Genetic Disease Project

Overview Imagine you are grown and married. You and your spouse are expecting a child. Now, imagine your doctor tells you your child will be born with a genetic disorder. What will you do??

Requirements Doctor’s Report – What would the doctor tell you? What are the symptoms, treatment options, current medical research, statistics? Genetic Counselor’s Report – What would a genetic counselor tell you? What kind of genetic disorder is it, how is it passed from generation to generation, are there gene therapy treatments available? Parent’s Report – What are you thinking as a parent? How will your life change, how will you cope, what accommodations will you need to make for your child? Community Resources – What resources are available to you in your local community? Are there donations, supplies, special programs, or support groups available?

Options for Project Blog – create a blog describing your experience (including reports from the doctor and genetic counselor, links to community organizations, descriptions of your feelings, pictures from your research, etc.) Virtual Scrapbook – create a virtual scrapbook with pictures and images from your research and descriptions of your experiences Video or Slideshow – use a program like Movie Maker or PhotoStory to edit together pictures, text and music or narration Website – create a website with information about the genetic disorder (include pages for “My Story,” information about the disease, links to community resources)

Timeline Choose a genetic disorder and start research At the end of this week – know your chosen disorder, know what kind of project you will create, start making index cards for each section Next week – turn in 4 index cards with research (one for each section in the project) End of next week – submit a rough draft to the class wiki for feedback from classmates DUE DATE – submit final draft of project to class wiki

Sample Project – Virtual Scrapbook

Sample Blog or Website Today was not about Tay Sachs What I would tell you My Story with Cystic Fibrosis

Sample Video 99 Balloons