The Disabling Effects of Selective Mutism
Among the vast range of anxiety induced disorders that exist, Selective Mutism may be the most disabling to its victims. It has been estimated that approximately one in a thousand children suffer from this presumed psychiatric ailment wherein the ability to speak is limited to the household or other areas of comfort. (2) Public places and schools elicit so much anxiety within these children that their natural capacity to speak is suppressed. Once a child under five years of age exhibits the behavior described, for over a month, and without having other speech impeding barriers affecting them such as autism or a second language, he or she will most likely be diagnosed with selective mutism. (2)
Many hypotheses have been posed as to what causes selective mutism, however, no determinate conclusions have been made. In most cases it has been proven that anxiety disorders are hereditary, thus, nearly all children who become selectively mute have family members who were afflicted with the same or more serious anxiety disorder, like obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, or social phobia. The fact that anxiety disorders pass through generations implies that brain chemistry is perhaps genetic or that serotonin levels are inherited. Other suggested causes of selective mutism have been speculated upon, however, little research has been instated. Abuse, neglect, extreme shyness, extremely embarrassing experiences like vomiting or having diarrhea in a classroom setting, or living in a home environment with exceptionally nervous parents may also lead to become selectively mute. These theorized causes tend to describe the background of children who have no similar disorders runni...
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...e Mutism Foundation, a support sight to better understand the disorder
http://www.cisinternet.net/errorpages/404.shtml
3)Philadephia Page, a site with excerpts about selective mutism from the Philadelphia Inquirer
https://registration.philly.com/reg/login.do?url=http://www.philly.com%2Fmld%2Finquirer%2Fliving%2Fhealth%2F3939354.htm
4)Selective Mutism UK, an interesting article about the seriousness of selective mutism
http://www.selectivemutism.org/smg/ukarticle.htm
5)Anxiety-Panic Website, a site which describes several other anxiety disorders
http://anxiety-panic.com/dictionary/en-dicts.htm
6)Mental Health web page, a helpful site providing several articles about selective mutism
http://www.mental-health-matters.com/
7)Anxiety Network, illustrates well the treatment available for those selectively mute
http://www.anxietynetwork.com/spsm.html
Pervasive Developmental Disorders are characterized by “severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development” (Tsai, 1998). In the 1994 edition of the Diagnostic Statistic Manuel version IV, three new categories were introduced under Pervasive Developmental Disorders. These include: Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, and Rett's Syndrome (Volkmar, 2005). All these disorders occur in early childhood and are often not noticed by a parent or primary caregiver until it is noticed that the child is not achieving normal developmental milestones.
The Chicago fire was a bad time and a good time in Chicago’s past. It destroyed a whole city, but in a way it rebuilt it as well. It led to many good things, it showed that even though you may not like the people you live by or with, when they need help, you should help them no matter what. It also led to industrialization, which helped Chicago become the metropolis it is today. Even though nobody knows who started the Great Chicago fire, whether it was old peg leg Sullivan, two random old men fighting in the barn, a comet falling from the night sky, or Mrs. O’Leary starting it herself for attention, it is still one of the worst, if not the worst disasters in Chicago’s great history. Chicagoans will always remember October 8, 1871, because it is a day that changed Chicago forever.
The Hmong have been singled out for persecution by the communists in Laos because out their link to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (Malakunas, 2000). The CIA hired, armed and trained about 40,000 Hmong soldiers between 1961 and 1975 to fight the Secret War in North Vietnam (Malakunas, 2000). The Hmong soldiers fought in Northern Vietnam stopping Vietnamese soldiers from getting to the American soldiers in Southern Vietnam (Malakunas, 2000). In North Vietnam the soldiers saved thousands of American soldiers by stopping cargo and travelling military (Malakunas, 2000). They also rescued American pilots from crashed helicopters and planes (Malakunas, 2000). They sacrificed many of themselves often to save just one pilot (Malakunas, 2000). The Secret War was kept secret because the country was supposedly neutral and had several international treaties banning foreign troops from fighting there (Malakunas, 2000).
Do you love your grandparents? Do you want them to be euthanized for being old? IN The Giver by Lowis Lowry the old are euthanized for being old. The newborns that are not sleeping through the night are killed to. And people who can’t seem to get anything right are killed for just that. Lowry reveals the immorality of euthanasia in the scenes depicting the Euthanasia of the identical twin, Jonas's reaction to the true meaning of release for the old, transgressors, and non-conforming infants, and his final rescue of Gabe.
After working with the 3rd graders, I became an assistant teacher at an early childhood education center in a low-income neighborhood with numerous students who needed extra support due to behavioral and emotional disorders. At one point, I encountered a student with selective mutism; selective mutism is when a person is capable of speaking but voluntarily chooses not to communicate verbally. I began to work one on one with him to understand why he didn 't communicate verbally. The first course of action was a meeting with his mother to learn more about him and th...
Obesity in children across America has become an increasing public health concern. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic that is plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world children are dying of starvation everyday. How can this happen when here in America the opposite is a major problem? This is not to say that in America there are no hungry or starving children. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity, and “children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity not only can cause a child to become more prone to having health problems down the road, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. There needs to be action taken in schools as well as in homes to help prevent this growing epidemic.
Tuberculosis or TB, referred to by some as the White death due to the epidemic that arose in Europe that lasted two hundred years, is usually caused by in humans by a microorganism by substrains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s hard to determine the exact years in which TB first infected humans, but since the disease leaves traces on the bone in can be found in archeological record and it is believed to go all the way back to the B.C. era. Although it is hard to tell if the bone damage was truly from TB, there is research that shows that it has been around since the 17th and 18th centuries with a high number of incidences of TB, and in 1882 Dr. Robert Koch announced that his discovery of the causing factor of TB, which is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A tuberculosis bacterium is spread through the air by an infected person speaking, coughing, or sneezing. Due to the fact the bacteria is protected by a waxy cell all, the body’s defense takes weeks to develop any kind of immunity and it allows the bacteria to exponentially multiply freely within the body. If TB it’s left untreated it will eat rapidly through many tissues, usually beginning with the lungs, lymph nodes, and kidneys. As the infection spreads to the lungs, it causes a cough and fluid between the chest wall and lungs, which leads to chest pains, severe shortness of breath, and potential heart failure. TB also infects bones and joints that can produce arthritis like pain and characteristic bone damage. Another possibility is that it may affect the fluid around the brain, causing meningitis, which can lead to fever, drowsiness, and eventually coma and death (Wingerson, 2009).
Tuberculosis is disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Usually bacteria attacks lungs but TB bacteria can attack any parts of the body such as brain, kidney, and spine. It can spread through the lymph node and blood stream to any organ. Usually it is seen in the lungs. If it is not treated accordingly, it can be deadly. One of the leading causes of death in the United States was tuberculosis. Everyone who infected with TB bacteria not get sick. There are two TB conditions stand. They are latent TB infection and TB disease. In latent TB infection, people do not get sick but TB bacteria can live in you. People with latent TB infection cannot spread the bacteria to others nor are they infectious. If the bacteria is active and multiply, the person has TB disease. If a person has TB disease, their immune system cannot stop the bacteria become active. People with TB disease get sick and they are able to spread the bacteria to others.
Childhood obesity has become one of America’s biggest problems today. The number of overweight and obese children has increased at an outstanding rate during the mid- 1970s. According to the author of “The Metamorphoses of Fat- a History of Obesity,” one in five American kids is overweight or obese (23). Obesity is causing a broad range of health problems for these children that shouldn’t be happening until they reach their adulthood. Some of these health problems include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol levels. Not only does childhood obesity cause health problems, but psychological ones too. Obese children are more likely to develop a low self- esteem and depression because of their negative body image.
The story of the Raven tells of a lonely man who has lost his one true love Lenore. As he sits alone in his chamber nearly falling asleep, a raven comes to him. The man has many questions for the raven, yet all the raven replies is "nevermore." Why is the Raven there, this day at his window? Poe starts off by offering insight to the surroundings of the house. He mentions midnight in the first line. In the next paragraph he also speaks of "bleak December." Automatically I remembered the first line of The Purloined letter and the significance the time of month and day had on the story. I believe midnight and December brings up the idea of New Years Eve. The end as well as the begging to many things. It brings up the thought of a Winter darkness, and loneliness for some. Before the story even starts Poe makes you imagine what time of year it is and the feelings those seasons bring. The end of the year marks many holidays for us, with holidays comes family and friends. I believe Poe chooses this time of year to show the reader the narrator has absolutely no one to spend time with. The most important symbol used in the story is the raven.
Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last thirty years, it has recently become one of the major health issues in children. Children who are obese have a greater chance of getting other major health issues such as; heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. Not only does this child have a greater chance of getting other major health conditions but they also have a greater chance of getting anxiety and depression because these children get bullied for being overweight. It affects these children as they are children but also as they grow older. According to the article “What is Childhood Obesity”, “Children who are considered affected by obesity are seventy percent more likely to cont...
“More than one third of our children and adolescents in our country are now overweight or obese” (Kids and Obesity). This epidemic is also skyrocketing the occurrence of disorders and other health issues such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, asthma and bone and joint problems (Weight problems and obesity). But obesity can also effect adolescents on a deeper level, especially those of lower socioeconomic classes. Depression and low self esteem is also directly related to obesity and has high tendencies to lead to substance abuse is males and eating disorders in females (Weight problems and obesity). Adolescent obesity is a very serious issue and the need for nursing interventions has never been more prominent. The majorit...
The poem consists of an undeniable narrative structure. Told from the third person, Poe also uses symbolism to create a strong melancholy tone. For instance, both midnight and December symbolize an end of something and the hope of something new to happen. Another example is the chamber in which the narrator is placed, this is used to show the loneliness of the man.
According to the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination survey says that, 16 percent of children around the ages of 6-19 years old are at risk of being obese. Obesity has increased in the last twenty years now. Obesity is like other disease, it impairs the normal body functioning. Children who are overweight have excess fat tissue that caus...
Obesity simply put, is an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity puts children at increased risk of disease and other health-related problems. Childhood obesity is a very serious and ongoing problem-putting children on the pathway to health conditions earlier in their life such as diabetes, elevated cholesterol, hypertension. Childhood obesity also has a link to depression as well as affects the self-esteem of children and adolescent. I recently performed a community teaching on childhood obesity and will be discussing the teaching experience, observation, summary of the teaching plan, epidemiological rationale for childhood obesity, evaluation of my teaching and the community’s response to the teaching.