The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog Summary

Retrieved, 5/15/05 from www.nospank.net. Studies have also shown the Nueroendocrine System is elevated in sexually abused children, this system engages in a back and forth dance to control the bodies psychology by continuously increasing or decreasing the activity of various neurotransmitters and hormones. Therefore stressful events disrupts the dance and upsets the delicate balance resulting in the Sympathetic Nervous System activating; in short the abused child or adolescent is unable to control their psyche. DeBellis & Baum, et.al, (1999) Putnam & Trickett, (1997). With these types of physical changes it can lead us to believe that delinquent behavior in adolescents is more of a physical problem opposed to a behavioral problem caused by their environment or violent stimulation.

While reading Dr. Bruce Perry’s The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, I found the case of Peter to be the most interesting. At the age of three Peter was rescued from the inhumane conditions of a Russian “baby warehouse” in which one caretaker was responsible for the wellbeing of thirty wailing newborns (Perry and Szalavitz 218). This less than ideal solution for the issue of finding appropriate childcare left Peter and hundreds of other infants deprived of human interaction. During such a crucial period of brain development, this lack of attention had serious repercussions. Luckily, Peter was adopted by extremely devoted American parents who would help pave

Dr. Bruce Perry, an incredible psychiatrist, describes some of his many experiences with extremely traumatized children in his novel, “The Boy who was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook”. Throughout this book, Dr. Perry presents just a slight insight into what children all over the world experience: violence, neglect, abuse, starvation. Due to the effects of these harsh realities, many children are viewed as strange or different, but in reality, they are some of the bravest children I’ve ever heard of. Though all of these stories are incredibly remarkable, one of the children that stood out to me the

Children who have been abused are left with more than just physical scars. They have many psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems as well. Their social lives are affected dramatically, and they suffer lifelong effects. (Lambert) Children tend to

Larry Watson suggests that traumatic experiences transform children into adults, and that disturbing experiences lead to changes of mind, growth in morals, and an emerging sense of adulthood.

Childhood maltreatment is a prevalent problem through out the world. As a child grows and matures the brain continues to develop according its experiences. During this time sensitive periods of development for different areas of the brain. A few areas that are of interest are the stress-influenced areas, which are at an increased risk for developmental problems when exposed to maltreatment. The extra stress from such exposures can influence abnormalities throughout the brain, which have been linked to structure changes with in the corpus callosum, anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal cortex, and hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum, as well as changes to stress related hormone systems. These structural changes are associated with an increased risk of psychopathology and other life long educational and physiological risk.

It impacts the maturation of specific brain areas at particular ages, the physiological and neuro-endocrinological responses as well as impacting the ability to coordinate cognitions, behaviours and emotional regulation. Therefore, the effect of trauma is different in different developmental stages. Ornitz (1996) has listed critical periods of major structural changes in brain development in accordance with Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. This includes the periods between early childhood (1.5-4 years), late childhood (6-10 years), puberty and mid-adolescence. This ensures that there are widespread implications of trauma in childhood especially in terms of the age at which exposure to trauma occurs as well as the areas of the brain affected. For example, the volume of the brain shows a rapid increase in first two years (Matsuzawa et al., 2001), a time when the development of attachment also takes place. Moreover, this growth is more experience- dependent (Schore, 2001). Children below the age of two also show a greater right brain than left brain

A child’s sense of self as separate from the world is formulated early in development. Children exposed to early trauma, especially by a primary care giver, develop a distorted sense of the self, others, and the world. When exposed to trauma, children become overwhelmed and are unable to effectively self-regulate thus leading to a disjointed sense of self. They have a tendency to lose hope and expect that life will be dangerous thus challenging their ability to survive (Terr, 1992). Survival becomes the predominant drive for children exposed to trauma and their focus becomes toward responding and adapting to a potentially threatening environment. Feelings of trust and the sense of self become compromised as resources are allocated toward coping with threats. Traumatized children experience guilt and low self-esteem and perceive themselves as unlovable and unworthy of protection or love (Johnson, 1985, 1987).

Through client cases, Dr. Perry explains the scientific understanding of brain development and the importance of nurturing young children. Perry starts off with the case of 7 year old Tina, who had suffered repeated sexual abuse, and now believed that she should act sexually with all men to win their approval. Her early experiences also caused her terrible stress, and affected her whole body, including her heart rate, her attention, her sleep, her fine motor control, and in her language development. Perry finds that he has only partial success in treating such profound damage caused by abuse. Other cases include a three year old girl who witnessed the murder of her mother and was alone with her mother's body for an extended period of time,

Children who are physically sexually abused can experience trauma and impediments in the development of the brain. Additionally, Perry (2009) states that the majority of critical structure and functional organization takes place in childhood, and by the age of three the brain has reached 90% of adult size. During this time any experience the child undergoes will last a lifetime. Among the psychological effects of CPSA are intense fear, depression, and anger. Victims also suffer from the long-term effects of

The goal of this paper is to provide relevant informations that can help individuals understand the how development may differ among those who have experienced childhood maltreatment.

It is amazing, ridiculous, and sometimes scary how the brain deals with trauma. It is also ludicrous to believe that your environment and how you are treated are not always believed to strongly affect children. The first story in this book is a very moving one. I thought it interesting and appropriate that that was his first child patient.

My personal reactions to the book The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, were positive and enlightening. I would describe my reactions as enlightening because the content was written in a different perspective than I originally expected. This book is a small memoir of the author’s growth and development as a psychiatrist working with children suffering from severe trauma. It is rare to find a book so informative and practical and yet inspiring to read; I’m glad this was a required piece for this course.

Research shows that many brain and hormonal changes may occur as a result of early, prolonged trauma, and contribute to troubles with learning, memory, and regulating emotions. Combined with a disruptive, abusive home environment, these brain and hormonal changes may contribute to severe behavioral difficulties (“Post-Traumatic” 1).

Made of hard plastic with floppy ears, a button nose, and splotches of brown decorating its body, was a toy dog I dubbed Puppet. The plastic dog was meant to be named Puppy, however I couldn’t say it quite right and the mispronounced name simply stuck with him. Given by my mother as a first birthday gift, I became adamant on not letting puppet out of my sight. Because of this fierce sense of protection, every night I would hunt him down, wrap him in my meager baby arms, and fall fast asleep. Some found it odd a young child was sleeping with a dog made of hard plastic, but because I grew up with him I preferred him over any regular teddy bear. Puppet