Behavioural problems with Becker

                                    My search for information on the Web

 

 I was asked by someone if I knew of behavioural problems in regard to children with BMD.I spent time looking things up on the internet regarding Behavioural problems with Muscular dystrophy, they tend to be in connection with Duchenne but Becker is almost identical being really a mild form of Duchenne. The links where mainly a waste of time looking up so I kept looking and I found a few things which may be interesting to look up which seem to say there will be a few cases with Becker without actually mentioning them.

Having spoken with a couple of contact I have who have a child with Becker who is has behavioural problems . One it would seem is directly attributable to BMD the other may not be but on asking my specialist most probably it may be that these problems are not related to BMD they are a problem as well as the BMD . .  

 

From the NHS Direct site

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?ArticleID=257&PrintPage=1

it says that with Duchenne muscular dystrophy complications can include learning difficulties (in about a third of cases).This does not say that third of all children with MD WHAT IT DOES SAY IS THAT IT IS THE CASE IN A THIRD OF THE CASES WHO HAVE MD WITH COMPLICATIONS.

 

From the MDA in the Australia http://www.mda.org Their equivalent of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, part of their guide to parents says

Many children are extremely frustrated by their loss of independence. Signs of this frustration may occur as disruptive behaviour, a decline in work performance or general apathy. This suggests that children may be affected emotionally by MD  and they may be expressing their frustration.

My Brother lives in Pennsylvania and there are a great many Amish in the vicinity, they live in their own comunitities apart from the secular world if at all possible.I found this article about an Amish child with MD who is disruptive in class/

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/114/5/S2/1501

 

This may give some insight into possible problems.

 

There are a number of children with Becker who are disruptive this can be down to frustration at having the condition and an emotional inability to cope with having Becker. Dystrophin is also found in the brain so it can be the cause of disruptive behaviour. I got depressed at school the old “its not fair” came out and I got frustrated at not being able to do things .I did not have problems as a child caused by Becker in this way I did fall over a lot but no behavioural problems

Try looking at www.mda.org and searching on it they are the equivalent organization in the  USA they seem to have lots and lots of information regarding Muscular Dystrophy,

I found this on their site  NOTICE IT SAYS Mehler speculates  so its just an article he wrote not proven fact but it may help

   “It turns out that there are different forms of dystrophin in the brain, and the way it’s arrayed in the brain during development is a thousand times more complicated than the way it is in muscle. That chapter is just beginning to be written,” Mehler says.

   And he’s among those writing the chapter. Emotional manifestations are part of the dystrophin deficiency in the brain, Mehler speculates

 “ Parents, he finds, are often relieved, rather than distressed, to find that their child’s cognitive or emotional problems are part of his neuromuscular disease and not something separate

To sum up you can read this information but better than this ask your specialist about it as they deal in facts. I hope this information is useful,sorry I can’t help any more than this but the more I look up the more I learn .

 

Please let me know of your experiences or further information to add to this site.

 

 

Take Care

 

Tim