Sharing Web Resources

In viewing the website of The Institute for Attachment & Child Development I really have a desire to learn more about the disorder of attachment. Therefore the section on “symptoms of attachment disorder in a child” seem very interesting seeing that my professional development is about the overall well-being of the children. Within this section it gave many examples of attachment disorders in children, such as “does not trust adults in authority, manipulative and hostile, no empathy, remorse, conscience, or compassion for others, also resists guidance and nurturing”, just to name a few examples. After reading this information it made me think how so many children in our care that could be missed diagnosed if not seen by professionals qualified within that specific field. Sometimes we may look at children as having a behavior problem but indeed it could be a totally separated issue that has been developing from birth, such as attachment disorder for instance. This really made me think not to be quick to think I know what a child is going through when I have not been through it myself or have the professional qualifications to understand or diagnose without the proper training.

The Institute for Attachment & Child Development explains that “because the behavior of children with attachment disorder* often appears similar to (and is often misdiagnosed as) conduct disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder, and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, it is important to be able to distinguish those children whose behavior problems indicate the presence of attachment disorder from those who have other disorders. Up until February 1997, the primary tool used to assess and diagnose attachment disorder has been the Symptom Checklist, developed at Evergreen Consultants, or one of its variations. The Checklist was developed to describe the symptoms that therapists had observed when treating children with attachment disorder. However, no research had ever been conducted to determine the reliability or validity of The Symptoms Checklist, and its items. The Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire, (RADQ) was designed to be used by psychotherapists and school personnel to assist in identifying and diagnosing attachment disorder in children between the ages of 5 and 18 years. It can be routinely used as a screening tool to identify whether or not the behavior problems a child has are consistent with the presence of attachment disorder. Dr. Randolph and The Institute for Attachment & Child Development are committed to further research to validate the Attachment Disorder Diagnosis and its treatment. The Scoring Manual and Scoring Sheets can be ordered through the Institute for Attachment & Child Development”. (RADQ, 2013).

The Institute for Attachment & Child Development Resource Library. Reactive Attachment Disorder | Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire (RADQ). (2013). Retrieved from

http://instituteforattachment.org/randolph-attachment-disorder-questionnaire-radq/

 

 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

In looking through this website on the “Causes of Poverty” I found a host of information and important facts that I wanted to share with everyone.

• Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.
• The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.
• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
• Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
• 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).

Also another article on this website stated that one cause of poverty is that many people are powerless and that the rich and wealthy are the ones that make or break certain policies that put people in some situation that they may not be able to get themselves out of. Also throughout this website there are 14 articles on “Causes of Poverty” and 6 related issues to poverty that I feel are worth looking at. Such as information on how some 21,000 children die every day around the world.

That is equivalent to:

• 1 child dying every 4 seconds
• 14 children dying every minute
• A 2011 Libya conflict-scale death toll every day
• A 2010 Haiti earthquake occurring every 10 days
• A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring every 11 days
• An Iraq-scale death toll every 19–46 days
• Just under 7.6 million children dying every year
• Some 92 million children dying between 2000 and 2010

 

Global Issues: Causes of Poverty

by Anup Shah

http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty

This Page Last Updated Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I chose to do research on was the Institute for Attachment & Child Development. What is Attachment Disorder?  http://www.instituteforattachment.org/

One of this organization’s focus is on attachment disorders in children. The organizations states that “attachment disorder is the inability to form loving and lasting relationships, to give or receive love or affection, form a conscience, or trust others. Attachment difficulties are on a continuum of disturbance that range from attachment issues all the way to attachment disorder.
Attachment disorder falls under many names and categories.  In children, these names include: Reactive attachment disorder or RAD; Oppositional defiant disorder; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Childhood trauma, and Pervasive development delay or PDD” (Institute for Attachment & Child Development, 2014). The organization also gave some great examples of why some children do not form attachment within the first three years of their lives. The examples they provide were;

ü  Abuse
ü  Neglect
ü  Abandonment
ü  Multiple changes in caregivers
ü  Foster care
ü  Adoption
ü  Painful illness
ü  Exposure to alcohol/drugs in utero
ü  Maternal depression
ü  Inconsistent daycare
ü  Loss of a parent due to death or divorce
ü  Emotionally distant parents

In reading through these example I found them to be very interesting but it seem as though one example could be missing from this list. I truly thought culture background would have been in this group of examples through understanding that each individual culture may have their own specific ways of displaying what is consider acceptable attachment to children within their own culture. Whereas some others may view their ways as unacceptable and view these children as having a form of attachment from the list provided above if those evaluating young children having no background information or history on the cultures upbringing.   

 

 

 

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

In my attempt to contact with someone I am still awaiting to hear back. I understand that organizations can be very busy and it may take time for them to get back with me. However I feel if I have not heard back from them by mid-week of next week I will re-send my emails and continue my search. The contacts I attempted to contact were;

South Africa

The National Early Childhood Development Alliance.

Europe

Belarus
Belorussian Parents' and Teachers' League "Step by Step"

Germany
German National Committee for Early Childhood Education

However in part 2 of the assignment I explored;

Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States
http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now28067
(Newsletter: http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_alerts.aspx )

“These providers visit the homes of vulnerable families regularly (generally once or twice a month) from the time a mother is pregnant through the first few years of the child’s life. During this critical developmental period, parents receive support and knowledge about how to provide a safe and stimulating environment as well as information about how children grow and learn. In this voluntary program, motivated parents learn how to be successful in their new role. Children get off to a better, healthier start with parents who have the skills needed to raise them”.

I believe this is what is really needed for new parents, and some parents with children but no family support or experience. Also through this program children and their families are said to be more ready for starting school.

These are some other sites that I found to be interesting as well.

National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
http://www.naccrra.org/
(Newsletter: http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/ )

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/
(Newsletter: http://nieer.org/resources/newsletter/index.php )