A book related to this issue that I would highly recommend is by Floyd Skloot titled In the Shadow of Memory. The relevant chapter is titled "Painstaking Historian," making reference to the reality that due to the high level of brain plasticity during our early years, the brain's structural and chemical development can reveal the type of early experiences we have. Mr. Skloot was exposed to unpredictable and irrational physical abuse by his mother and he describes in very eloquent terms how this impacted his own brain's development--as well as the development of other children exposed to early abuse. On the take home final for Psychology 101, I have my students read that chapter as it is so clearly written and is an superb example of the down side to brain plasticity. If anyone would like more detail, I would be happy to share such with you.
Joan [EMAIL PROTECTED] PS My students really enjoyed seeing Zimbardo being interviewed on the Daily Show. You can access this now as a link when you go to the Zimbardo web site. Highly recommend it as well as an interview with the NYT's on "The Lucifer Effect." > > Of interest to those involved with Child Development, regarding children > who "suffer serious and often repeated traumas": > > Below is a quote, the original link from APA Monitor, and a short > descriptive summary. > > While PTSD is a good definition for acute trauma in adults, it doesn't > apply well to children, who are often traumatized in the context of > relationships," says Boston University Medical Center psychiatrist Bessel > van der Kolk, MD, one of the group's co-leaders. "Because children's > brains are still developing, trauma has a much more pervasive and > long-range influence on their self-concept, on their sense of the world > and on their ability to regulate themselves." > > Being discussed for possible inclusion in DSM-5: > http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar07/diagnosis.html > > "...no one diagnosis adequately captures the plight of these youngsters, > and that's why a new diagnosis is needed for them, asserts a working group > of child psychiatrists and psychologists developing such a diagnosis for > possible inclusion in the 2011 iteration of the Diagnostic and Statistical > Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5, published by the American > Psychiatric Association. As it stands now, these children are often > misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated, working group members argue. The > team is an interest group of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, > a consortium of 70 child mental health centers founded and funded by the > Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that brings > together clinicians who work with children who have complex trauma > histories. > To fill the gap, the group is proposing a diagnosis called "developmental > trauma disorder" or DTD, to capture what members see as central realities > of life for these children: exposure to multiple, chronic traumas, usually > of an interpersonal nature; a unique set of symptoms that differs from > those of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a variety of other > labels often applied to such children (see "Current trauma diagnoses"); > and the fact that these traumas affect children differently depending on > their stage of development." > > Beth Benoit > Granite State College > Plymouth State University > New Hampshire > > --- > To make changes to your subscription go to: > http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english > > --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
