Comments on: Children, poverty, neglect and brain development

By: Dr Jonathan Reed - Child Neuropsychology » Blog Archive » Why do people commit murder?

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:29:13 +0000

[...] Children, poverty, neglect and brain development [...]

By: jeune

jeune — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:47:36 +0000

I have also been working with abused children since 1983 and am alarmed at the slow pace of change in relation to the provision of child care services including mental health services. This century, a RCP report found that only 10-20% of children in care with significant mental health needs are even admitted to mental health services. Despite their pronounced and substantial needs, these children are rarely at the centre of government funding initiatives, and short-sighted managers and practitioners alike are more seduced by high-profile packages such as parent training. But if these packages were so successful, then why are child care/protection plans and children in care rising? I haven’t seen the camila article, but I am often struck by any view that advocates putting more children in foster care. Where are these noble people who will give up their jobs and their spare bedrooms and studies/offices to care for highly disturbed children? Although I’m sure they exist, I don’t personally know a single psychiatrist or psychologist who is a foster carer. We can’t even go and buy some in Woolworths anymore! In my opinion we need a whole cultural (multi-systemic) shift towards prioritising the needs of vulnerable children and by that I mean children who don’t have powerful parents or parents at all who can meet their needs. We are stalling for time to suggest that it is a single dimension of a child’s existence (e,g, their genes or their budget) that makes of breaks him, and time runs out for each subsequent generation. We are too often looking for simple answers to complex problems. Maybe that’s a weakness of our training, or perhaps it’s the byproduct of working in institutions that have exchanged passion and conviction for pledges and promises

By: Dr Jonathan Reed - Child Neuropsychology » Blog Archive » Can children be psychopaths?

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:16:59 +0000

[...] Children, poverty, neglect and brain development [...]

By: christine

christine — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:57:09 +0000

I read that the main cause of mental retardation in children is neglect. Others are bad prenatal care, smoking and drugs during pregnancy, etc. In short, most cases of mental retardation are preventable.

By: cala

cala — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:09:26 +0000

I’m skeptical that the social environment can have any impact on cognitive abilities. Probably the reason that kids from neglected backgrounds perform poorly is bad genetics.That’s not to deny that environment can impact on IQ, but it seems to be only the biological environment (i.e. nutrition) that is relevant.