The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog By Bruce Perry

Terr, L. C. (1991). Childhood traumas: an outline and overview. Am J Psychiatry, 1, 48.

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

The facts in this case are regarding the petitioner, Joshua DeShaney and the respondent, the county department of social services. In 1979, Joshua DeShaney was born and in 1980, a Wyoming court granted his parents a divorce and awarded custody to his father, Randy DeShaney. In January of 1982, Randy DeShaney’s second wife complained that he had previously “hit the boy, causing marks, and was a prime case for child abuse” (DeShaney v. Winnebago County). This would turn out to be the first of many complaints against Randy DeShaney regarding the abuse of Joshua DeShaney. Winnebago County Department of Social Services interviewed the father, and when asked if he abused his son, he denied such accusations and they did not pursue him any further. In January 1983, one year later, Joshua was admitted to a local hospital with bruises and abrasions, because of which, the physician suspected child abuse and notified the DSS. The DSS subsequently placed Joshua in temporary custody of the hospital but decided there was insufficient evidence of child abuse. They then recommended that Randy DeShaney enroll his son in preschool, provided Joshua’s father with counselling, and encouraged

This is possibly the hardest assignment I’ve had to do to date. It’s difficult to examine how much this little boy had to suffer at the hands of his father. The crimes that took place here were more than abuse. I believe that the case worker is culpable for refusing to protect the child and should have been disciplined if not charged with a crime. The mother deserved a more severe sentence for allowing this abuse to go on for so long and should have been charged as an accessory to the crime. This case did lead to outrage and sweeping legislation in the state of Washington was enacted. Most of the legislation was aimed at allowing and even mandating that child protective services make protecting the child a higher priority than keeping the family together.

Sixty percent of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.). This shocking statistic exemplifies the high prevalence of childhood trauma. Furthermore, twenty-six percent of children in the United States will witness or experience a traumatic event before the age of four. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.) Trauma is an extremely common and complex phenomenon. But what is trauma? According to Merriam Webster, trauma is defined as, “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury.” (Merriam Webster, 2017). Dr. Lenore C. Terr from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of America further describes trauma as unique to each individual. It can be caused by a series of events or one severe incident. Unfortunately, childhood trauma is usually experienced repeatedly. For example, many children endure sexual abuse, bullying, and severe family problems over and over again. Children may experience a variety of traumas that have lasting consequences on their mental health. Those who experience childhood trauma are more likely to develop psychological disorders. This occurs because their brains lack neuroplasticity, which inhibits their ability to adapt to various stressful circumstances.

Currently in the news, there is a major event that pertains to the topic of the psychology of trauma. This event is the investigation of Jerry Sandusky and his alleged conviction of sexual abuse. Jerry Sandusky, an assistant football coach at Penn State University, has been accused of sexually abusing boys in the basement of his home and in the school workout room and locker room. This investigation was triggered by one of the victims who went to the police and since then, more victims have come out as well. This boy stated that the attacks lasted for about four years. Jerry Sandusky met the boys though a foundation he started to help at-risk youths in 1977 called The Second Mile. So far there have been eight

One of the worst things a parent can hear is that their child has been molested; learning those responsible is your child’s daycare provider is even harder to come to terms with. In August of 1983 the mother of a 2 year old boy reported her son told her he had been sexually abused by a day care provider. The accused was Ray Buckey, 31, the daycare’s only make employee and son of its owner. (Debenedictis, 1990) The trial became the longest and most expensive trial in American history. The trial left in its path 369 children claiming to have been molested in some way, along with Ray Buckey serving 5 years in jail throughout the 6 year trail which cost the American government more than 15 million dollars. (Reinhold, 1990) This trial brought light to whether a young child can actually be considered an expert witness, and ruined the lives of many of the day care’s workers. (Debenedictis, 1990)

The current problem is the continued rise in child abuse and neglect today. Within the United States, the problem of child abuse and neglect is far much common than most people would like to admit. Sanchez (2012) stated that child maltreatment is a global epidemic and a major social problem in the United States resulting in at least 740, 000 visits to hospital emergency departments and more than $124 in child welfare, criminal justice, and health care. Norman, Byambaa, De, Butchart, Scott, and Vos (2012) also observed that child abuse and neglect is a global problem that is mostly perpetrated by parental guardians and parents. Sexual abuse is the infringement of a child’s

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.

Childhood trauma is one of the most heartbreaking situations to ever fathom happening. Childhood trauma includes neglect, maltreatment, physical and emotional abuse, and many other forms of mistreatment amongst children. Childhood trauma occurs between the ages of 0 and 6 years of age. When referencing to childhood trauma, one must take thought into who commits the abuse, who is affected by the abuse, and what long term effects can the abuse have on the victims. One must also take into consideration the sex differences when referring to childhood trauma. Numerous of studies have been conducted and many findings have been made. Prior to conducting this research paper, I only considered childhood trauma to be what it was and never considered the long term effects. Because of my assumption, I never even considered the other categories of the trauma.

The Human Services Organization I analyzed is New Beginnings. New Beginnings is an agency that provides sexual assault support services in Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster counties. The clients of this organization have all been affected by sexual assault or child sexual abuse. Issues within clients are best described as acute trauma responses or chronic trauma, such as sexual difficulties or loss of trust. In order to analyze this agency as efficiently as possible, I interviewed Terri Crowe, the Advocacy Coordinator, from New Beginnings. Terri was able to provide very useful information regarding this organization and how it ticks. Although New Beginnings provides services to seven different counties, there are

Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry). Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic experience affecting the lives of not only the victim, but those close to the victim as well. Many think there is only one person truly traumatized, but in fact, everyone involved is affected. The victim has to deal with their experience the rest of their lives. They may be more at risk for other mental issues as well, including depression. The family involved has to deal with its pain, often causing hardship and discord within the family. This is especially true

Imagine being robbed of your innocence in a matter of seconds. Imagine not being able to speak out due to threats and fear of seeking help and not being taken seriously. Troubling, is it not? Sexual abuse has always been a problem in society that can affect anyone. Sexual abuse brings along many negative outcomes; however, throughout the years, sexual abuse has been a factor that has always been ignored. Even though sexual abuse has had many attempts to be avoided in various environments, all have failed.

Sexual abuse to children happens across every socioeconomic status, ethnic, cultural, religion and education. Getting treatment for a victim of child sexual abuse is a difficult process because of the lack of trust by the child. When child sexual abuse occurs the victim’s family has a difficult time talking about the abuse, which leads to the family pretending the abuse never happened. Once the family