Spectrum of Possibilities 
 
 
To Spectrum of Possibilities (“SOP” for short)  My younger son Jay was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Hyper IgE (or Job’s) Syndrome at age three following years of chronic illness and a series of mysterious hospital stays. By then, a host of medical terms and procedures (as well as the ubiquitous “eighty-percent of reasonable cost”) had all come to be a part of my working vocabulary. Complicated stuff. Bad. Bad for Jay. Bad for his brother. Bad for my marriage. With appropriate treatment (antibiotics) and reasonable precaution, though, these days Jay leads a pretty normal life: is good at math, loves music, relishes a good gathering. You’d be amazed, actually, at how many primary autoimmune disorders go undiagnosed... A year and a half later, my older son Ben (now ten) was diagnosed with Multiple Complex Developmental Disorder--a “mild” pervasive developmental disorder. In the same way that a stroke can be mild. Or an economic recession. Or a level 5 hurricane... MCDD is a new term in what is still fairly new neuro-biological medicine. From a pedagogical standpoint, it is similar to Asperger’s or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-No Other Symptoms (PDD-NOS), so for Ben, there are issues with: anxiety, dyslexia, attention, sensory integration, executive function, pragmatics, speech fluency and gross and fine motor coordination. From an unbiased maternal standpoint, he is a fantastic kid: noble and honest. Just don’t ask him to work with papier mache or hold anything fragile. Pervasive developmental disorders like Asperger’s and PDD-NOS are often referred to as “spectrum disorders” because there is such a wide range of disability, need and outcomes. As it happens, Hyper IgE Syndrome possesses what is called “variable genetic penetration,” so it, too, could be said to exist as a “spectrum disorder.” For us, then, the phrase “spectrum of possibilities” is about choices, options, avenues that remain viable. It is about all that is positive within the Scylla and Charybdis of our rarified genetic soup--for my children and for me. I want others to see all this, too. And to use it, benefit from our experiences, if they can. It was initially very frightening--dealing with multiple specialists, hearing all of these diagnoses applied to my kids. Now, though, this is just our norm, who we are: one lucky family. http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic845.htmhttp://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/RsvBJob.htmlhttp://www.lifespan.org/adam/healthillustratedencyclopedia/1/001311.htmlhttp://www.info4pi.org/picampaign/print/PrintAd_Girl_English.pdfhttp://www.neurodiversity.com/msdd.htmlhttp://www.tourettesyndrome.net/sitemap.htmhttp://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aswhatisit.htmlhttp://www.dentalplans.com/Dental-Health-Articles/Asperger-Syndrome-Struggles-with-Social-Interaction.asphttp://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfmhttp://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/scylla.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9
Education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. --John Dewey Nurture an appetite for being puzzled, indeed for being openly stupid...It is true that a lot of knowledge can be a dangerous thing...use your ignorance as well as your knowledge for creative means. -- Lee C. Bollinger