Limb Differences- Missing or Extra Digits/Missing Limb(s): The term, Limb Differences, is used in reference to the congenital (something a person is born with) absence or malformation of limbs. Some limb differences may be acquired as the result of an injury or disease that requires amputation. The causes of congenital Limb Differences are frequently unknown.
Challenges: A child who has an acquired limb difference through surgical amputation is more likely to feel a profound and deeply personal sense of loss. The child must adjust to a different way of living. This takes emotional and physical adjustments. Just as different amputation levels place different demands on a person, the demands resulting from amputation or a congenital difference are different.
A child’s emotional reaction to limb differences may vary. Some medical literature states that children who are born with a limb difference do not feel a sense of loss. Their body is the only body they have ever known. According to this point of view, it’s rare in the early years for a child who has a congenital difference to grieve. Still, as the child grows and becomes more socially aware, there can be a sense of loss or of being physically different from those who have fully functional limbs. This can then lead to frustration (Why me?) and some of the same feelings that occur while grieving.
Treatment: Infants and very young children with a lower-limb difference can better explore their world by wearing a prosthesis, as it will help that child get to a standing position more easily. Children limb differences affecting the arms often learn to compensate very early for the missing limb. With the love and support of a family, these children go on to live active, full lives.
No Hands But Ours[1]
Links for this Special Need:
http://www.rainbowkids.com/special-needs/orthopedic-conditions/limb-differences
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AdoptingChildrenWithLimbDifferences/info
https://www.facebook.com/groups/720494697986784/
https://www.facebook.com/LuckyFinProject
https://www.facebook.com/LivingOneHanded
https://www.facebook.com/bornjustright
http://www.nolimitsfoundation.org/
http://www.empoweringamputees.org/
http://www.superhands.us/pages/heroes.html
http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/Main/
Stories or Blogs from Families who have Parented a Child with Limb Differences:
http://www.hope4thewounded.blogspot.com/
http://thewollerworld.blogspot.com/
http://babybellylaughs.blogspot.com/
http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=742
http://www.scarymommy.com/special-needs-adoption-limb-differences/
http://grtlyblesd.blogspot.com/2014/02/limb-differences-what-is-it-like-to.html
http://www.surpassinggreatness.com/
http://www.nohandsbutours.com/category/limb-difference/
http://www.adoptspecialneeds.org/family-stories/m.blog/258/tj-s-story-missing-limb
[1] http://www.nohandsbutours.com/special-needs/
