Columns

How Anxiety Affects Our Daughter With AADC Deficiency

When a parent sees their child gripped with fear or anxiety, we immediately take action to reassure them that everything is all right and they are safe. However, with children who have aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, this is not easily remedied. It is an issue that we constantly…

Finding Answers Through Genetic Testing

Genetic testing has gained much attention thanks to commercial products that provide people with details about their family’s origin. With a simple home kit, you can mail off samples and receive materials about your DNA. However, for families experiencing medical diagnostic challenges, DNA testing offers hope for answers, as it…

The Medicine of Sleep

Before our daughter, Rylae-Ann, was diagnosed with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, the telltale sign that something was amiss were the cyclical spells that began at 3 months old and occurred every three days. We initially thought they were seizures, but later learned they were oculogyric…

How Water Therapy Has Benefited My Daughter With AADC

Before my daughter, Rylae-Ann, showed symptoms of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency, we had her in the ocean and the pool. I grew up on an island, where water activities were never far. Water has many healing properties and benefits that helped our daughter make progress in addition to…

Preventing Aspiration After Feeding in AADC Children

Aspiration, a condition in which food or liquid enters the airway instead of the esophagus, requires our constant attention when caring for children with aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. Due to the motor and autonomic dysfunctions associated with AADC deficiency, unfortunately,…