Lot in Life: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Research Paper Example

HERE HERE YOUR HERE HERE Lot in Life: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Having a child with fetal alcohol syndrome represents a plethora of different challenges for the parent. The majority of these concerns will not manifest themselves significantly until the adopted child has reached 12 months of age. Children that have been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome have recognizable facial deformations, experience problems with learning and memory, and also will likely be prone to develop behavioral problems once the child becomes engaged with school work and higher order learning. The blend of cognitive problems and craniofacial concerns will pose a variety of problems as the child advances through various stages of cognitive and behavioral development. Children born with fetal alcohol syndrome maintain specific craniofacial deformations that are apparent upon observation. The philtrum, which is the groove between the upper lip and the nose that is devoted in normally-developed humans, is flattened when exposed to large volumes of alcohol during fetal development (Astley et al. 713). Additionally, there is a marked thinning of the upper lip that occurs with the syndrome which, when combined with the flattened philtrum, creates the appearance of facial deformations akin to an individual with mild Down’s Syndrome. The eyes are also affected in which the child has folds of skin formed around the corner of the eye coupled with eye width reduction (Astley et al. 714). Later in life, when the child becomes engaged with other children in the social environment, social belonging becomes a paramount need. Many respected models of motivation in developmental psychology attest to a primary need for establishment of security, which, when fulfilled, allows a child to build self-esteem based on opinion and sentiment of important social reference groups (Morris and Maisto 254). There is a high probability that other children that do not maintain facial deformations will taunt or tease the adopted child, especially during the concrete operational stage of cognitive development occurring between seven and 11 years of age. When other children do not illustrate a sense of affection, children can become very defensive, suspicious and even begin to doubt their own sense of personal value. Furthermore, if the child maintains a personality construct that works to protect himself, emotionally, from the psychological harm of depleted social belonging, he may have behavioral problems in the school environment. As a parent, the only legitimate parenting methodology in this case would be to establish a very strong infant attachment in order to boost the child’s sense of personal security. By giving a great deal of affection and unconditional love during the earliest years of cognitive development, the child will be able to build much strong attachments both within the home and outside in the social and academic environment. It will be critical, in the formative years before the child is able to abstractly consider their unique craniofacial problems, to ensure that the caregiver work diligently to ensure emotional safekeeping. As the child gets older, ensuring unconditional belonging within the family dynamic will be vital to building self-confidence and self-assurance. As it is likely that the child will begin to recognize their observable facial differences from other humans by the time the child reaches seven years of age, he must understand that the family environment will always be a sanctuary if feelings of emotional uncertainty begin to surface as a result of these malformations. This will assist the adopted child in understanding how to find important social or intimate attachments later in life during adulthood once he has passed the stage in which young children tend to be overtly critical of other youths with observable developmental differences. It is the role of the parent to ensure that the child reaches adulthood with self-assurance so that he will be fully functional socially. It is absolutely vital that a sense of belonging is established to guarantee the ability to become fully self-actualized later in life when goals and ambitions are on the forefront of the adult mind. Additionally, children with fetal alcohol syndrome often have problems with memory and learning processes. With this syndrome, the hippocampus in the brain is usually damaged, the center of the brain that assists in encoding audible and visual information. It is likely that the child will not be able to grasp certain academic concepts which might demand the necessity for some variety of special education curricula. There is a high probability that memory processes will be largely impacted, where the child will be able to remember how to spell a word one day and then forget it completely the next day (Baldwin 16). When the hippocampus has been damaged as a result of the syndrome, there is difficulty in properly recording important information and then storing it for later retrieval. In order to engage in proper learning, the child will likely require multi-sensory learning tactics to assist in such basic tasks as spelling a word (Baldwin 16). Whereas normal children have a preferred learning style, such as auditory, visual or kinesthetic, it is likely that he will need a blend of all three strategies in order to guarantee that comprehension and long-term understanding of the concept has occurred. As a parent, the learning problems caused by damage to the brain will require much more effort in helping the child understand many different academic tasks and basic lifestyle skills. For example, it is generally around two years of age when the child begins to understand concepts such as not touching a hot stove with an understanding that it can create burns. Damage to not only the hippocampus, but also the corpus callosum, the bridge between both brain hemispheres (Mattson, Schoenfeld and Riley 187), could complicate simple learning such as the hot stove example during early years of cognitive development. The parent must be aware of the capability for storing information and processing it, which might require taking more advanced classes in developmental psychology or maintaining adequate following of modern literature on the subject of learning disabilities. In the public school system, teachers with large classrooms do not always have the time and resources to provide individualized learning. If there are economic problems associated with providing a special education curriculum, the parent must be equipped with the knowledge necessary to assist in providing multi-sensory teaching methodologies. In this case, the caregiver might have to be a foundational resource for home education to supplement in-school learning which could be a significant commitment and burden. However, this might be a necessity to ensure that proper cognitive development occurs that will assist in adolescence and adulthood. It may even require gaining a teaching certification to justify home schooling if there are financial concerns associated with providing one-on-one learning in the academic environment. The hippocampus also regulates emotional responses. In a healthy brain, youths are able to inhibit themselves from explosive outbursts and learn, over time, to regulate their egoist behaviors that are driven by emotional states. Conduct behavior is a common outcome when the dendrites of the hippocampus have been damaged, which can lead to excessive lying and many other social problems (McArdle 525). Children that have been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome have scientifically-supported problems with impulse control (Stratton, Howe and Battaglia 47). This has many implications both in school and inside the home environment. If there is a decision to have or adopt other children, this child might have problems adjusting to maintaining a positive social relationship with other family members. Impulse control problems might include fighting and arguing with other children or the presence of unexpected bouts of anger, hostility or depression that manifests during various mood swings. If any outburst such as the aforementioned are exhibited in the classroom environment, the parent may have to attend more interactive parent-teacher meetings (which could complicate work and home schedules) in order to inform instructors and work out properly disciplinary structures that are appropriate for a child fitting this syndrome profile. There could be many consequences of an inability to control emotional states when coupled with impulse control problems that range from social to self-harm, especially when the child is younger and unable to consider logical instructions and appropriate social rules. Into adulthood, if the child is not appropriately trained to control their impulses using known and respected strategies for children with hippocampus damage, it could lead to an inability to procure a long-term professional position. As the parent, it is the responsibility of the caregiver to equip the child with the life skills necessary to achieve independency after entering adulthood. The parent may have to consult with various medical and research experts to determine the most appropriate strategies for assisting a child with impulse controls, which might include procuring knowledge on cognitive behavioral therapy or other respected psychological models. It has been said in society that knowledge is power, however the depth of academic and medical information that might be required for successful parenting could be a significant burden on lifestyle. At the same time, throughout all of their developmental years, this knowledge must be not only learned, but also applied, which will require testing strategies over and over again until one is discovered the works sufficiently. This could have implications with other family members, including the spouse, that could develop measurable and observable complaints about the volume of time the parent is spending trying to assist the child in cognitive and emotional development. In a household where others demand the time and attention of the parent, it could have implications that involve marital problems that must be addressed or social problems with other children in the household that require some level of belonging, security and attachment with the parent. The volume of problems associated with various damaged portions of the brain that control both basic tasks and more complicated cognitions are substantial and cannot be addressed solely with the child independently or with educational instructors in school. Research did not indicate that many specific strategies for assisting a child to learn will be effective with all children. Therefore, there will be a large commitment during their first five or six years of childhood to constantly monitor, assess and evaluate potential strategies that might be effective in improving learning, comprehension and long-term memory. When these problems are combined with emotional problems that are common for children with fetal alcohol syndrome, it could put significant emotional strain on the parent. Trying to blend the ability to take care of the parent’s own needs, which is paramount to positive mental health, while also focusing so intently on the needs of the child, could be overloading. This could lead to stress outcomes which will require assigning effective coping strategies to the caregiver in order to prevent any emotional problems from developing. The time that will be necessary to devote to the child is monumental and inability to regulate one’s own personal needs (which are largely universal with most humans) could lead to a variety of anxieties or depression. This must be recognized in order to maintain positive parenting capabilities and remain emotionally-focused on the task of assisting the child to develop effectively. It is clear that a child with fetal alcohol syndrome can put much strain on the household and the caregiver. The complexity of problems associated with the syndrome requires the parent to be well-educated and constantly observable of the child to understand where their deficiencies lie, especially during their first two years of life. This will lay the foundation of many learning and comprehension strategies important during the pre-operational stage of development. It is during this stage of cognitive development that the child maintains very strong egocentric thinking patterns, which could create problems for a child that has impulse control problems. To avoid setting the stage for egocentric thinking associated with lack of emotional control, the pre-operational stage must have the most intensive analyses and multi-sensory learning strategies to avoid psycho-social problems later in life. Works Cited Astley, Susan J., Julie Stachowiak, Sterling K. Clarren and Cherie Clausen. Application of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Facial Photographic Screening Tool in a Foster Care Population. Journal of Pediatrics. 141.5 (2002): 712-717. Print. Baldwin, Shawn. Teaching Students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Florida State University Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy. April 2005. Web. April 3, 2013 Mattson, Sarah N., Amy M. Schoenfeld and Edward P. Riley. Teratogenic Effects of Alcohol on Brain and Behavior, Alcohol Research & Health. 25.3 (2001): 185-191. McArdle, Paul. Alcohol Abuse in Adolescents, Archives of Disease in Childhood. 93.6 (2008): 524-527. Print. Morris, Charles G. and Albert A. Maisto. Psychology: An Introduction. 12th ed. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print. Stratton, Kathleen, Cynthia Howe and Frederick Battaglia. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment. Washington: National Academy Press, 1996. Print. Read More