Research that Benefits Children and Families - WK 3 Blog

Research is important and has an impact on the individual lives of millions.  However, the impact is not always a positive impact.  Many children and families in need of medical expertise and miracles in hopes to save/heal a loved one turn to research yet, there is no guarantee of success. From the chapter five reading this week, Uri Bronfenbrenner suggested, “the only safe way to avoid violating principles of professional ethics is to refrain from doing social research altogether.”

A local Texas girl and her family were greatly impacted by research and its findings about the use and abilities of medical marijuana.  The young girl and her family lived in Rowlett, Texas (30-40 minutes from my house) had been seriously impacted by Grand Mal seizers and after spending lots in medical bills and having difficulty getting insurance approval for medical marijuana here in Texas, she continued to have numerous seizers a day. After hearing about the research success of medical marijuana, the family decided to move to Colorado where the use of marijuana is legal. The family says that their life has changed for the best (I have attached the news link for more reading on this story).  http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2015/05/18/medical-marijuana-drastically-cuts-texas-girls-seizures/27552541/.

Reference:

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). Chapter 5. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Neketha Polley

Week 2 Blog - My Simulation on ADHD

 

Hello Colleagues my chose topic for simulation is ADHD.  As it relates to the early childhood field, the general topic that I would like to know more about  ADHD, the different medicines available for treating ADHD and what the overall outcomes are on the various treatments provided to children  and families to aid in the fight against ADHD. Three subtopics that I articulate to be related to my general topic of interest are: 1) Are there any cures? 2) Does ADHD statistically effect a particular ethnicity? 3) Once diagnosed and treated as a child, what is the likelihood if any of the condition and treatment continue throughout adulthood?

 

My personal and professional reason(s) for choosing these three subtopics is to learn more about the various social emotional developmental issues that affect children and their abilities to learn.  As a mother of a six year old son that is very active and has gotten in trouble a few times a school since the beginning of the year, I had begun to wonder if he had a behavioral issue that needed medical attention.  Therefore, after seeing other children said to have behavioral problems be heavily medicated and zoned out of life, I became more interested in what various methods of treatment were available other than medications for children and families that are dealing with children with ADHD or any symptoms of ADHD.  The insights that I have gained so far from constructing the research chart is that there is numerous information adrift about childhood ADHD, how it effects families, and the fact that many children are being impacted by it around the globe. 

 

My personal experiences with this simulation process has been that I am finding a numerous amount of information.  However, I am having to take some time to search through the information to ensure that the information has sufficient content and is from a reliable source/website.  Any advice or insight that might help me with this process and/or with this course please feel free to share as it is greatly appreciated.

Neketha