节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-07-16
难易度:Medium
关键字:syndrome, physical, relieve, grief, chromosome, disability, genetic
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
Earlier this month we featured an ORGANIZATION called Taiwan Sunshine,
which exists for the purpose of making life brighter for families with special
needs children.
Well, in today's lesson, we're going to talk with one of Taiwan Sunshine's staff
members Uwe Maurer,
who'll share with us some of the challenges he and his family face as they raise
their special needs daughter Matthea.
So let's open our magazines now to page 32 and begin this special interview with
Uwe Maurer.
(Music).
Caring for a Child With Special Needs.
Turning challenges into hope and opportunity.
Tell us about your daughter's special needs.
Matthea has a condition called cri-du-chat syndrome.
Basically, part of her fifth chromosome is missing, so she has physical and
mental disabilities.
For example, she is 8 but just learned how to eat last year and only learned to
walk two or three years ago.
Right now we are working on teaching her how to speak.
Did you know she would have special needs before she was born?
No. We didn't find out until she was about 10 months old.
During her first winter, she was very sick.
Then in April, she had to be taken to the U.S.
(Music).
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
And my name is Ryan.
And every once in a while in Studio Classroom, we'd like to figure out, or
discover, other people's LIFE EXPERIENCES.
That's right.
Today we get to interview and talk with a family who have a very special child.
That's right.
And we're going to learn about what they tell us about what it's like to care
for a child with special needs.
First, Kaylah, I want to learn about caring.
What does it mean if you care for a child?
When you care for a child, that means you are looking after them, taking care of
what they need.
OK. So that phrasal verb there, to care for, means to take care of someone.
And here it's a child with special needs.
And that phrase "special needs" simply means that, well, they are... they have
some development challenges in their life.
And so maybe they have a couple areas where they are not as developed as other
children.
That's right.
They would need you to help take very special care of them.
Now Ryan, do you have any experience working with children with special needs?
Actually, I do.
I studied in university - after I graduated - for my master's to learn how to
teach children with special needs or with disabilities.
That phrase means the same thing - children with disabilities.
That's right.
They need extra care.
They need very special attention.
And you studied that.
That takes a lot of patience and a lot of learning to know exactly how these
kids need our help.
Well, thanks. Yeah, it's... it's a very interesting feel.
And now I'm glad to say that I know a lot about it.
Well, that's great.
Hopefully today you can add to our article some.
Well, we're turning challenges into hope and opportunity this month because a
lot of times,
people think of a special needs child is just a challenge and a difficult
situation.
But there is great hope and incredible opportunities when you have a child with
special needs.
And that is absolutely true.
People might think it's a challenge because it takes more work, and it does.
Children with special needs require greater care.
But there's so much you can learn from them.
OK. This month's Studio Classroom talks to Uwe Maurer about caring for a child
with special needs.
Now Maurer currently works with Taiwan Sunshine, an organization that helps
families that have children with special needs.
He lives in Taipei with his... wife MaDonna, his son Markus and daughters
Matthea and Megan.
OK. So now we're having an interview with them.
And so Studio Classroom asks the first question.
We... we ask: Tell us about your daughter's special needs.
Well, his daughter with special needs is Matthea.
Now Matthea has a condition called cri-du-chat syndrome.
Now Ryan, that does not look like "cri-du-chat." Why do we say it that way?
Well, "cri-du-chat" is actually a French term.
And that actually is... it means a disease that a child can have.
And the reason... it actually in French means to cry like a cat.
Now it's called that because when the baby cries, or baby with this syndrome
cries, they sound like a cat meowing.
Now what is a syndrome?
OK. A "syndrome" is a combination of problems that show that you have a disease
or an illness.
That's right.
Now basically... he's going to explain to us what this means.
He says basically, part of her fifth chromosome is missing, so she has physical
and mental disabilities.
Now your "chromosomes" are part of your structure of your DNA.
So part of hers is not there.
Right. Your chromosomes help decide, well, what your body looks like.
And so here, though, if a chromosome is missing, that would definitely be a
disability.
That's right.
Now it can cause physical and mental disabilities.
"Physical" meaning the part of your body.
So she has probably difficulties with certain parts of the way she's growing and
the way her body moves.
Right. And a "disability" here is the same thing as having special needs.
That means it is an illness that makes it so you cannot do the same things that
most people are able to do.
Well, let's see how that affects Matthea.
For example, she is 8 but just learned how to eat last year and only learned to
walk two or three years ago.
Usually children start walking when they're... in their... about between one and
two is when they start walking.
But she only learned just a couple of years ago.
Right. So this isn't common for children with disabilities.
But now right now Matthea, they are working on teaching her how to speak.
So she's eight years old and just now learning to speak.
Well, our next question from Studio Classroom is:
Did you know she would have special needs before she was born?
That's a common question.
And they said: No. We didn't find out until she was about 10 months old.
And during her first winter, she was very sick.
It said: Then in April, she had to be taken to the U.S.
So they were living overseas, and they had to take her back.
And we're going to find out what they learned and how they're taking care of
Matthea's special needs after we take a minute to watch some of their interview.
Hello, students.
Today Studio Classroom is talking to Uwe and MaDonna Maurer about caring for a
child with special needs.
Hello. Thank you for coming on the show.
Hi.
Tell us about your family.
My wife MaDonna and I have three children.
Markus is our oldest son.
He's 10 years old.
Then we have two girls.
Matthea is eight years old, and Megan is seven years old.
How did you find out Matthea had some special needs?
Well, after she was born that first, um, winter, she was sick with a lot of lung
infections.
And in April, she was hospitalized.
And some of the doctors were afraid that she might have something more severe.
Um, but they thought it might be cystic fibrosis.
So we went to the States to have her tested.
And after several tests, we discovered that she had a genetic disorder called
cri-du-chat, or 5p minus.
MaDonna, how did you deal with the news?
Well, I felt like the Lord had prepared me in China by asking me what if his
will was different than what my ideal will would be.
And so I had to give that to him.
And when we found out that she had cri-du-chat, I felt a little bit relief
because when we discovered,
or thought, that it might be cystic fibrosis, their life expectancy was at age
30.
But with this um, genetic disorder, the life expectancy is much longer.
So we knew that she'd be in our life a lot longer.
Thank you both for sharing with us today.
Uh, students, if you come back tomorrow, we'll be talking to the Maurers again
about caring for a child with specialneeds.