Many people infected with HIV don't know they have it because they have never been tested for the presence of the virus in their blood. Another reason they may not know they are HIV positive is because it can take five years or more for the symptoms of' the infection to show up. When a persons blood contains HIV, the person is said to be HIV positive.
HIV damages the nerves and brain, the nervous system. It also attacks and destroys the body's natural defence system against disease-the immune system. Specifically, HIV destroys the CD4 cells of the immune system. Without enough of these special cells, the body has difficulty fighting off infections. When the immune system becomes so weakened by the attacking virus that certain life-threatening infections set in, and if the CD4 cell count is low in the person's blood, the person is said to have AIDS.
While it is true that an HIV infection has no cure, treatment is available today that can help people enjoy an improved quality of life and live longer. Treatment can also help lessen the risk of passing the virus to an unborn child.
Lately it seems to happen almost every day - you hear about a new result of medical research on television or read about it in the paper. Often it's about your "risk" or chance of having a disease or health problem. After reading the story did you worry because the numbers made your chance of getting sick seem high? Or, did the story confuse you because you remember a news item not too long ago about the same health problem, but with a very different finding? What does it all mean? Which stories can you trust?
A new publication from NIH's National Institute on Aging (NIA) might be able to help. Understanding Risk: What Do Those Headlines Really Mean? explains different types of scientific studies, different types of risk, and suggests some questions you can ask yourself when reading or listening to the next story about research results.
Where was this book when I was in school? I loved words and never had any problems writing essays and reports, but when it came to delivering speeches, I went weak in the knees. I attributed my fears to the fact that I was shy. After receiving Say What You Mean for Kids, I see that it was because I never had proper training in communication skills. Say What You Mean for Kids is a communication curriculum. It is a textbook and workbook all in one. It is a study of communication skills used in every day life. In my opinion, it is a very valuable resource.
The program is broken down into 18 weeks of study, enough to cover one semester or half a school year. Each week starts out with several pages of information to be read. The author recommends doing this reading on a Monday and then spending the rest of the week working on the activities that accompany that week's lesson. Starting in week eight, the child will begin work on the final project, a persuasive written or oral report that will be completed by week 18. Though recommended for students in third through sixth grades, this program could even benefit junior high students who have never been exposed to this type of program.
I am sold on this program and would highly recommend it. In fact, I would go so far as the say that every homeschooled child should have this book! I believe that the art of effective communication is so very important, yet it is something that is not taught often or enough. Every student should be equipped with the tools available in this book.
Again, I wish that this program had been available to me years ago. Instead, I was forced to teach myself ways to communicate effectively in order to survive and thrive. Not so for my children thanks to Art of Eloquence and Say What You Mean for Kids!