Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Teacher, Student

If I possessed the means and the knowledge I would conduct research studies on brain development and challenging behavior.  I imagine these studies would positively impact children and families.  Learning about what in the brain, or how the brain is affected by challenging behaviors will help us to better understand and better handle challenging behavior.  There are so many questions regarding challenging behavior.  I would like to determine the answers to some, if not all of those questions.  These studies would be longitudinal, covering at least one year.  They would involve children of all age groups beginning at the age of 2-years and continuing through the age of 14-years.  The studies would include testing children for developmental delays and disabilities as needed.  All resources available to children and families would be utilized.  The studies would be all-encompassing.  The vast age range is due to challenging behaviors occurring at different stages of development.  T

After reflecting on subtopics for my research simulation, I selected: Rewiring the brain in early childhood.  While this topic is spread out over several different areas of brain development, it truly holds my interest.  I have a 22-year-old daughter who suffered brain damage after contracting Bacterial Meningitis and developing Hydrocephalus as a complication.  She is a fully functional young adult; however, we struggled through her early years and were told she would not survive past the age of 5 years.  Through physical and occupational therapy, and by providing experiences for her, we rewired her brain and she has accomplished all the things we never thought she would be able to do.  I am very interested in how rewiring the brain can affect the development of children with disabilities and special needs.  I have read articles on children becoming successful adults even though they were born with a debilitating form of cerebral palsy.  My interests include knowing if all child