A case is presented at the hospital of a 2-month-old child, diagnosed with down syndrome, and currently recovering from a case of bronchiolitis. The child, Elisa, is also diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, and she will undergo surgery to correct this defect once she has had time to recover from her bronchiolitis. Elisa is the sixth child or Maria and Hector. She has three brothers and two sisters who range in age from 10 to 25 years old. It seems that the family has a strong support system. The mother believes in God and that he gave Elisa to their family for a reason. Maria is always at the hospital with Elisa, and there is always someone else from the family with her as well. The father works construction, and comes to the hospital at night in order to see Elisa. Maria was a teacher’s assistant before Elisa was born, but she is now staying home with Elisa. Elisa was born full term, but has had …show more content…
They have resources for all groups of individuals and for the families of individuals that are affected with a developmental disability. The Arc has services that help a family with receiving testing, obtaining medical care, obtaining financial assistance if they qualify, preschool and childcare services, and respite care. It seems that Elisa’s family has support, but they could still benefit from help with finding all of the resources available to them in the San Antonio area and from respite care services. A child with all of the medical complications that Elisa has may not be able to be left with someone who does not understand how to care for her special needs, and the respite care can help her family with that. Raising a child with special needs can be very stressful, and having time for Maria and Hector to be able to take time off from those responsibilities could be very beneficial to the