Many people with Angelman Syndrome have excitable, happy personalities. Outbursts of laughter and frequent smiles are usual for those who have Angelman Syndrome.

Doctor Harry Angelman was the first to describe the syndrome in 1965. There were several children in his practice who had jerky movements, bouts of laughter, protruding tongues and flat heads.

Infants who are born with Angelman Syndrome appear normal at birth, but then they have feeding problems during their first months of life. There are also delays in development that are evidenced when the child is 6 to 12 months old. Seizures frequently happen when the child is between 2 and 3 years of age.

Angelman Syndrome is not an illness. It is a genetic condition. Angelman Syndrome is rare. It occurs in around 1 in 12,000 to 20,000 people.

There are several effects that Angelman Syndrome may have on your child with disability. Some of these are:

• An inability to move, walk or have good balance (ataxia)
• Smiling and laughter that takes place often
• Lack of speech or little speech
• Happy, excitable personality
• Delays in development, like no crawling or babbling at 9 to 12 months of age
• Mental retardation
• Trembling movements of arms and legs.

There are other effects caused by Angelman Syndrome that are not as common. These include:

• Small head size
• Thrusting of the tongue
• Seizures that usually start between 2 and 3 years old
• Jutting out of the lower jaw
• Walking with arms up in the air
• Jerky or stiff movements
• Flatness in the back of the head
• Eyes that cross
• Light pigmentation in the skin, eyes and hair
• Abnormal EEG
• Feeding problems during infancy
• Sleep disturbance
• Attraction to and/or fascination with water.

These effects caused by Angelman Syndrome and/or conditions resulting from or along with it may be the reason for the disability of your child with disability. You may not be able to work because of having to care for your child with disability.

If this is the case, do you need help? Do you need financial help?

Have you applied for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits on behalf of your child with disability from the Social Security Administration? Was your child with disability denied?

If you are thinking about appealing the denial by the Social Security Administration, you will need a disability lawyer like the one at socialsecurityhome.com to help and assist your child with disability in this process. This is true because people who are represented by a disability attorney are approved more often than those people who do not have a lawyer.

Last month, SSA became the first government agency to use the National Health Information Network. Officials say that this initiative will cut the time it takes Social Security to get medical records supporting the claims of those who file for disability benefits.

When an applicant lists certain medical facilities that use the network as treating sources, Social Security’s system automatically sends an electronic message to the hospital’s system requesting the medical record and providing the patient’s authorization. The hospital’s system automatically responds providing almost instant access to the patient’s medical records.

Officials hope that this will help speed response to the estimated 3 million claims for Social Security disability benefits that the agency expects to receive this year.

The agency suggests that it will expedite the process if applicants complete the application for disability benefits online.