The following is a paper prepared for coursework in pursuit of a PhD in General Education from Capella University. The paper hasn't been published or peer reviewed. I offer it here for the purpose of adding to the dialogue on education that continues now, five years later.
Getting a Head Start: On Getting Even for Developmentally Abused and Neglected Children in a Developmentally Abused and Neglected Program
Nancy L. Gray
February 2003
Abstract
Head Start is investigated through an examination of the literature about Head Start, Child Development, and Child Abuse and Neglect as they interrelate. Head Start makes a "significant difference" to children in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Territories by providing "high quality" comprehensive health, nutritional, educational, social and other services. An estimated 20% of the children who attend Head Start programs are abused and neglected by their primary caretakers. Children's development is negatively impacted by abuse and neglect. The literature indicates Head Start also experiences a form of "abuse and neglect" from the government agencies that serve as its caretakers. Head Start's development is less than its critics expect and demand. There may be a connection.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents 3
Introduction 4
Head Start 6
Child Development and Head Start. 8
Child Abuse, Neglect and Head Start. 9
Connections 12
Bibliography 17
Getting a Head Start: On Getting Even for Developmentally Abused and Neglected Children in a Developmentally Abused and Neglected Program
INTRODUCTION
Head Start, the federally funded national pre-school program, is an anomaly. Talk about getting a head start and the first thought that comes to the average person is about someone gaining an advantage over the competition. Mention getting a head start to Early Childhood educators, pediatricians and other service providers for children, and the subject quickly focuses on Project Head Start, a national program designed not to give an advantage, but to even the playing field for the 60% of those three-to-five-year-old children it reaches, that might otherwise be left out of the game altogether. Ask its critics, and Head Start becomes just another federal program that fails to deliver on its promises. Which is it?
Project Head Start, according to the "Creating A 21st Century Head Start Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion, is "…a symbol of hope for a better life for low-income children and their families." (1993 p2) A Head Start parent giving testimony before the Advisory Committee said "I learned to live again, not just survive. Head Start gave me and my children a chance to succeed, to be winners." (1993 p2) Unfortunately, the anomaly is that Head Start may be the most "successful social program of its time" but find itself, once again, in danger of an early demise through the efforts of critics and the government agencies responsible for its success.
Like the twenty percent of its children who are abused and neglected, Head Start bears the marks of the innocent victim of its environment. When times are good and money is plentiful, Head Start is everyone's darling blue-eyed political baby. When times are rough, Head Start takes a beating. When Head Start personnel have difficulty in "determining when a refusal for treatment may be considered child abuse or neglect," they can see "45CFR 1304.22(a)(5) for guidance." (The Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Bureau, 2003, p12). When Head Start is refused treatment in the form of adequate and necessary funding, neglected through reductions in auxiliary services needed to implement and maintain the quality of the program, or abused in the guise of "Standardized Testing" that won't provide "meaningful data," (Jacobson, 2003, p1). and threatened by abandonment by its federal parent, Health and Human Services, to be placed in the foster care of the states with their "cash-strapped governors" who will "slice off services to make federal money go farther," (Schemo, 2003) who will provide the guidance to determine if, in fact, it is being "helped," as suggested by its critics, or abused and neglected as suggested by its advocates? Who will be its arbiter?
Head Start isn't simply a pre-school program. It serves as a handicap to increase the chances for those children and their families who are struggling with the disability of impoverishment. Head Start is presently a program struggling with its own developmental problems. Just as low-income, disabled, or abused and neglected children need a program that views their "developmental milestones" flexibly, not attempting to force conformity where there are too many uncontrolled factors, but instead seeking "consistent results over time and across users,"(The Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Bureau, 2003, p 6) so too does the Head Start program deserve flexibility in meeting its "Program Performance Standards." Head Start "narrows the gap between disadvantaged students and all other children….improves social skills….leads to continued improvements…relative to other children during kindergarten." (Head Start FACES…, 2001, pi). Head Start does not create an even playing field, but its graduates are at least playing in the game.
This paper considers three issues concerning Head Start. The first issue is Head Start as a program. The second issue is development as it relates to Head Start as a program, and the children it serves. The third issue is abuse and neglect as it relates to Head Start as a program, the children it serves, and perhaps, the future of both.
HEAD START
Project Head Start began in 1965, during an "optimistic period of American history, a time when many believed that government should take a proactive, extensive role in eradicating the negative effects of poverty on children's development." (Zigler/Styfco, 1993, p1) At that time, "much of the country's poverty" was located in "physically or culturally isolated enclave." Children represented half of the "nation's thirty million poor people." President Lyndon Johnson declared War on Poverty. Johnson was committed to "overcome a lot of hostility in our society against the poor…by going at the children," believing that "education and self-help programs…could succeed in transforming the lives of poor Americans." (Zigler/Styfco, 1993, p 3). Today, Head Start reaches nearly 60% of eligible low-income children between the ages three and five. It's newest addition, Early Head Start, reaches 3% of low-income children from six months to age three.
Head Start didn't begin with "especially unique" components. What Head Start did, that was new, was to combine components "to form a multifaceted intervention" with the intention to "develop ways to serve very young children." The basic program was designed to meet the "developmental needs of the poor children." The program would "optimize their competence in social and school settings" by providing "developmentally appropriate educational experiences, health screening and referral, mental health services, social services, nutrition education, and hot meals, and parent involvement." (Zigler/Styfco, 1993, p 5) Development of "motor, language, social, cognitive, perceptual, and emotional domains" was, and remains, a primary consideration. (The Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Bureau, 2003, p 6).
Head Start has five primary objectives. The first is to "enhance children's healthy growth and development. The second is to "strengthen families as the primary nurturers of their children." The third is to "provide children with educational, health and nutritional services." The fourth is to "link children and families to needed community services." And the fifth is to "ensure well-managed programs that involve parents in decision making." (Head Start FACES, 2002, p4)
In 1993, Health and Human Services announced the formation of an Advisory Committee to "review the program and make recommendations for improvements and expansion." The purpose was to make sure "the vision and potential of Head Start" are renewed, "the program strengthened," and the changing needs of children and families met. The committee's intent was to "develop a set of recommendations that could guide program planning," and ensure that the "powerful legacy of an earlier time continues to thrive into the next century." (Creating…1993, p 2). Among their findings: "Head Start must not be isolated from other providers; it must take its place as a partner in a community and state." (Creating…1993, p 3). Expecting it to do so, at this time when states are struggling with massive budget cuts and reduced services to the poor and their children, is tantamount to inviting the destruction of the one program proven to make a difference in the "school readiness" of low-income children.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND HEAD START
Head Start works with a "whole child" approach. Educational preparedness involves the "provision of academic and social experiences that are developmentally appropriate as well as health care and family support services." (Zigler/Styfco 1993, p113). Head Start is successful because its "program performance standards require the use of a developmentally appropriate curriculum keyed to each child's needs and to all areas of the child's development." At Head Start, "teachers facilitate, rather than direct learning." (Zigler/Styfco 1993, p98). Unfortunately, many Head Start programs are "marginal, staffed by people who are poorly paid and have little training." (Vander Zanden, 2003, p291). In spite of that, "seventy-five percent of Head Start classrooms were rated as good or better, nearly one-fifth as very good or excellent, and classroom was of 'inadequate quality'…ratings compare favorably with other studies of preschool and child care…average numbers from both class size and child adult ratios were far better than those required…for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation standards." (Head Start FACES…2001, piv).
One of Head Start's original planning committee members, Urie Bronfenbrenner, was in the initial stages of developing "his ecological approach to human development." In order to be effective, he said, an "intervention" must involve the "complex interrelationship among children, their families and communities."( Zigler/Styfco, 1993, p4). Young children are "just beginning to construct their personal universes," and experiencing many emotional responses of self and others, "for the first time," so emotional health and "overall mental health" were "central" to the program. Children were to be helped to "learn desirable ways of expressing feelings," and "regulating their emotions." (Vander Zanden, 2003, p290).
"Head Start children have larger gains in "vocabulary knowledge…early writing…and math skills….play became more complex, with children becoming move involved in interactive play with peers, a key indicator of social development," but are "still substantially below national norms at the end of the Head Start year" as critics are quick to note. Head Start children also "showed little progress in letter recognition or book and print concepts over the course of the program year…problem behaviors showed minimal or no change." (Head Start FACES…2001, pii)
Head Start "received the highest rating of any government program" in a 1999 report of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, ((Head Start FACES…2001, piv,) and is called "America's premiere early childhood program," by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Head Start seems to be what its name suggests: an advantage for the disadvantaged. Unfortunately, that promising title has been both a promise and a disconnect for many of its graduates. This politically popular program has experienced cycles of ups and downs. Sometimes vilified for its failures, especially during lean economic times, at other times erroneously glorified for its successes when politically expedient to do so, Head Start is about to face its greatest challenge. The abuse and neglect by the government agencies responsible for its care escalate as administration policies batter the hopes of millions for a Head Start for their children.
CHILD ABUSE, NEGLECT AND HEAD START
Child abuse and neglect are not easily or generally defined. Although the Federal Child Abuse and Treatment Act provides a "minimum set of acts or behaviors that define physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse," each state is "responsible for providing its own definitions of child abuse and neglect." (U.S. Depart…, 2/2002, p1). Head Start figures show that "About one fifth of children were reported to have been exposed to community or domestic violence in their lives." (Head Start FACES…, 2001, pii) and this exposure to violence is becoming another form of child abuse and neglect. In 2000, there were "approximately 879,000 children found to be victims of child maltreatment." (U.S. Depart…, 2002, p2) Many experts in the field believe the number represents only a small portion of actual victims. In general, child abuse and neglect are of four main types: "physical abuse, physical or emotional neglect, sexual abuse and emotional abuse."
Children in child abuse and neglect studies "frequently experience" multiple forms of abuse. As many as "90% of the subjects in one study" experienced more than one form of abuse and neglect." (Workshop…, 2002, p 2). Children who live in "grueling environments" cannot learn academic skills. In order to make a difference for these children, to give them an opportunity to benefit from education, they first need early preparation to overcome the negative consequences to their development. "Comprehensive services" are required for that. (Zigler/Styfco, 1993). The comprehensive services provided by Head Start has been shown to make a significant difference for children, including the abused and neglected, to move forward in their development.
Additionally, "Support from parents, the school environment, and peers all play a role in helping children overcome adversity in their world." (Workshop, 2002, p 13). Head Start programs provide all of these to low-income children. Resilience also makes a difference in how children are able to continue in negative situations with less distress and damage to their development. "Factors contributing to resilience include "A strong relationship with a positive, caring adult" is one factor that contributes to resilience. "Community safe havens" are another factor. But "certain characteristics of the child including intelligence, self-esteem, and access to resources" may prove to be the most enduring factors in contributing to a child's resilience. (Workshop, 2002, p7). Head Start provides an opportunity to develop all of them.
The "disadvantaged populations served by intervention programs" have changed over the years, but the children's basic needs remain essentially the same. "Poverty has become more pervasive…increases in…child and substance abuse have grown." (National Head Start Association, 1990, p 24). An estimated 20% of Head Start students have "serious family problems that significantly hinder their learning in school…child abuse and neglect are a problem…poor health and nutrition" are a cause for concern. (Zigler/Styfco, 1993, p 103). All of these issues impact a child's readiness to learn. Head Start improves that dramatically in many cases.
Child abuse and neglect are expensive. Not only do child abuse and neglect have "detrimental effects" on the physical, psychological, cognitive and behavioral development of children, including "physical injuries, brain damage, chronic low self-esteem, problems with bonding and forming relationships, developmental delays, learning disorders, and aggressive behavior" but they are also "linked with long-term negative societal consequences." (U.S. Dept…, 1999, p1). The costs are both direct and indirect. The "investments in prevention" lead to "payback curves" that "extend over a long period of time." Some studies indicate a possible return on investment of as much as 1600% for every dollar spent on child abuse and neglect prevention. (U.S. Dept…, 1999 pp 3-6). Head Start represents an investment with an even greater return for dollars spent, not necessarily in dollars, but in lives changed for the better.
CONNECTIONS
"The original planners had a vision of what every Head Start family should receive. Over twenty-five years later this vision is largely unfulfilled, and the addition of more children will only delay its realization. It much wiser to serve fewer children well than to serve more children poorly, for the literature makes clear that only high-quality programs can produce meaningful benefits." (Zigler/Styfco, 1993, p32)
A connection among Head Start programs, child development and child abuse and neglect is evident even in this partial review of the literature relating to each. But what of the initial suggestion that the Head Start program, its development and any form of "abuse and neglect" may share a similar connection? A brief review of recent occurrences will indicate a viable connection is there.
Head Start is still a developing program. During Head Start's nearly thirty-five year development, its own research has lead to many advances in child development interventions, policies and other important early childhood education and related subjects. Any developmental process has stages. Head Start is no different. And just as an organism's development is impacted by environmental factors, so, too, is Head Start's development impacted by changing funding levels, increasing demands placed on its limited resources, attacks on its infrastructure, including losses of formerly available public school space in which to run its programs, and a drain on its qualified teachers to hastily created state funded preschool with funding to pay much higher salaries. Other situations that have occurred through its developmental period could be construed as evidence of intent to create a "failure to thrive" environment for its graduates, by failing to provided adequate transition services and adequately fund follow up programs, such as Project Follow Through, which results in the loss of gains made by the children while in the Head Start program. Today as the need for the program grows, the "neglect and abuse" continue against the developing program in greater degree than ever.
In April 2002, President Bush, announced an Early Childhood Initiative to improve early education for children that included new steps to further strengthen the Head Start program." (HHS Fact Sheet, 2002). As this paper is compiled, President Bush and his administrations are making decisions that may result in the demise of Head Start. Standardized testing for every four-year-old preschooler is projected for implementation in the fall of 2003. Early childhood educators and experts worry "that federal officials are going too far in their drive to hold local programs accountable for children's performance." Not the least of their concerns is the fear that teachers will begin "teaching to the test," with-the-three year olds, rather than continuing the original, and highly effective Head Start goal to focus on "children's social and emotional development. (Jacobson, 2003).
In addition to the risks associated with the Standardized Testing program, funding is again creating problems in 2003 for Head Start. Because the Bush administration failed to pass the 2003 budget in a timely manner, officials have been running "countless federal programs, from early childhood education to welfare, from setting priorities because they do not know how much money they will get." (Stolberg, 2003).
The Bush 2004, $2.23 trillion budget remains enmeshed in controversy. Bush's budget "reflects his "most urgent national priorities: 'Winning the war against terrorism, securing the homeland and generating long-term economic growth." The budget has "record deficits" and will "speed up billions of dollars in income tax cuts, provide huge increases for the Pentagon and offer a modest jump in spending for NASA." Cuts include, spending on "programs for juvenile delinquency, " money for "public housing…aid to rural schools…and government financed child care." These programs, like Head Start, have all been shown to increase low-income children's opportunities for succeeding.
The news that worries Head Start supporters more than funding cuts, is the Bush administration proposal that "Head Start would become a block grant program." Administration officials, who "dispute the view that Head Start is a success," say that this would "allow states to coordinate Head Start better with their own preschool programs." They "describe the proposal as a logical extension of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act" (Schemo, 2003) while failing to mention that NCLP appropriations have not been funded.
Critics of the Administration's proposal, including Sarah Green, president of the National Head Start Association, contend "turning Head Start into a block grant program could be the first step toward dismantling it, as governors slice off services to make federal money go further." One example is in Florida where the voters passed a referendum that Governor Jeb Bush "must provide preschool for all children by 2005." The voters gave no clear direction to "how the cash-strapped state would pay for it." New York is another example of a state that might "slice" the Head Start money into pieces. Governor Pataki's "latest budget eliminates universal preschool, and cuts back preschool for poor children." (Schemo, 2003).
The Head Start program is successful "in giving poor children an advantage when they reach school." Some critics fail to note that the "ultimate goal of Head Start…is to promote the social competence of children." (Head Start FACES…2002). Numerous studies demonstrate that the comprehensive approach of Head Start, reaches the whole child and the family. Although "more research is needed on how interventions for parents affect the development of their children," (Workshop…, 2002, 26) Head Start has clearly shown that helping parents, helps children.
When the Bush "administration officials" say of Head Start, "the fairest way to look at data that's been done is to say it's clear children do show some improvement, but they still lag quite significantly behind more advantaged peers when they enter kindergarten" (Schemo, 2003) is politically motivated rhetoric designed to obfuscate the facts. Saying "some improvement" is dismissive of how much improvement actually occurs, especially for the majority of children who "enter Head Start with literacy skills below the national norms," (Head Start FACES… 2002, p14). "Gains in cognitive skills" as well as "on early writing and math tasks," were in fact larger "among children who were initially in the bottom quarter…" (Head Start FACES… p 20).
The statement that children "still lag quite significantly behind" suggests a greater disparity than exists, and fails to account for the fact that the average children in kindergarten also lag behind their "advantaged peers." Children fortunate enough to attend top quality programs can be expected to show the greatest improvements but that is not sufficient reason to eliminate the only program that does make a difference for low-income children. Although Head Start "narrows the skills gap…it does not close the gap."
Quality is an issue for Head Start programs, and when funding is inadequate to proved the best materials and teachers, programs naturally suffer reduction in quality. And "observed quality of Head Start classrooms has been linked with child outcomes." (Head Start FACES…, 2001). In spite of that, no Head Start was found to be of "inadequate" quality. Head Start quality is "better than other center-based preschool programs." (Head Start FACES…p 94).Parent volunteers, community assistance, determination of the teachers make a difference. There is no logical justification to use these known, but correctable disadvantages as an excuse to weaken the Head Start program even more than inadequate funding already does. Part of Head Start's mission is to prepare low-income children to enter Kindergarten, "ready to learn," and they are.
Head Start is "America's premiere early childhood program, providing comprehensive developmental services for America's low-income, preschool children." (HHS Fact Sheet, 2002). If that alone does not make Head Start worth keeping, let the administration provide whatever funding is needed to make any improvements needed so that each and every Head Start program is in fact a head start, or at least an even start, for America's low-income children as they begin their educational race to succeed.
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Showing posts with label child abuse continuum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child abuse continuum. Show all posts
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Out of Many, One Child's Story of Abuse
While a student at Capella University I wrote the following paper in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a class on the prevention and causes of child abuse.
Table of Contents
Abstract 2
Table of Contents 3
ntroduction 4
Child Maltreatment:
More than sticks, stones, and broken bones. 4
Dave Pelzer's Story: Peace or war on the home front? 7
Today is not yesterday:
Prevention, Intervention and Amelioration 20
Conclusion 22
References 23
..................................................................................................
The Talmud and the African tribe, the Masai tribe,
Both teach a wisdom for our wounded world.
They both taught:
Sticks alone can be broken by a child,
But sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.
Rabbi Marc Gellman~
A Prayer for America
Yankee Stadium
September 23, 2001
(Bundle of Thirteen Arrows: The Power of War, 2004)
The world is a dangerous place
Not because of those who do evil
But because of those who look on and do nothing.
Albert Einstein
Child abuse is not a modern phenomenon, some bizarre reaction resorted to by an overstressed society with fewer familial and community support systems to assist in child rearing. Throughout recorded history child abuse has left its indelible mark as clearly as a wooden spoon used to discipline a child leaves its mark.(Demause) Children were considered property to be used, abused or discarded without interference. (Crosson-Tower, 2002) Infanticide, corporal punishment, child labor, sexual exploitation including incest, and child abuse as amusement are not unique to the societies of this twenty-first century.
According to Crosson-Tower, (Crosson-Tower, 2002) today we do more to protect children than ever before. As evidence she points to higher levels of awareness by professionals and public alike, improved communication among those who work in the fields related to child maltreatment, ever-increasing research, and media attention. (Crosson-Tower, 2002).
Never-the-less, child maltreatment is a major problem of epidemic proportions (Alliance: Factsheets: Child Abuse, 1997; U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003), affecting every socio-economic level of society, (Berdik, 2003), every organization, (Sechrist, 2000b) every culture. (Chalk, Gibbons, & Scarupa, 2002; Tsukahara, 2004; Vasquez). Records attest to in excess of three million children whom are abused and neglected each year in the United States. (Crosson-Tower) That number only hints at the possible number of maltreated children not reported. Some have suggested that reported cases represent only the tip of an iceberg.
Currently, in the United States, all 50 states have faults and failings in their child welfare programs. (Pear, 2004). Some consider that a government failure to invest enough in child welfare. (Child Welfare Spending: A Moral Failure to Invest, 2004)Twenty-two states still allow corporal punishment in schools. And the United States is one of only two countries that didn't sign a UN convention that obligated them to protect children's rights (Miller, 2000). The direct and indirect costs to society of a continuing failure to correct this situation in the United States is staggering. Some estimates exceed a conservative estimate of $94 billion per year. (Fromm, 2001). The potential return on investment to change is correspondingly high. (Fromm, 2001). Dave Pelzer estimates the costs to society of rescuing him from an abusive home environment at $100,000. In exchange, he says, society now gets the yield of a functional, taxpaying adult. And he points out, there are more than ten million others out there just like him. (Mikalonis, 1996).
Records, reports, vivid accounts of horrific mutilations and deaths of children by their primary caretakers, statistics involving numbers too large for the average mind to grasp, and voluminous amounts of research have not done a great deal to change child maltreatment in the United States, or elsewhere for that matter. Reports of child abuse and neglect continue to climb. Some blame the faltering economy, rising unemployment, and its greater burden on families, who are falling apart more. (Anderson, 2003).
An Eagle was soaring through the air.
Suddenly it heard the whizz of an Arrow,
And felt the dart pierce its breast.
Slowly it fluttered down to earth.
Its lifeblood pouring out.
Looking at the Arrow
With which it had been shot
The Eagle realized that the deadly shaft
Had been feathered with one of its own plumes.
Moral: "We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.
~Aesop~
(Bundle of Thirteen Arrows: The Power of War, 2004)
Dave's position is that these behaviors were survival mechanisms used to defeat a mother he believed intent upon his destruction. His mother is dead. We cannot ask her position.
Therefore, Pelzer's story serves as an important vehicle in which to explore child maltreatment from the perspective of one of its victims rather than through the perspective of detached, objective and sometimes disinterested third party observers. Although one child's experiences and perceptions of those experiences do not represent those of all maltreated children, for purposes of comparison to existing theories, they may well serve as a reflection of many.
The Pelzer family consisted of two adults and four, later five, children. They lived together in a two-bedroom house. Sometimes the boy's bedroom is directly off the garage/basement where Dave sleeps much of the time on an old army-cot, but other times it is "upstairs" (D. Pelzer, 1955; pp. 96,120). Regardless of the details, by most standards these are crowded accommodations that may have contributed to the family dynamics.
In a 1996 interview,(Mikalonis, 1996) Dave explained that his mother was reared in a religious Mormon community in Utah, where because her parents were divorced they were treated as outcasts. There she began drinking at the age of thirteen, hiding in the outhouse to drink bootleg whiskey during the Prohibition. (Mikalonis, 1996).
Dave's story presents examples of an irrational logic to Catherine's choice of bizarre discipline and punishment. The abuses aren't as random as Dave suspects. Neither are they as likely to be little more than random, meaningless assaults on an innocent child as they are out-of-control attempts to exercise control by an out-of-control disabled mind. When she says, "you're a quick little shit, aren't you?….. Well… we'll just see how fast you really are," in response to Dave running to school fast in order to have time to beg food from neighbors, she requires him to do everything faster or do without food. (D. Pelzer, 1995) p.71) She forces him to swallow a spoonful of ammonia (D. Pelzer, 1995) p.74-6)while telling him only speed will save him. Again, she says it is to teach him not to steal food. Within her disabled mind there is an apparent connection between his behaviors and her choices of discipline.
Dave was the second or third of five children, depending on which account is accurate. Dave, Stan, Ronald, Russel, Baby Kevin and the father all experienced yelling and screaming from the mother. A forthcoming book by Dave's brother suggests they all experienced degrees of abuse and neglect, as well, although until Dave left home, he apparently received the most. Whereas in some cases, parental abuse leads to closer sibling relationships, in Dave's case the opposite appears more often true.
According to the personal account provided in the first book of his Biographical trilogy, (Pelzer, 1995), Dave Pelzer experienced various types of abuse as a child between the ages of four and twelve. Within his home, Dave's mother, father and siblings committed various forms of familial abuses. In his community, Dave's peers abused him at school. Other forms of societal abuse and neglect were evident by others such as extended family members, neighbors, and school personnel who failed to identify the maltreatment, seek assistance or take any action to protect him from harm. In spite of nurses records, school complaint records, reported community experiences that indicate prior knowledge of his insecure and unsafe life,(D. Pelzer, 1995). Dave was twelve years old when one substitute teacher finally triggered on his behalf. (D. Pelzer, 1995)
Dave's mother, Catherine Roerva, committed the most obvious forms of physical maltreatment against him. According to Dave, over time she resorted to various forms of physical abuse and neglect. He specifies that she hit, punched, smacked him in the face, pushed his head against the countertop, smashed his face into a mirror, dragged him, picked him up by the ears, beat him "black and blue" held his arm over the open flame of a gas stove until it burned, kept him submerged for hours in a bathtub of cold water, forced him to ingest soap, ammonia, Clorox, and feces, closed him in the bathroom with a Clorox and ammonia mixture, smeared excrement on his face, whipped him "with the dog's chain" and a broom handle, choked him, (D. Pelzer, 1995) pp. 3, 4, 30, 34, 35, 37, 40, 41, 52, 55, 107, 109, 113, 116, 142).
The mother emotionally abused Dave by calling him sickening, an incompetent loser, a bad boy, wished him dead, and referred to him as "the Boy" and later simply as "it," rather than by his name, thereby negating his existence as a human being or member of the family (D. Pelzer, 1995) pp.32, 50). Dave received fewer Christmas presents than the other children, was kept in forced isolation from the rest of the family, and excluded from most family activities, including meals. His mother had him call himself a bad boy, and repeat "I hate myself, I hate myself" (D. Pelzer, 1995) p. 136). She also denied him the nurturing and acceptance necessary for healthy development.
Psychological maltreatment was a constant part of Davis' childhood. Catherine resorted to psychological maltreatment when she used food, which should have been nurturing as a weapon to control him. She repeatedly resorted to requiring him to call himself a bad boy, ordered him to climb up and lie on the flames of the gas stove so she could watch him burn, waved a knife at him while threatening to kill him (D. Pelzer; pp. 85)
Catherine continuously neglects Dave's basic needs for survival. Dave repeatedly refers to receiving no food, or inadequate leftovers from other family member's meals over extended periods of time. He claims she even starved him "up to about ten consecutive days (D. Pelzer, 1995) pp. 3,4,104). And yet it deserves mention that while bemoaning the fact that he won't have time to steal food before school, Dave also complains about having the same bag lunch of two peanut sandwiches and a few carrot sticks for three years. Within lines of one another he then tells of not being able to steal food before school, stuffing his sandwiches down his throat during lunch, and his father sneaking scraps of food to him. (D. Pelzer, 1995; p. 58).
Dave claims he had to wear the same pants, shoes with holes in the toes, and Swiss-cheese-holey shirt for two years. That was a way, he explains, for his mother to humiliate him. But again, as with the food insufficiency discrepancies, he later explains how after school he changes into his "Work clothes" before doing his chores. (D. Pelzer, 1995; p.70). Understandably, Dave's perceptions of Catherine's behaviors are all related to his belief that there was a war between them and that war, along with Catherine's determination to win it, dictated her choices of action. However, the possibility exists that along with other unidentified but acknowledged destructive behaviors, Dave may have been destructive of his clothes which would lead to an irrational-logic decision for Catherine to not allow him to wear new clothes which were available by his accounts. Dave and his mother each seem unable or unwilling to see the other except through the fog of their war.
For David, food is not simply sustenance for the body. As he explains, in the early years of his life, his mother was a "gifted cook" who delighted in treating her family to special and fantastic meals. Then food was "wolfed" down, and barely noticed. Later he steals food, dreams of food, and uses food as descriptors, metaphors and analogies throughout his story. (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 48).
For Dave Pelzer getting food is less about satisfying a physiological hunger than it is about meeting an emotional/psychological hunger to be the one in control. Food is power. For Catherine and Dave food is the ultimate weapon in a war without end for either of them. At seven, Dave begins stealing food from school, in response, he says, to his unsatisfied hunger, but the food he steals is Twinkies and other desserts, causing classmates to "hate him" and a principal's report to his mother. He steals trays of frozen cafeteria lunches, begs food from neighbors, steals from a store. (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 48, 49, 64, 68).
Change requires that it will take many willing to look at the reality of child abuse in order for the power of one united front to find the strength and courage to demand an end to it. Only then may peace and freedom be available to all. Those who would contribute to a future without child maltreatment must first be committed to financially support an in-depth and multi-year continuing program of child well-being designed to prevent, ameliorate the existing effects of, and reduce the interminable life-long ravages (Kempe, 2002; Teicher, 2002) related to child maltreatment. They also must be committed to using all resources available to influence schools, libraries, and child-related programs to take a risk and provide the time and facilities for the implementation and continuation of such programs over time. Additionally, continuing training of any adults working with or in frequent contact with children must be recognized as essential. (Bugental et al., 2002). A commitment by all to prevention, early identification, amelioration of effects, and continual non-maltreatment of children must become a consistent and natural part of children's formal developmental environment whether at home or elsewhere. (Fantuzzo, Stevenson, & Source; 1997, 1997; Gullatt & Stockton, 2000).
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E Pluribus Unum:
Out of Many, One Child's Story of Abuse
Abstract
This paper attempts to present an analytical look at child maltreatment as presented by one of its victims, Dave Pelzer in his book, A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive. The purpose of using the memories of this one victim of child maltreatment as presented in his book is to consider the child's perspective more directly than is usually possible in explorations of child maltreatment by various professionals and members of other discourse communities whose biases and ideologies naturally affect their perceptions. Third party observations and attempts to determine a child's perspective of abuse and neglect from his or her behaviors may fail to account for individual actions and interactions within the abusive environment that affect what occurs there as well as conclusions drawn from the experiences, and subsequent decisions about how to apply what is learned and what information to share about the experience.
This paper attempts to present an analytical look at child maltreatment as presented by one of its victims, Dave Pelzer in his book, A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive. The purpose of using the memories of this one victim of child maltreatment as presented in his book is to consider the child's perspective more directly than is usually possible in explorations of child maltreatment by various professionals and members of other discourse communities whose biases and ideologies naturally affect their perceptions. Third party observations and attempts to determine a child's perspective of abuse and neglect from his or her behaviors may fail to account for individual actions and interactions within the abusive environment that affect what occurs there as well as conclusions drawn from the experiences, and subsequent decisions about how to apply what is learned and what information to share about the experience.
Table of Contents
Abstract 2
Table of Contents 3
ntroduction 4
Child Maltreatment:
More than sticks, stones, and broken bones. 4
Dave Pelzer's Story: Peace or war on the home front? 7
Today is not yesterday:
Prevention, Intervention and Amelioration 20
Conclusion 22
References 23
..................................................................................................
E Pluribus Unum:
Out of Many, One Child's Story of Abuse
Out of Many, One Child's Story of Abuse
The Talmud and the African tribe, the Masai tribe,
Both teach a wisdom for our wounded world.
They both taught:
Sticks alone can be broken by a child,
But sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.
Rabbi Marc Gellman~
A Prayer for America
Yankee Stadium
September 23, 2001
(Bundle of Thirteen Arrows: The Power of War, 2004)
Out of many, one abused child's story of betrayal serves as a symbol of child maltreatment throughout the United States. Dave Pelzer's story, from his book A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive, (Pelzer, 1995), also serves as a beacon to guide a society of too many such children and those who join them to strive toward a freedom that becomes possible when out of many, one unified voice cries no to child maltreatment.
Child Maltreatment:
More than Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones
Child Maltreatment:
More than Sticks, Stones, and Broken Bones
The world is a dangerous place
Not because of those who do evil
But because of those who look on and do nothing.
Albert Einstein
Child abuse is not a modern phenomenon, some bizarre reaction resorted to by an overstressed society with fewer familial and community support systems to assist in child rearing. Throughout recorded history child abuse has left its indelible mark as clearly as a wooden spoon used to discipline a child leaves its mark.(Demause) Children were considered property to be used, abused or discarded without interference. (Crosson-Tower, 2002) Infanticide, corporal punishment, child labor, sexual exploitation including incest, and child abuse as amusement are not unique to the societies of this twenty-first century.
According to Crosson-Tower, (Crosson-Tower, 2002) today we do more to protect children than ever before. As evidence she points to higher levels of awareness by professionals and public alike, improved communication among those who work in the fields related to child maltreatment, ever-increasing research, and media attention. (Crosson-Tower, 2002).
Never-the-less, child maltreatment is a major problem of epidemic proportions (Alliance: Factsheets: Child Abuse, 1997; U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003), affecting every socio-economic level of society, (Berdik, 2003), every organization, (Sechrist, 2000b) every culture. (Chalk, Gibbons, & Scarupa, 2002; Tsukahara, 2004; Vasquez). Records attest to in excess of three million children whom are abused and neglected each year in the United States. (Crosson-Tower) That number only hints at the possible number of maltreated children not reported. Some have suggested that reported cases represent only the tip of an iceberg.
Currently, in the United States, all 50 states have faults and failings in their child welfare programs. (Pear, 2004). Some consider that a government failure to invest enough in child welfare. (Child Welfare Spending: A Moral Failure to Invest, 2004)Twenty-two states still allow corporal punishment in schools. And the United States is one of only two countries that didn't sign a UN convention that obligated them to protect children's rights (Miller, 2000). The direct and indirect costs to society of a continuing failure to correct this situation in the United States is staggering. Some estimates exceed a conservative estimate of $94 billion per year. (Fromm, 2001). The potential return on investment to change is correspondingly high. (Fromm, 2001). Dave Pelzer estimates the costs to society of rescuing him from an abusive home environment at $100,000. In exchange, he says, society now gets the yield of a functional, taxpaying adult. And he points out, there are more than ten million others out there just like him. (Mikalonis, 1996).
Research confirms that abused children can grow into adults with serious mental health problems, lifelong mental health and emotional problems. However, recovery is possible, if the trauma is identified and treated early. (Dante Cicchetti, 2004; Sechrist, 2000a; What can happen to abused children when they grow up--if no one notices, listens or helps? Some statistics from the research, 2001).
Records, reports, vivid accounts of horrific mutilations and deaths of children by their primary caretakers, statistics involving numbers too large for the average mind to grasp, and voluminous amounts of research have not done a great deal to change child maltreatment in the United States, or elsewhere for that matter. Reports of child abuse and neglect continue to climb. Some blame the faltering economy, rising unemployment, and its greater burden on families, who are falling apart more. (Anderson, 2003).
The costs, the causes, the blames and responsibilities related to child maltreatment matter little if anything to those millions of children who cry out in pain in this moment, who struggle to survive day after day, or to the five who will breathe their last breath today because of child maltreatment. Ask those who live to tell their story as Dave Pelzer did what matters most to the maltreated child.
Dave's Story: War or Peace on the Home Front?
Dave's Story: War or Peace on the Home Front?
An Eagle was soaring through the air.
Suddenly it heard the whizz of an Arrow,
And felt the dart pierce its breast.
Slowly it fluttered down to earth.
Its lifeblood pouring out.
Looking at the Arrow
With which it had been shot
The Eagle realized that the deadly shaft
Had been feathered with one of its own plumes.
Moral: "We often give our enemies the means for our own destruction.
~Aesop~
(Bundle of Thirteen Arrows: The Power of War, 2004)
Dave Pelzer's book, A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive, (1995) is the first of a biographical trilogy. The book details his life from ages four to twelve as an abused and neglected child within his birth family. According to words applied to himself throughout the book Dave as a child, in addition to being mal-treated, was also imaginative, creative, noisy, wild, self-destructive, rebellious, disobedient, and inclined to lie, sneak, steal and in other ways behave in a manner that lead to him being identified as a problem child by many. (D. Pelzer, 1995).
Dave's position is that these behaviors were survival mechanisms used to defeat a mother he believed intent upon his destruction. His mother is dead. We cannot ask her position.
This is Dave's story, so other perspectives are not readily apparent within the book. However, the astute reader will keep in mind that memory development in children often contains distortions, conscious and otherwise, (Alessi & Ballard, 2001), so will view the facts presented from Dave's memories accordingly. That is mentioned in no way to suggest or imply that Dave was not an abused child, as others have claimed. (Plotz, 2000). Enough recorded evidence exists, in addition to Pelzer's accounts and after affects to confirm that he was severely maltreated as a child.
Therefore, Pelzer's story serves as an important vehicle in which to explore child maltreatment from the perspective of one of its victims rather than through the perspective of detached, objective and sometimes disinterested third party observers. Although one child's experiences and perceptions of those experiences do not represent those of all maltreated children, for purposes of comparison to existing theories, they may well serve as a reflection of many.
The Pelzer family consisted of two adults and four, later five, children. They lived together in a two-bedroom house. Sometimes the boy's bedroom is directly off the garage/basement where Dave sleeps much of the time on an old army-cot, but other times it is "upstairs" (D. Pelzer, 1955; pp. 96,120). Regardless of the details, by most standards these are crowded accommodations that may have contributed to the family dynamics.
Another factor contributing to the family dynamics is the "code" of the Pelzer family. According to Pelzer, it is "if we don't acknowledge a problem, it simply does not exist" (D. Pelzer, 1955; p.91). Additionally, "parents and children influence each other in a reciprocal manner," creating in the process negative "feedback loops" that increase child behavior problems. (Maccoby and Martin, 1983; in Nicholson, et al. 2002; p. 362). Dave's story provides a graphic illustration of that loop in action. Over time, as his behaviors worsened, the abuse and neglect inflicted on him escalated.
Pelzer insists that the first four years of his life were idyllic. His "perfect" parents were devoted to each other and the well being of their three (at that time) children. Some details suggest a different possibility.
David Pelzer's parents drank together. Their drinking had elements of romance and ritualism. When Dave's father wasn't available to join her, his mother drank alone. Dave saw their drinking as a means of communicating their feelings toward one another. When the parents weren't drinking together they communicated through heated arguments. (D. Pelzer, 1955).
David Pelzer's parents drank together. Their drinking had elements of romance and ritualism. When Dave's father wasn't available to join her, his mother drank alone. Dave saw their drinking as a means of communicating their feelings toward one another. When the parents weren't drinking together they communicated through heated arguments. (D. Pelzer, 1955).
Dave's Father, Stephen Joseph, is described as supporting his family as a San Francisco fireman. Although Dave frequently refers to his father as his hero, he is presented throughout the book as ineffectual. Although Dave recounts attempts by the father to stand up to the mother, it is the father who enforces her order for Dave to eat the vomited hotdogs and tater tots retrieved from the toilette, when he could have flushed them away. He stands by "lifeless" as she forces Dave to drink a spoonful of ammonia a second time, appears "dispassionate" as Dave evacuates in a bucket,(D. Pelzer, 1995) pp. 66,77-8).
His only response is to ask why, after Dave tells him that Catherine stabbed him. Then Steve tells Dave to go in and do the dishes.
His only response is to ask why, after Dave tells him that Catherine stabbed him. Then Steve tells Dave to go in and do the dishes.
Throughout the book, Steve's primary goal is to not do anything to make Catherine upset, and to keep Dave from doing so because he can't "go through that." Dave's perspective of his father is that Catherine "controlled him like she controlled everything that happened in her house." (D. Pelzer, 1995) pp. 89-90).
Sometimes Dave feels "more angry at his father than his mother. While at other times he still perceives the father as his hero and the one person who keeps him safer in an unsafe environment. Perhaps the best the father could do was offer Dave the advice "to try to make her happy and stay out of her way," which apparently was his own solution to any difficult situation he encountered. His frequent promises to rescue Dave were probably offered as his way to make Dave happy more than as any serious intent to ever take action in that direction. (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 91, 102, 127).
Sometimes Dave feels "more angry at his father than his mother. While at other times he still perceives the father as his hero and the one person who keeps him safer in an unsafe environment. Perhaps the best the father could do was offer Dave the advice "to try to make her happy and stay out of her way," which apparently was his own solution to any difficult situation he encountered. His frequent promises to rescue Dave were probably offered as his way to make Dave happy more than as any serious intent to ever take action in that direction. (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 91, 102, 127).
In a 1996 interview,(Mikalonis, 1996) Dave explained that his mother was reared in a religious Mormon community in Utah, where because her parents were divorced they were treated as outcasts. There she began drinking at the age of thirteen, hiding in the outhouse to drink bootleg whiskey during the Prohibition. (Mikalonis, 1996).
As Catherine would later repeat with her son, Dave, she experienced child maltreatment such as food deprivation, forced confinement and derogatory, degrading comments about her self.(Mikalonis, 1996). Apparently Catherine knew what hell was like before accusing Dave of making her life a "living hell," when she used that as justification for in turn showing him "what hell is like!"(Pelzer, 1995; p.41). Certainly the early family and cultural values she experienced as a child can be expected to have influenced those she continued in her later family relationships. (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002).
Dave's Mother had dreams of being a nurse before meeting Stephen, (D. Pelzer, 1995; p. 88). Her tearful comment about having a "real family," and her bizarre habit of having kids search for unidentified "lost" things that are never found may have as much to do with her own childhood as with anything going on in the episodes of which Dave speaks.(D. Pelzer, 1995).
Dave's story presents examples of an irrational logic to Catherine's choice of bizarre discipline and punishment. The abuses aren't as random as Dave suspects. Neither are they as likely to be little more than random, meaningless assaults on an innocent child as they are out-of-control attempts to exercise control by an out-of-control disabled mind. When she says, "you're a quick little shit, aren't you?….. Well… we'll just see how fast you really are," in response to Dave running to school fast in order to have time to beg food from neighbors, she requires him to do everything faster or do without food. (D. Pelzer, 1995) p.71) She forces him to swallow a spoonful of ammonia (D. Pelzer, 1995) p.74-6)while telling him only speed will save him. Again, she says it is to teach him not to steal food. Within her disabled mind there is an apparent connection between his behaviors and her choices of discipline.
Dave was the second or third of five children, depending on which account is accurate. Dave, Stan, Ronald, Russel, Baby Kevin and the father all experienced yelling and screaming from the mother. A forthcoming book by Dave's brother suggests they all experienced degrees of abuse and neglect, as well, although until Dave left home, he apparently received the most. Whereas in some cases, parental abuse leads to closer sibling relationships, in Dave's case the opposite appears more often true.
For example, Russel, called "mother's little Nazi" by Dave, calls him "the Boy, " makes up stories to get Dave punished, (Pelzer, 1995; pp. 85-6). The boys refuse to acknowledge Dave's presence in the house, "took turns" hitting Dave, and "throwing their weight around, stomped on him as he lay on the floor of the back seat of the car. When seeing Dave in victimized situations, the brothers simply glare at him, shake their heads and turn away, or bring their friends in to see him as when he is confined in the bathtub of cold water. (Pelzer, 1955; pp. 114, 118, 142).
According to the personal account provided in the first book of his Biographical trilogy, (Pelzer, 1995), Dave Pelzer experienced various types of abuse as a child between the ages of four and twelve. Within his home, Dave's mother, father and siblings committed various forms of familial abuses. In his community, Dave's peers abused him at school. Other forms of societal abuse and neglect were evident by others such as extended family members, neighbors, and school personnel who failed to identify the maltreatment, seek assistance or take any action to protect him from harm. In spite of nurses records, school complaint records, reported community experiences that indicate prior knowledge of his insecure and unsafe life,(D. Pelzer, 1995). Dave was twelve years old when one substitute teacher finally triggered on his behalf. (D. Pelzer, 1995)
Dave's mother, Catherine Roerva, committed the most obvious forms of physical maltreatment against him. According to Dave, over time she resorted to various forms of physical abuse and neglect. He specifies that she hit, punched, smacked him in the face, pushed his head against the countertop, smashed his face into a mirror, dragged him, picked him up by the ears, beat him "black and blue" held his arm over the open flame of a gas stove until it burned, kept him submerged for hours in a bathtub of cold water, forced him to ingest soap, ammonia, Clorox, and feces, closed him in the bathroom with a Clorox and ammonia mixture, smeared excrement on his face, whipped him "with the dog's chain" and a broom handle, choked him, (D. Pelzer, 1995) pp. 3, 4, 30, 34, 35, 37, 40, 41, 52, 55, 107, 109, 113, 116, 142).
She also failed to get timely treatment for the "accidental" injuries when she dislocated his arm and stabbed him in the stomach. She denied Dave the physical nurturing that would lead to good health and normal physiological development, deprived him of sleep, food, protection against physical abuse by herself and others.
The mother emotionally abused Dave by calling him sickening, an incompetent loser, a bad boy, wished him dead, and referred to him as "the Boy" and later simply as "it," rather than by his name, thereby negating his existence as a human being or member of the family (D. Pelzer, 1995) pp.32, 50). Dave received fewer Christmas presents than the other children, was kept in forced isolation from the rest of the family, and excluded from most family activities, including meals. His mother had him call himself a bad boy, and repeat "I hate myself, I hate myself" (D. Pelzer, 1995) p. 136). She also denied him the nurturing and acceptance necessary for healthy development.
By failing to defend or protect Dave, simultaneously sharing a victim role with him, and offering empty promises of an eventual escape, the father also emotionally abused him and contributed to Dave's sense of having no worth. In turn, his brothers followed the modeling they were exposed to and treated Dave abusively.
Although, eventually the mother moves into the boys' bedroom and has Dave move into the master bedroom where he sleeps in a bed with his father there are no indications that there was a sexual element to the arrangement. No mention is made of whether the mother sleeps with any of the boys or alone in a bed in their room, either. If there are any overt sexual abuse problems in this family, they are not addressed or insinuated in this book.
Psychological maltreatment was a constant part of Davis' childhood. Catherine resorted to psychological maltreatment when she used food, which should have been nurturing as a weapon to control him. She repeatedly resorted to requiring him to call himself a bad boy, ordered him to climb up and lie on the flames of the gas stove so she could watch him burn, waved a knife at him while threatening to kill him (D. Pelzer; pp. 85)
Catherine continuously neglects Dave's basic needs for survival. Dave repeatedly refers to receiving no food, or inadequate leftovers from other family member's meals over extended periods of time. He claims she even starved him "up to about ten consecutive days (D. Pelzer, 1995) pp. 3,4,104). And yet it deserves mention that while bemoaning the fact that he won't have time to steal food before school, Dave also complains about having the same bag lunch of two peanut sandwiches and a few carrot sticks for three years. Within lines of one another he then tells of not being able to steal food before school, stuffing his sandwiches down his throat during lunch, and his father sneaking scraps of food to him. (D. Pelzer, 1995; p. 58).
Dave claims he had to wear the same pants, shoes with holes in the toes, and Swiss-cheese-holey shirt for two years. That was a way, he explains, for his mother to humiliate him. But again, as with the food insufficiency discrepancies, he later explains how after school he changes into his "Work clothes" before doing his chores. (D. Pelzer, 1995; p.70). Understandably, Dave's perceptions of Catherine's behaviors are all related to his belief that there was a war between them and that war, along with Catherine's determination to win it, dictated her choices of action. However, the possibility exists that along with other unidentified but acknowledged destructive behaviors, Dave may have been destructive of his clothes which would lead to an irrational-logic decision for Catherine to not allow him to wear new clothes which were available by his accounts. Dave and his mother each seem unable or unwilling to see the other except through the fog of their war.
For David, food is not simply sustenance for the body. As he explains, in the early years of his life, his mother was a "gifted cook" who delighted in treating her family to special and fantastic meals. Then food was "wolfed" down, and barely noticed. Later he steals food, dreams of food, and uses food as descriptors, metaphors and analogies throughout his story. (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 48).
For Dave Pelzer getting food is less about satisfying a physiological hunger than it is about meeting an emotional/psychological hunger to be the one in control. Food is power. For Catherine and Dave food is the ultimate weapon in a war without end for either of them. At seven, Dave begins stealing food from school, in response, he says, to his unsatisfied hunger, but the food he steals is Twinkies and other desserts, causing classmates to "hate him" and a principal's report to his mother. He steals trays of frozen cafeteria lunches, begs food from neighbors, steals from a store. (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 48, 49, 64, 68).
Other discrepancies in the book include the claim that his mother is obsessed with cleanliness and yet they have all those pets, the kitty litter is kept under the kitchen table, and during the dirty diaper scene, she puts the diaper on the kitchen counter (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 56, 68).
During the summer when Dave was around eight years old, he mentions that he got along better with his mother, but he doesn't provide any clues as to why. That statement immediately precedes the dirty diaper episode, which seems to indicate the truce, whatever its reason, didn't last long between them. (D. Pelzer, 1995).
Societal abuses, too, abound for Dave. While he was experiencing maltreatment at home, neighbors, relatives, den mother, school personnel, police knew "the conditions" under which Dave lived and did nothing to effect change or attempt to protect him. Few bothered to report what they knew or suspected. Even fewer took action of any kind. Such failures might be considered in the context of a time when child maltreatment was not much of an issue, but even today reporting is encouraged but seldom the action of choice. (Gannon, 2004). Peers "at times took over where Mother left off." Clifford beat him. Angie tormented him. John encouraged him to jump into the bay and drown himself.
Within his world of abuse and neglect, Dave developed a variety of coping behaviors. Dave exhibits hyper vigilance. His ears work as "radar-antennae" to keep track of where mother is and what she is doing. (D. Pelzer, 1995; p. 70) He dissociates, disconnects from physical pain, hides his emotions, and gains strength from his "fear and intense anger." (D.. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 70, 73, 131).
Although Dave uses a natural resiliency, creativity, and spirituality as coping mechanisms, his predominant survival mechanism is his "power." He claims that at 4 he knew he was the problem (D. J. Pelzer, 2000). In that knowing he found his primary defense against the maltreatment, and developed his strength and determination to survive.
For Dave the maltreatment represented a game of war between him and his mother. He repeatedly shares his belief that winning against her was the goal. He says, "the more Mother slugged me, the more I began to realize I won!" Later, he adds, "For the first time I had won." He explains that he "would use any tactic" he could think of "to defeat Mother." He believed he "could never give in to her!" Even while being slapped around, with feces smeared on his face by his mother, he still thinks he "might win," and attributes her behaviors to getting to him before he "could think of a way to defeat her…" (D. Pelzer, 1995; pp. 55, 72).
Dave also finds strength in his perceived successes. He feels proud that he fed himself, when he steals frozen trays of cafeteria food. He recounts other times she didn't win, when he felt "proud for beating mother at her own game," as he felt proud when he cleaned and treated his infected stab wound "willed the wound to heal," and when he refused to cry because he didn’t want to give his mother the satisfaction of his defeat. Eventually he admits, that stealing food makes him feel "like a king on his throne." (D. Pelzer, 1955; pp. 78,79, 98, 132).
When Dave's father leaves he says "I can't take it anymore. The whole thing. Your mother, this house, you. I just can't take it anymore." (D. Pelzer, 1995)P.149). His words tell the story of a family at war within itself, where maltreatment leaves casualties as it spreads, and peace eludes all who play the game. The problem is that child maltreatment cannot be left behind as easily as Dave's father thinks. The results and aftereffects permeate the being of all who are touched by it.
Today is not yesterday: Prevention, Intervention and Amelioration
An old African proverb says that today is not yesterday. Unfortunately, where child maltreatment is concerned that is less than true. Too much remains the same. Real change requires that the subject of child abuse cannot only be looked at in the abstract as in many research projects, pilot projects, added-as-after-thoughts in existing programs, (Brogan, 2003), ignored or disregarded policies (Billman, 2002), deliberately manipulated-for-profit and political power organizational decision, (Gootman, 2004) or superficially as many burnt-out professionals may unwittingly begin to see it(Azar, 2000).
When Dave's father leaves he says "I can't take it anymore. The whole thing. Your mother, this house, you. I just can't take it anymore." (D. Pelzer, 1995)P.149). His words tell the story of a family at war within itself, where maltreatment leaves casualties as it spreads, and peace eludes all who play the game. The problem is that child maltreatment cannot be left behind as easily as Dave's father thinks. The results and aftereffects permeate the being of all who are touched by it.
Today is not yesterday: Prevention, Intervention and Amelioration
An old African proverb says that today is not yesterday. Unfortunately, where child maltreatment is concerned that is less than true. Too much remains the same. Real change requires that the subject of child abuse cannot only be looked at in the abstract as in many research projects, pilot projects, added-as-after-thoughts in existing programs, (Brogan, 2003), ignored or disregarded policies (Billman, 2002), deliberately manipulated-for-profit and political power organizational decision, (Gootman, 2004) or superficially as many burnt-out professionals may unwittingly begin to see it(Azar, 2000).
Change requires that it will take many willing to look at the reality of child abuse in order for the power of one united front to find the strength and courage to demand an end to it. Only then may peace and freedom be available to all. Those who would contribute to a future without child maltreatment must first be committed to financially support an in-depth and multi-year continuing program of child well-being designed to prevent, ameliorate the existing effects of, and reduce the interminable life-long ravages (Kempe, 2002; Teicher, 2002) related to child maltreatment. They also must be committed to using all resources available to influence schools, libraries, and child-related programs to take a risk and provide the time and facilities for the implementation and continuation of such programs over time. Additionally, continuing training of any adults working with or in frequent contact with children must be recognized as essential. (Bugental et al., 2002). A commitment by all to prevention, early identification, amelioration of effects, and continual non-maltreatment of children must become a consistent and natural part of children's formal developmental environment whether at home or elsewhere. (Fantuzzo, Stevenson, & Source; 1997, 1997; Gullatt & Stockton, 2000).
Research already indicates some strategies and interventions that are effective with maltreated children. (Dubowitz, 1999). However, unless these become known and practiced by those working with children, little benefit for the children actually occurs from the research. (Jones, 2002; Lowenthal, 2001; Nicholson, Anderson, Fox, & Brenner, 2002). Additionally, those working with children need the ability to work with maltreated children from the child's view of the world rather than to attempt to reach such children from a world-view unknown to them. (Marston, 2001) Activities to modify child and adult perspectives to increase empathy toward abused and abusers, (Wiehe, 1997) increased development of social competencies, and ego resiliency have fully mediated behavior problems in maltreated children. (Shonk & Cicchetti, 2001). Eventually change today will make truth of the idea that where child maltreatment is concerned, today is in fact not yesterday.
Conclusion
After much occasion
To consider the folly
And mischiefs of a state of warfare
And the little or no advantage obtained
Even by those nations who have conducted it with the most success
I have been apt to think that there has never been
Or ever will be any such thing
As a good war
Or a bad peace
(The olive branch: The power of peace, 2004)
Conclusion
After much occasion
To consider the folly
And mischiefs of a state of warfare
And the little or no advantage obtained
Even by those nations who have conducted it with the most success
I have been apt to think that there has never been
Or ever will be any such thing
As a good war
Or a bad peace
(The olive branch: The power of peace, 2004)
Today there may be as many perspectives about child maltreatment as there are those touched by it to one degree or another. Whether posited as individual or group views, all are biased according to educational foci, theories and practices, and further modified by individual ideologies. Professional, (Azar, 2000; Greenwalt, Skylare, & Portes, 1998; Southal, Samueals, & Golden, 2003; Straus, 2000), societal, political, (Brogan, 2003), medical,(D Cicchetti, 2002; Goodman, 2000) educational, (Shumba, 2002; Staudt, 2001; Turner & Johnson, 2003)(Billman, 2002;(Hinson & Fossey, 2000; Hodgkinson & Bagindky, 2000)), developmental (Ormrod, 2004; Pollak, Cicchetti, Hornung, & Reed, 2000), and other discourse communities claim unique-to- them successes and failures in addressing the subject of child maltreatment. Some people, such as Alice Miller disassociate their ideas from firmly entrenched traditional foundations, struggling to be heard by a world that needs to hear what she is saying. Others attempt to revisit those same foundations in search of some misplaced concept to use in their fight.(Blum, 2004) As these wars of words continue, peace for those impacted by child maltreatment remains as illusive as the substance of Dave's father's empty promises to rescue him. Perhaps the time has come for an olive branch among the many who are interested in seeing change to be extended in all directions (Hamovitch, 1996)so that one child like Dave Pelzer can look forward to a tomorrow unlike yesterday or today.
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