Beth Fulton

By Sara Crutchfield

Beth, 14, concentrated on working out while Karen sat down with me to describe a few of the unique challenges which Beth faces as a child with Down's syndrome. We focused on this incredibly sweet young girl's recent 23-pound weight loss as well as her gain in self-esteem and renewed excitement towards life.

Down's syndrome is the most frequent genetic cause of mild to severe mental retardation and can be identified by the presence of an extra chromosome. It occurs in one out of 800 births, in all races and economic groups. People with Down's syndrome are at much greater risk of being diagnosed with leukemia, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and hypothyroidism.

Children and adults with Down's syndrome have a wide range of abilities. Beth is extremely high functioning and only mildly mentally delayed (MMD). "Beth will graduate high school," her mother explains, "and maybe even college, depending on whether a facility offers a special program. She is educable." She can train for a specific job and will be able to hold that job.

In addition to taking care of Beth and 10-year-old Sarah, Karen is a registered nurse and director of ambulatory care services for Kindred Hospital . Her husband, John, works at Humana Military in systems security.

"We are so proud of her," Karen says. "We've always treated Beth as though she has no disability. We've had high expectations for her and she's never let us down."

At present, Beth reads on a fourth grade level, about five years behind her non-impaired peers. She has speech and language delays which make it difficult to understand her, but both her reading and speech will improve as she ages.

"Initially she was non-verbal," Karen says. "She began working with a speech therapist when she was a six-month-old." Beth attends Meyers Middle School , a Jefferson County public school, where her speech therapy is integrated into her school day. "Now Beth speaks in complete sentences and is much more understandable," her mother continues.

Karen describes the program offered at Meyers as, "Phenomenal. There's a waiting list to enroll." Beth and her class of 20 have two teachers, Greg Fehr and Carla Wheatley, as well as six assistants. The class is divided into high- and low-functioning students who learn reading, writing, mathematics and social studies as well as receive instruction that is based on the community.

For specialty classes such as art, music, computers, physical education and, recently, science experiments, Beth is "mainstreamed." She learns alongside students who have no learning disabilities. Beth says her favorite subjects are spelling and math, and she enjoys singing in the school chorus.

WEIGHT-LOSS STRATEGY

In 2002, Beth inexplicably began to gain weight, finally adding 30 pounds to her 4' 8'' frame. Karen was concerned about the weight gain but unsure whether it was simply puberty or that it "signified a more serious problem." When Beth began having symptoms such as excessive fatigue, joint pain and a general lack of energy, Karen wasn't surprised when Beth was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

Their pediatrician referred them to Dr. Susan Raghavan, a pediatric endocrinologist. Because Beth's thyroid levels continued to fluctuate and her weight increased even with medication, Raghavan suggested the Fultons try a session at the Louisville Youth Training Center (LYTC). They did and things began to turn around.

Beth exercises for an hour three times a week at the LYTC, also known as the Heuser Clinic. This large children's gym is located on Taylor Avenue off Poplar Level Road . Some of the available equipment includes stairmasters, treadmills, elliptical trainers, weight machines, a running track and an area for vaulting. Beth enjoys the treadmill the best, reporting to her mother the distances she covers and amount of time she takes.

Beth began her workouts the second week in November and by Christmas had lost 15 pounds. Enrollment is in blocks of 12 weeks, and Beth is in her second block. She's lost 23 pounds. "Beth absolutely loves it," Karen reports. "She thrives on the socialization she gets here."

Beth also swims freestyle, backstroke and relay for the Special Olympics. And she plays soccer and basketball with TOPS, a sports program coordinated through the YMCA.

In addition to enrolling Beth at LYTC, Karen took advantage of a nutritional class offered there and "very slowly, but consistently" began to alter her daughter's eating habits and food choices. "She's never been a snacker, so she comes to the table with a bottomless pit," Karen explains.

When asked by her mother what she can no longer eat, Beth slumps, sighs and replies, "French fries." She has a salad at McDonald's instead. Other changes included replacing greasy potato chips with WOWs Ò or fat-free Pringles Ò . Lemonade was replaced with diet lemonade. Karen has reduced Beth's sugar intake by 50 percent.

Karen now packs a lunch for Beth to take to school. This helps Karen keep track of the carbs and fat in Beth's diet, so she can control what Beth's eating when she's not with her.

At 4 feet 8 inches, Beth weighed 148 pounds. They set their goal for 120, and she's now at 126.

At first, she could walk a mile on the treadmill in 27 minutes. Now it takes her under 18 minutes. Beth describes her weight loss journey in simple terms: "It was hard."

Besides the weight loss, Karen describes additional benefits due to Beth's participation in the program at the LYTC: "She has more energy and no longer complains about her joints aching. Her thyroid levels have evened out."

"She has increased confidence," says Karen, "and a big boost in self-esteem." She's made several friends at the Center "who give her lots of love and encouragement. She's much more outgoing and talkative."

When Beth was overweight, Karen had to buy her clothes from the women's department. "She couldn't wear the trendy clothes her classmates were wearing. But now she cares how she looks and enjoys shopping," Karen explains. "She dearly loves Old Navy."

Karen says the LYTC is "an excellent and unfortunately well-kept secret. Beth is a different child, and I attribute her happiness to this program. Hers is a true success story."

Sara Crutchfield is a freelance writer for Kentuckiana HealthFitness Magazine. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Louisville .