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Would you be friends with someone with special needs? Why or why not? What could be some difficulties of having friends with special needs?

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Here are some questions with answers that are similar to what Melody may see trying out for the quiz team.

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What is your biggest frustration? Why is it a frustration?

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This is yet another reason why Melody is so interesting

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Imagine that when you see a city's skyline, you taste blackberries. Or maybe when you hear a violin, you feel a tickle on your left knee. Perhaps you are completely convinced that Wednesdays are light red. If you have experiences like these, you might have synesthesia.

What is synesthesia?
Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form of synesthesia joins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people's names with a sensory perception such as smell, color or flavor. The word synesthesia comes from two Greek words, syn (together) and aisthesis (perception). Therefore, synesthesia literally means "joined perception."
Synesthesia can involve any of the senses. The most common form, colored letters and numbers, occurs when someone always sees a certain color in response to a certain letter of the alphabet or number. For example, a synesthete (a person with synesthesia) might see the word "plane" as mint green or the number "4" as dark brown. There are also synesthetes who hear sounds in response to smell, who smell in response to touch, or who feel something in response to sight. Just about any combination of the senses is possible. There are some people who possess synesthesia involving three or even more senses, but this is extremely rare.

Synesthetic perceptions are specific to each person. Different people with synesthesia almost always disagree on their perceptions. In other words, if one synesthete thinks that the letter "q" is colored blue, another synesthete might see "q" as orange.

Although there is no officially established method of diagnosing synesthesia, some guidelines have been developed by Richard Cytowic, MD, a leading synesthesia researcher. Not everyone agrees on these standards, but they provide a starting point for diagnosis. According to Cytowic, synesthetic perceptions are:

Memorable: often, the secondary synesthetic perception is remembered better than the primary perception; for example, a synesthete who always associates the color purple with the name "Laura" will often remember that a woman's name is purple rather than actually remembering "Laura."

Emotional: the perceptions may cause emotional reactions such as pleasurable feelings.

Who has it?
Estimates for the number of people with synesthesia range from 1 in 200 to 1 in 100,000. There are probably many people who have the condition but do not realize what it is.
Synesthetes tend to be:

In the same family: synesthesia appears to be inherited in some fashion; it seems to be a dominant trait and it may be on the X-chromosome.

Some celebrated people who may have had synesthesia include:

Vasily Kandinsky (painter, 1866-1944)

Amy Beach (pianist and composer, 1867-1944)

Olivier Messiaen (composer, 1908-1992)

Charles Baudelaire (poet, 1821-1867)

Franz Liszt (composer, 1811-1886)

Arthur Rimbaud (poet, 1854-1891)

Richard Phillips Feynman (physicist, 1918-1988)

Mary J. Blige (singer, songwriter, 1971-)

It is possible that some of these people merely expressed synesthetic ideas in their arts, although some of them undoubtedly did have synesthesia.

The Biological Basis of Synesthesia
Some scientists believe that synesthesia results from "crossed-wiring" in the brain. They hypothesize that in synesthetes, neurons and synapses that are "supposed" to be contained within one sensory system cross to another sensory system. It is unclear why this might happen but some researchers believe that these crossed connections are present in everyone at birth, and only later are the connections refined. In some studies, infants respond to sensory stimuli in a way that researchers think may involve synesthetic perceptions. It is hypothesized by these researchers that many children have crossed connections and later lose them. Adult synesthetes may have simply retained these crossed connections.
It is unclear which parts of the brain are involved in synesthesia. Richard Cytowic's research has led him to believe that the limbic system is primarily responsible for synesthetic experiences. The limbic system includes several brain structures primarily responsible for regulating our emotional responses. Other research, however, has shown significant activity in the cerebral cortex during synesthetic experiences. In fact, studies have shown a particularly interesting effect in the cortex: colored-hearing synesthetes have been shown to display activity in several areas of the visual cortex when they hear certain words. In particular, areas of the visual cortex associated with processing color are activated when the synesthetes hear words. Non-synesthetes do not show activity in these areas, even when asked to imagine colors or to associate certain colors with certain words.

Synesthesia and the Study of Consciousness
Many researchers are interested in synesthesia because it may reveal something about human consciousness. One of the biggest mysteries in the study of consciousness is what is called the "binding problem." No one knows how we bind all of our perceptions together into one complete whole. For example, when you hold a flower, you see the colors, you see its shape, you smell its scent, and you feel its texture. Your brain manages to bind all of these perceptions together into one concept of a flower. Synesthetes might have additional perceptions that add to their concept of a flower. Studying these perceptions may someday help us understand how we perceive our world.

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Imagine that when you see a city's skyline, you taste blackberries. Or maybe when you hear a violin, you feel a tickle on your left knee. Perhaps you are completely convinced that Wednesdays are light red. If you have experiences like these, you might have synesthesia.

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What would it be like if you could not communicate with those around you?

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What does this quote mean to you?

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Have you ever heard a family member talk about your first step or the first word you spoke? For kids with cerebral palsy, called CP for short, taking a first step or saying a first word may not be as easy. That's because CP is a condition that can affect the things that kids do every day.

What's CP?

Some kids with CP use wheelchairs and others walk with the help of crutches or braces. In some cases, a kid's speech may be affected or the person might not be able to speak at all.

Cerebral palsy (say: seh-REE-brel PAWL-zee) is a condition that affects thousands of babies and children each year. It is not contagious, which means you can't catch it from anyone who has it. The word cerebral means having to do with the brain. The word palsy means a weakness or problem in the way a person moves or positions his or her body.

A kid with CP has trouble controlling the muscles of the body. Normally, the brain tells the rest of the body exactly what to do and when to do it. But because CP affects the brain, depending on what part of the brain is affected, a kid might not be able to walk, talk, eat, or play the way most kids do.

Types of CP

There are three types of cerebral palsy: spastic (say: SPASS-tik), athetoid (say: ATH-uh-toid), and ataxic (say: ay-TAK-sik). The most common type of CP is spastic. A kid with spastic CP can't relax his or her muscles or the muscles may be stiff.

Athetoid CP affects a kid's ability to control the muscles of the body. This means that the arms or legs that are affected by athetoid CP may flutter and move suddenly. A kid with ataxic CP has problems with balance and coordination.

A kid with CP can have a mild case or a more severe case - it really depends on how much of the brain is affected and which parts of the body that section of the brain controls. If both arms and both legs are affected, a kid might need to use a wheelchair. If only the legs are affected, a kid might walk in an unsteady way or have to wear braces or use crutches. If the part of the brain that controls speech is affected, a kid with CP might have trouble talking clearly. Another kid with CP might not be able to speak at all.

For some babies, injuries to the brain during pregnancy or soon after birth may cause CP. Children most at risk of developing CP are small, premature babies (babies who are born many weeks before they were supposed to be born) and babies who need to be on a ventilator (a machine to help with breathing) for several weeks or longer.

But for most kids with CP, the problem in the brain happens before birth. Often, doctors don't know why.

What Do Doctors Do?

Doctors who specialize in treating kids with problems of the brain, nerves, or muscles are usually involved in diagnosing a kid with cerebral palsy. These specialists could include a pediatric neurologist (say: nyoo-RAL-uh-jist), a doctor who deals with problems of the nervous system and brain in kids.

Three other kinds of doctors who can help kids with CP are:

1. a pediatric orthopedist (say: or-tho-PEE-dist), who handles problems with bones or joints

2. a developmental pediatrician, who looks at how a kid is growing or developing compared with other kids the same age

3. a pediatric physiatrist, who helps treat children with disabilities of many kinds

There is no special test to figure out if a kid has cerebral palsy. Doctors may order X-rays and blood tests to find out if some other disease of the brain and nervous system may be causing the problem. To diagnose CP, doctors usually wait to see how a kid develops to be sure.

A case of cerebral palsy often can be diagnosed by the age of 18 months. For example, if a child does not sit up or walk by the time most kids should be doing these things, the kid might have CP or some other problem that is causing development to go more slowly. Doctors follow infant and child development closely and look for problems with muscle tone and strength, movement, and reflexes.

How Is CP Treated?

For a kid with CP, the problem with the brain will not get any worse as the kid gets older. For example, a kid who has CP that affects only the legs will not develop CP in the arms or problems with speech later on. The effect of CP on the arms or legs can get worse, however, and some kids may develop dislocated hips (when the bones that meet at the hips move out of their normal position) or scoliosis (curvature of the spine).

That is why therapy is so important. Kids with CP usually have physical, occupational, or speech therapy to help them develop skills like walking, sitting, swallowing, and using their hands. There are also medicines to treat the seizures that some kids with CP have. Some medicines can help relax the muscles in kids with spastic CP. And some kids with CP may have special surgeries to keep their arms or legs straighter and more flexible.

Living With CP

Cerebral palsy usually doesn't stop kids from going to school, making friends, or doing things they enjoy. But they may have to do these things a little differently or they may need some help. With computers to help them communicate and wheelchairs to help them get around, kids with CP often can do a lot of stuff that kids without CP can do.

Kids with cerebral palsy are just like other kids, but with some greater challenges that make it harder to do everyday things. More than anything else, they want to fit in and be liked.

Be patient if you know someone or meet someone with CP. If you can't understand what a person with CP is saying or if it takes someone with CP longer to do things, give him or her extra time to speak or move. Being understanding is what being a good friend is all about, and a kid with CP will really appreciate it.

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Have you ever heard a family member talk about your first step or the first word you spoke? For kids with cerebral palsy, called CP for short, taking a first step or saying a first word may not be as easy. That's because CP is a condition that can affect the things that kids do every day.