School-Age Crack Babies - Research Paper Example

There is a serious problem that comes with the use of hard drugs. The children born out of a mother on such hard drugs seem to bear the heavier burden. The complexity associated with abuse of drugs has in most cases explained the occurrence of social ills like crimes, injuries, and domestic violence. The threat of children who are born of mothers on drugs during periods of pregnancy and long use is immense. Research has shown that almost one million infants born in the USA have been at one time exposed to one of the many illicit drugs while in utero. The social effects associated with these infants or crack babies when normally present themselves clearly when these children reach age of going to school. In most cases, the stimulation process becomes very erratic, and such children are faced with difficulties of dealing with these multiple stimuli and have issues when it comes to having close attachments with people around them such as teachers and other pupils (McNichol & Tash, 2001).

Dealing with multiple stimuli and forming close attachments

          Research has shown that we have permanent developmental, neurological, and behavior consequences which could be directly attributed to the exposure to drug use by parents. One notable thing has been that parents and even academic institutions are still quite unprepared in dealing with this problem effectively (McNichol & Tash, 2001).

          Given the environment in which such children are exposed at an early age, it becomes difficult for them to integrate fully with the society around them. It is a known fact that children do inherit certain genetic components from their parents. Drug use interferes with a child’s development. The harsh environment these children get exposed to combines with the neurological issues within them and the two affect how these children respond to various stimuli. Teachers and many administrators have on many occasions reported increasing numbers of these school-going children who are perceived to lack social skills and are seen not to keep pace with the daily and routine demands required in schools (Schneider & Chasnoff, 1992).

          Close observations made on these children have shown that they are normally persistently withdrawn from their environment and enjoy personal space more than keeping the company of others. It has also been noted that these crack babies are normally prone to some sudden snaps and episodes of violent behavior as compared to other children. These have been attributed to the fact that their parents exposed them to drugs in their prenatal stage.

          Research has shown that infants exposed to cocaine during the prenatal stage exhibit an increased risk of having motor dysfunction (Schneider & Chasnoff, 1992). Also, the risk of having intra-venicular hemorrhages is increased. Questions still abound as to the exact effect of hemorrhages when it comes to the development process. The exposure has been noted to majorly affect the central nervous system causing abnormalities in these children (Doberczak, 1988).

          Fulroth, Phillips, and Durand (1989) noted that a number of babies who have been exposed to cocaine in their prenatal stages show signs of withdrawal from society or the environment around them. However, some researchers did dispute this basing their argument on the fact that the duration after birth matters and that the children normally normalize after the ages of 1 to 2 years. However, 30 to 40% of those children studied showed that they experienced language development problems which were compounded by attention problems that went through their fourth year of growth (Schneider & Chasnoff, 1992).

          Other studies have also shown that many of the children who have been borne out of drug abuse-related mothers have numerous cognitive and behavioral difficulties. This has been attributed to environmental influences. Other studies such as those of prenatal methadone exposure have consistently shown a close association between exposure and initial developmental deficits. However, consistently long-term impacts of exposure to methadone have not been established and thus the problems have been attributed to the combined biological and environmental factors.

What more recent research suggests about school-age "crack babies

          Recent studies have shown that exposed children have risks of neurological deficits with underdeveloped muscle tones, experience poor flex, and are seen to have trembling limbs. The level of cognition also goes down. Studies have shown that on average, children from drug exposure prenatal stages show low performance in class due to lower IQ (McNichol & Tash, 2001). These children also have been found to have difficulties interacting with others; they do grow frustrated quickly and normally do resist attachments to their peers and new adults whom they seem not used to (Clark, 2001).