Understanding the Drug-Exposed Child: Approaches to Behavior and Learning

Rating:
Summary: This Book Shows How to Help All Types of Troubled Children
Review: UNDERSTANDING THE DRUG-EXPOSED CHILD Approaches to Behavior and Learning By Ira J. Chasnoff, M.D., Amy R. Anson, Ph.D., and Kai A. Moss Iaukea, M.S.

By Alexandra Eyle

Dr. Ira J. Chasnoff and his co-authors could easily have titled their book, "Understanding the Emotionally Challenged Child." Even though the findings in this book come from years of longitudinal study that Chasnoff and his colleagues at the National Association for Families and Addiction Research and Education (NAFARE) have done of children prenatally exposed to cocaine and other drugs, their findings can also easily apply to any child who finds life or school challenging. The authors no doubt chose the title that they did not only because it reflects the population of children they studied but also because it addresses a prejudice that drug-exposed children sometimes encounter:

"There may be a tendency by some to assume that if behavioral problems have a neurological or a biological basis," the authors write, "little can be done other than try to control them using medication or through external behavioral control. There is ample research evidence and actual experience to indicate that behavioral problems can be greatly reduced or managed successfully to the point that a child can perform well in the classroom."

Control is the key to success, the authors assert. But the reader may be surprised to learn that, the secret is not in learning how to control the child but in offering the child ways to learn how to control himself and his environment. "Our goal," the authors write, "is to help you assist children to manage themselves, rather than to ask you to control their behavior."

Although the NAFARE research indicates that while drugs like cocaine cross the placenta and directly affect the brain "at the level of the neurotransmitters, interfering with the ability to function in a predictable organized way," it also shows that both the family and school environment are major influences on how a child behaves. In cases where a child is being reared by drug- or alcohol-abusing parents, for instance, the child may be ignored or have parents who put the child down, yell at each other or push or hit to express anger. Naturally, these children are learning behaviors that will not serve them well. Similarly, a school that feels unsafe, is large and noisy, or badly organized may tax a child's coping skills. Both method and attitude are critical when working with children who have trouble coping, the authors argue. A teacher or parent invoking punitive methods, such as giving time-outs or withdrawing privileges, will only reinforce the child's sense of helplessness and thus sow the seeds for further bad behaviors. Likewise, if a teacher communicates frustration, anger, or resignation toward the child, the child will resist the teacher.

To help teachers break this cycle of negativity, the authors provide translations of behaviors. Withdrawal can mean "I'm scared," "no one likes me," "I'm sad," or I don't know how to reach out to others," while aggression may translate to, "I can't do this, it's too hard," "I'm not being treated fairly," or "I'm frustrated."

As the mother of a child who is, by all accounts, bright and well-behaved, I still found the advice in this book highly informative and useful. If I were a teacher trying to help many children, I would make this book my bible.

Study after study has shown that there are cycles of abuse and neglect that get passed on for generations. "Understanding the Drug-Exposed Child" shows us how to break this cycle. When teachers, psychiatrists, social workers and parents take the time to listen to and translate a child's anti-social behavior, the authors tell us, in almost all cases the message boils down to, "Help me, I'm overwhelmed, and I don`t know how to cope." But this is even more true of drug-exposed children.

"Drug-exposed children," the authors explain, "are...more vulnerable to the toll of emotional stressors because they have difficulty with the increased tension such stressors create. They quickly get disorganized but do not understand their loss of control and are confused and frightened by it. Such children are frequently identified as `willfully disobedient' or `behavior problems' by the teacher who, by misunderstanding the nature of the child's problem, causes increased anxiety and stress in the child. It is not uncommon for drug-exposed children to develop emotional problems as a result of being misunderstood by their teachers or parents."

The authors advocate that teachers not punish children, but show them how to control their environment. A child easily distracted from work may benefit from study carrels, teacher monitoring and intervention, listening to white noise, such as the soothing sounds of the ocean, or soft music on headphones - to block out distractions - or a quiet corner, away from busy windows or hallways.

Written primarily for teachers, this book offers concrete ways to help the child overcome the challenges presented by environment, whether he or she is living with overworked, professional parents on the verge of divorce or a poor, drug-addicted single mom, or attending a chaotic, noisy school.

As the grown-ups, it's imperative that we answer a child's cries for help, not with anger or resentment but with compassion and by offering the child real tools for successfully coping with the world. Chasnoff et al provide such tools.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Shows How to Help All Types of Troubled Children
Review: UNDERSTANDING THE DRUG-EXPOSED CHILD Approaches to Behavior and Learning By Ira J. Chasnoff, M.D., Amy R. Anson, Ph.D., and Kai A. Moss Iaukea, M.S.

By Alexandra Eyle

Dr. Ira J. Chasnoff and his co-authors could easily have titled their book, "Understanding the Emotionally Challenged Child." Even though the findings in this book come from years of longitudinal study that Chasnoff and his colleagues at the National Association for Families and Addiction Research and Education (NAFARE) have done of children prenatally exposed to cocaine and other drugs, their findings can also easily apply to any child who finds life or school challenging. The authors no doubt chose the title that they did not only because it reflects the population of children they studied but also because it addresses a prejudice that drug-exposed children sometimes encounter:

"There may be a tendency by some to assume that if behavioral problems have a neurological or a biological basis," the authors write, "little can be done other than try to control them using medication or through external behavioral control. There is ample research evidence and actual experience to indicate that behavioral problems can be greatly reduced or managed successfully to the point that a child can perform well in the classroom."

Control is the key to success, the authors assert. But the reader may be surprised to learn that, the secret is not in learning how to control the child but in offering the child ways to learn how to control himself and his environment. "Our goal," the authors write, "is to help you assist children to manage themselves, rather than to ask you to control their behavior."

Although the NAFARE research indicates that while drugs like cocaine cross the placenta and directly affect the brain "at the level of the neurotransmitters, interfering with the ability to function in a predictable organized way," it also shows that both the family and school environment are major influences on how a child behaves. In cases where a child is being reared by drug- or alcohol-abusing parents, for instance, the child may be ignored or have parents who put the child down, yell at each other or push or hit to express anger. Naturally, these children are learning behaviors that will not serve them well. Similarly, a school that feels unsafe, is large and noisy, or badly organized may tax a child's coping skills. Both method and attitude are critical when working with children who have trouble coping, the authors argue. A teacher or parent invoking punitive methods, such as giving time-outs or withdrawing privileges, will only reinforce the child's sense of helplessness and thus sow the seeds for further bad behaviors. Likewise, if a teacher communicates frustration, anger, or resignation toward the child, the child will resist the teacher.

To help teachers break this cycle of negativity, the authors provide translations of behaviors. Withdrawal can mean "I'm scared," "no one likes me," "I'm sad," or I don't know how to reach out to others," while aggression may translate to, "I can't do this, it's too hard," "I'm not being treated fairly," or "I'm frustrated."

As the mother of a child who is, by all accounts, bright and well-behaved, I still found the advice in this book highly informative and useful. If I were a teacher trying to help many children, I would make this book my bible.

Study after study has shown that there are cycles of abuse and neglect that get passed on for generations. "Understanding the Drug-Exposed Child" shows us how to break this cycle. When teachers, psychiatrists, social workers and parents take the time to listen to and translate a child's anti-social behavior, the authors tell us, in almost all cases the message boils down to, "Help me, I'm overwhelmed, and I don't know how to cope." But this is even more true of drug-exposed children.

"Drug-exposed children," the authors explain, "are...more vulnerable to the toll of emotional stressors because they have difficulty with the increased tension such stressors create. They quickly get disorganized but do not understand their loss of control and are confused and frightened by it. Such children are frequently identified as 'willfully disobedient' or 'behavior problems' by the teacher who, by misunderstanding the nature of the child's problem, causes increased anxiety and stress in the child. It is not uncommon for drug-exposed children to develop emotional problems as a result of being misunderstood by their teachers or parents."

The authors advocate that teachers not punish children, but show them how to control their environment. A child easily distracted from work may benefit from study carrels, teacher monitoring and intervention, listening to white noise, such as the soothing sounds of the ocean, or soft music on headphones - to block out distractions - or a quiet corner, away from busy windows or hallways.

Written primarily for teachers, this book offers concrete ways to help the child overcome the challenges presented by environment, whether he or she is living with overworked, professional parents on the verge of divorce or a poor, drug-addicted single mom, or attending a chaotic, noisy school.

As the grown-ups, it's imperative that we answer a child's cries for help, not with anger or resentment but with compassion and by offering the child real tools for successfully coping with the world. Chasnoff et al provide such tools.