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Welcome to Watt's Cooking with Elizabeth Watt!
Elizabeth "Beth" is a 10th grader who lives with her family in beautiful Colorado. Beth has a rare mitochondrial metabolic disorder called Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency (PDCD). Children born with this PDCD can’t break down the food they eat into energy. This energy is used not only for children to run, play, and learn, but also for cell formation, growth, and throughout the lifetime of a cell. Without energy for the cells to maintain healthy function, they do not function correctly, become damaged, and die. Without healthy functioning cells in all parts of the body, children with PDCD suffer from poor muscle tone, neurological damage (brain damage, cognitive delays, seizures), and other problems like poor feeding, decreased muscle tone, lethargy, and organ damage. The inability of the body to break down carbohydrates into energy produces a potentially dangerous chemical called lactic acid. High lactic acid can make symptoms worse, as well as cause low blood pressure, vomiting, high heart rate, and rapid breathing. The general prognosis for children with PDCD is poor. Beth is constantly proving that she is ABLE and that she absolutely loves to participate in a variety of activities. She really enjoys watching cooking shows and asked if she could learn to cook. During our therapy sessions, we have incorporated the use of an augmentative communication device that allows Beth to communicate independently. Due to her extreme lethargy and difficulty planning and executing motor sequences, we have programmed her device to meet her unique needs and to allow her to participate effectively. We hope you will enjoy Watt's Cooking with Elizabeth Watt! For more information about Beth, PDCD or alternative/augmentative communication please contact Colorado Speech, Language & Learning Professionals, Inc., via our website at www.coloradoslp.com. |
