d, I would be exactly who I am. The people I have met, the challenges I have faced, the opportunities that I have been presented all are directly related to dealing with being a little person with brittle bones." (Kasper, 53) Many of the symptoms of OI can be confused with those of a battered child. X-rays are used to show evidence of old fractures and bone deformities to distinguish the difference. The Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation (OIF) has is a national support group that offers assistance to families in this position and to increase public awareness. The OIF has a medical advisory council, chapters, support groups, regional meetings, biennial national conferences, and parent contacts to help families feeling alone and helpless. They also publish a newsletter, provide literature and videos about OI, and sponsor a fund to support research. Magnesium oxide can be administered to decrease the fracture rate, as well as hyperpyrexia and constipation associated with this condition (Anderson, 1127). A high-protein, high-carbohydrate, high-vitamin diet is needed to promote healing. A growth hormone has also been administered during childhood, and is shown to substantially increase growth. Treatment with bisphosphorates and related agents has been discussed to decrease bone loss, but no controlled studies have been done (Isselbacher, 2113).Since there is no cure for osteogenesis imperfecta, appropriate and properly timed rehabilitation intervention is of the utmost importance to ensure that the child is able to function to the best of his/her ability in society. A ten-year study that was submitted in 1992 proves this. 25 of 115 children with severe OI were observed since birth or infancy at the National Institutes of Health, MD and the Skeletal Dysplasia Clinic at the Children's National Medical Center in D.C. One was Type I, two Type II, nine Type III, and thirteen Type IV. They were classified by physical characteristics and functio...
