream. I repeated my last year of
primary school (grade.6) because I wasn’t ready emotionally to go
into high school yet."


Did you receive Special Ed resource help?

"I did receive some extra assistance in primary school when I got to
grade 5 or 6 and still could’nt tell the time or count money. I had a
modified subject load in the last 2 years of high school, was in
classes where the teacher gave extra assistance, had extra free
study periods where I went to receive one on one help from special
needs teachers and was granted one on one tutoring during my last
year of secondary school for exams and big loads of work. When I
was away from school I received a modified load of work to catch
up on when I returned and restrictions on how much time I was to
spend, otherwise I never stopped working."


Can you ride a bike and drive a car?

"I have a bike I bought 6 years ago but have only ridden about twice
because I can’t navigate small spaces and people. I do not and
probably will not drive"
.

Did you attend college? Did you get a degree?

"I have just started my first proper course of study of certificate IV
Liberal Arts, after finishing year 12 in 2009, I needed a brake year to
fill in some gaps to find some interests, socialize a bit more and
improve my life skills. I did a certificate I course of transitioning
from high school to other options in life, and am choosing to continue
my study for as long as I can."


What specific life skills are challenging for you?

The basic every day life skills I am working to improve are simple
things like getting anywhere on my own on public transport, as I
won't be able to drive for a while yet, if ever. I am aiming to
eventually use public transport as if it were my car (though it
will always takes a lot longer then driving) I also need to improve
my verbal communication skills- being myself and not being affraid
of my difficulties, being less awkward when talking to people and
the biggest thing of all, taking things as they come in a conversation
and not worrying so much about what I can say next. I am also on
the search for an interest and something I can do for enjoyement,
because everything I am doing at the moment is things I HAVE to do
like studying, appointments and jobs at home. I need something else
to do with my time that is regular and fun."


Do you have a job and if so what do you do?

"No job. Focusing on study."

Are you married? Single?

"Single. Never been in a relationship. Would like a close guy friend to
hang out with and be comfortable with talking to, but not ready for
anything more."


Do you have children?

"No"

How does ACC affect you today as an adult?

"Socially, stressing too much about things most people don’t worry
about, feeling nieve for my age, feeling too dependant on others,
being behind in life experiences. Not being a relaxed person."


What do you enjoy doing the most in life?

"Watching movies. Watching a movie screen, though not good to do
too much is good. It takes away tension when being with someone
else because you don’t have to talk. It is relaxing and fun. It
means you don’t have to think about anything for a couple of hours."


What are you passionate about?

"Finding a friend or a group of friends I can keep who I want to be
with. Finding something am interested in and enjoy doing that I can
stick to and be productive with."


Abbie, P-ACC, 20 years old, Australia.


It is an absolute privilege to be able to include Abbie's story
here for you to read.

Thank you very much, Abbie. It was a pleasure to exchange
e-mails with you and get to know you a little better. I
appreciate your openness, your honesty, the way you let me
know your thoughts and how you expressed yourself. I
enjoyed communicating with you.

It is my hope for you, Abbie, that you will see all of the
beautiful things about yourself and your abilities because
you are an amazing person who has already accomplished big
goals.

Be your very own sweet, unique self and believe in all of
the possibilities. I know and believe with all my heart
that you WILL discover an interest that you are passionate
about and it will be soothing, relaxing and lots of fun.

If you want to leave a comment for Abbie I am
sure she would appreciate it.


If you are an adult who has ACC or a corpus callosum
disorder, do you want to share your story?

I would love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail