Choking Prevention for People with Developmental Disabilities

Children and adults with developmental disabilities have a higher risk of choking compared to the general population.

Risk Factors Include:

Some medical conditions that increase a person’s risk of choking are:

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Seizure disorders
  • Neurological and muscular disorders
  • Down Syndrome
  • Brain Injury
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Inability to swallow certain food textures and liquids
  • Medication side effects which decrease voluntary muscles
  • Dysphasia (difficulty swallowing)

Other contributing factors include:

Eat or drink too fast

Have poor posture when eating

Swallow non-edible objects (PICA)

The following foods put people at greater risk:

  • Hotdogs served whole
  • Hard candy
  • Popcorn
  • Sandwiches
  • Broccoli
  • Raw carrots
  • Nuts

Teaching Material on Choking

Arizona Department of Economic Security

Eunice Kennedy Shriver-Dysphasia, Aspiration and Choking

Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities

New York State Choking Prevention Resources

Washington State Department of Social and Health Services

State Agencies Choking Alerts

Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Minnesota Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities 

New Jersey Health and Safety Alert Choking

Great Websites for Women and Girls With ADHD

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), boys are more likely to receive a diagnosis of ADHD due to the symptoms in girls are more subtle and typically do not fit the stereotype. Girls are more likely to daydream, fidget, chatty, overly emotional, and appear “less difficult or “less difficult” than boys.

Women with ADHD are more likely to eating disorders, obesity, low-self-esteem, depression and anxiety.The following websites provide helpful information on ADHD for women and girls.

Signs and Symptoms

  • The following sites includes information on identifying the signs and symptoms of ADHD in both women and girls.

ADHD affects women differently: What to look for, how to fix it (Health)

ADHD in girls: Symptoms, treatment and more (Healthline)

Gender differences in ADHD (Psych Central)

Common ADHD symptoms in women totally ADD ( Totally ADD)

Common symptoms of ADD and ADHD in women (Health Central)

Girls and ADHD: Are you missing the signs? (Teacher)

How ADHD is different for girls (WebMD)

It’s different for girls with ADHD (The Atlantic)

Understanding ADHD in Women (U.S. News)

Understanding the signs of ADHD in girls (Very Well)

Women and Girls– by National Resources on ADHD (CHADD)

Parenting

  • Managing a child diagnosed with ADHD can be challenging. The following articles share tips on raising a child with ADHD. Additional information includes strategies for both children and teens with ADHD.

8 secret tips for parents of children with ADHD (Empowering Parents)

8 things I wish people knew about parenting a child with ADHD (Understood)

12 rules for parenting a child with ADHD (ADDitude)

ADHD parenting tips (Help Guide)

Does your parenting style work for ADHD (Impact ADHD)

Parenting kids with ADHD: 16 tips to tackle common challenges (Psych Center)

Parenting strategies for helping kids with ADHD (MSU)

Parenting teenagers with ADHD (Healthy Children)

Your ADHD child: Easy parenting techniques (Child Development Institute)

Tips for parents with ADHD raising kids with ADHD (Parenting)

Resource Articles- Girls

  • The following links includes articles specifically on girls with ADHD including parenting a child with ADHD and unique challenges girls face.

Advice for parenting girls with ADHD (Lifescript)

Girls with ADHD face unique challenges (Smart Kids)

How girls with ADHD are different (Child Mind Institute)

Understanding girls with ADHD symptoms and strategies (Great Schools)

Resource Articles

  • Below includes a listing of resources on a variety of articles specifically for women with ADHD. Women face a number of challenges including managing and organizing the home and workplace. Additional challenges may include raising a child also diagnosed with ADHD. (ADHD is often inherited).

6 ways to manage clutter with ADHD (Health Center)

ADHD: A women’s issue (American Psychological Association)

ADHD is different for women (The Atlantic)

Adult women are the new face of ADHD (The Daily Beast)

Against the wind: How it feels to be a woman with ADHD (ADD Free Sources)

Decades of failing to recognize ADHD in girls has created a lost generation of women (Quartz)

I’m a woman with ADHD and here’s why I didn’t know until I was 28 (Bustle)

Is ADHD different for women and girls (Scientific American)

Suffering in Silence: Women with adult ADHD (Medicine. Net)

The hidden struggle for women with ADHD (Broadly)

The new ADHD debate every woman should know about (HuffPost)

“That explains everything!” Discovering my ADHD in Adulthood (ADDitude)

This is how ADHD impacts women and why support communities (Mind)

What it’s like to have ADHD as a grown woman (The Cut)

Websites

  • There are a number of websites that are geared towards women with ADHD. I like the websites described below. These sites are written by women with ADHD which includes personal stories and helpful information.

ADHD Roller Coaster– Author, Gena Pera’s website provides news and essays on adult ADHD

Kaleidoscope Society– A website for and by women with ADHD

Smart Girls with ADHD– A website written by women with ADHD includes resources and personal stories.

Testing

  • The following sites includes a checklist and testing if you believe you have diagnose of ADHD.

A symptom checklist for ADHD in Women

The ADHD test for girls

The ultimate ADHD test for teen girls

July Special Needs Article Links

Welcome to the July article links. These are articles that I tweeted and or received from viewers during the month of July on special needs and developmental disability topics. A special thank you to Kathleen Carter for the additional special needs links!

5 things I would advise myself post autism diagnosis (HuffPost)

10 great autism books for autistic kids (New Horizon Professional ABA Services)

11 insightful tips for parents of ASD adults for getting the most out of vocational service providers (Think Inclusive)

17 things to love about ADHD (ADDitude)

ADHD and addiction- What is the risk (Discovery Place)

Creating the optimal living environment for a child with ADHD (Home Advisor)

How to create an autism friendly environment for kids (Redfin)

How to discuss puberty with your child who has special needs (Friendship Circle)

Make this summer safer with safety and wandering prevention resources (Autism Speaks)

My son made me a better teacher (ADDitude)

Parenting tips for ADHD: Do’s and don’t (Healthline)

Parents encourage early therapy for kids with cerebral palsy (Fox17)

Party planning and sensory processing disorder (Sensory Spectrum)

Secrets of your ADHD brain (ADDitude)

Seizures and seizure dogs (Epilepsy Foundation)

Strategies to triumphantly improve your autistic student’s peer interaction (Think Inclusive)

Teacher shortage leaves special education classrooms with inexperienced, first-time educators (Bakersfield.com)

Teens with ADHD: Recognizing signs of depression (Health Central)

The importance of self-esteem for kids with learning and attention issues (Understood)

The price of special education as autism rates surge (Bakerfield.com)

Understanding dyslexia (Child Mind Institute)