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Maya Mancillas Pelayo

Maya started at Pasitos de Luz when she was just 1 year old. She is now 11 and comes here five days a week.

Diagnosis

Maya has been diagnosed with West Syndrome. West Syndrome has a range of symptoms characterized by epileptic/infantile spasms, abnormal brain wave patterns called hypsarrhythmia and intellectual disability. Maya has also been diagnosed with Pachgyria, a rare developmental condition due to abnormal migration of nerve cells (neurons) in the developing brain and nervous system. Like other children with Pachgyria, Maya has poor muscle tone and motor function. She also has difficulty eating and swallowing, and suffers from digestive problems.

Therapies

Our physiotherapists work with Maya four times a week. She is a complex case and it has not always been easy to make progress with her. However, we are really pleased that she can now control her head and neck, and that she has a much greater attention span. However, there is a long road ahead. In the short-term, we are focussing on supporting Maya to be able to sit up with help from a therapist and to control her upper body. In the longer-term, we would love to see Maya crawling, sitting up all by herself and turning herself over.

Family life

Maya’s father is absent. She lives with her mum and maternal grandmother in Puerto Vallarta. Maya’s mum works all day, which means that the grandmother takes care of her little granddaughter. Pasitos de Luz is a lifeline for this small family, since they have no means of paying for childcare or private therapy services