Childs Name: Anna Carter

Parents Names: Katrina

DOB:
Phone: (208) 356-7928

Address: 441 Twisted Willow, Rexburg (close to Burton)

*Go down University Blvd., under freeway, turn left on 12 th W after Rexburg Motor
Sports, go a few blocks, pass Burton, see subdivision on right hand side, pass Artic,
go to Coyote Willow Drive, far north east corner
Home Visit days and times:
Monday
Time

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday
7:15 pm

Friday

Saturday

In order for me to be best prepared for our visit, could I ask you a few
questions?
Tell me about your child? What are the most important things I need to
know about your child?
Anna is adopted. Her birth mother had no prenatal care. No one knew that Anna had
any problems until she was two months old her head became extremely swollen.
She was taken to the doctor to be tested. She was diagnosed with Hydranencephaly.
This means that her brain did not develop in utero. It is suspected that she may
have had a stroke within the first few weeks of her development. This, or possibly
something else, stopped the blood flow to her brain. She has parts of her brain, but
her brain is mostly just fluid. A stunt from her head to her stomach was put in to
drain the fluid from her brain. Her head reduced to normal size. At four months
old, Anna began to have spasms which her parents later found out were seizures.
She lost the ability to suck and swallow a bottle and other functioning. They are not
sure whether the seizures caused damage for Anna, or if those functions were just
reflexes that tapered off as she grew older. She was diagnosed with failure to thrive
and given a feeding tube that goes directly to her stomach rather than going
through her nose. She has a high amount of acid in her stomach, so she takes an
acid reducer. Anna has Cortical Visual Impairment, which means that she is legally
blind. However, she can see things she can track things with her eyes, but
because of the condition of her brain she cannot process what she is seeing. The
same is true for her hearing. Her hearing has been tested and it appears that her
ears work, but because of the condition of her brain, they do not know what she is
comprehending. However, Annas mother says that hearing seems to be Annas
preferred method when people try to get to her. She says that she loves to be sang
and talked to. Anna has Cerebral Palsy. She has no ability to move her muscles. She
has hyper muscle tone, which means that her muscles are always doing their own
thing which makes getting her dressed is hard. She is non-verbal, but does make

cooing noises. She has a switch that she can sometimes use to let others know what
she wants they are still working on this. She has a wheelchair, but is not very
comfortable with it right now. She also has a stander; it is like a wheel chair but puts
her in a standing position. However this is not very practical right now either
because she has fractures in her legs. Currently she is spending a lot of time in her
hospital bed at home or being held. Anna enjoys sensory activities, but because she
does not reach out and explore, all of her sensory experience must be brought to
her. Anna is now seven years old and attends Burton Elementary. She is associated
with a first grade class, but only goes half of the time due to her struggles. Her
brain has adapted to do some amazing things. Doctors really have no clue how to
help her because they have never dealt with this condition before. Most children
with Annas diagnosis do not survive during pregnancy, or die just shortly after
being born. Her brain function affects other parts of her life. However, her family
keeps a positive frame of mind. Her mother kept talking about how sweet Anna is.
Anna is so cute and loving. The nice thing about Anna is that she does not have
behavior problems.
Can you tell me about your family? What do we need to know about your
family and how your son/daughter interacts with his family and extended
family?
Mom (Katrina), dad (Neil, physical science professor at BYUI), brother (Daniel, 9
almost 10, plays soccer and baseball), foreign exchange student (June, from Korea,
junior in high school), and a private nurse. Either Katrina, Neil, or the nurse is
always home with Anna. Daniel is very busy with his sports, which means that his
parents are always busy bringing him there. Anna is much like an infant in her
abilities to interact with others. Because of this, Daniel doesnt interact with her
much; he mostly ignores her.
Could you provide any information about his medical conditions? Any
significant medical issues at birth or since birth?
(Answered in first question)
What is your primary language spoken in your home? If different than
English, how much exposure (percentage) occurs each day to each
language on average?
English
What school and services does your child receive? How do you feel he/she
is responding to them?
School has been really tricky for Anna. She does not go every day. Her parents try to
get her to bed by 10:00, but if she is asleep before midnight, they are very happy.
Recently she has pulled two all-nighters. Because of this, she sleeps in during the

morning. When she goes to school, she goes around 11:30. She is assigned to a
general education class, but her needs are different than the needs of the other
children in the classroom and her mother says that she can be a distraction to the
other children. For part of the day she is pulled out. They are trying to balance time
on her own, and time with peers for socialization. She has a para educator with her
at school all day. She rides the bus with her and gives Katrina a report each day.
Therapies she attends outside of school include occupational therapy, physical
therapy, speech therapy, and vision therapy.

Date
4/22/16
4/28/16
5/4/16
5/10/16
5/17/16
5/24/16
5/31/16

Description and purpose of contact

Phone call: First interview filled out questions for the child information
sheet
Home visit: Routines based interview
Home visit: Testing
Home visit: Trial intervention; scheduled mock IEP meeting
Home visit: Observation
Home visit: Mock IEP meeting
Home visit: First intervention session

Date

Description and purpose of contact