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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Nation’s leading researcher in the field of child development offers guidance, wisdom and hope for families of ‘at-risk’ children
In a groundbreaking new book, The Mystery of Risk: Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and the Vulnerable Child, Ira J. Chasnoff, MD, examines how the effects of alcohol and drug useduring pregnancy, as well as the child‟s experience of trauma and neglect in early life, may cause damage to a developing nervous system, potentially altering the course of that child‟s lifeforever.
Chasnoff is one of the nation‟s leading researchers in the field of prenatal exposure to alcohol and illicit drugs.Combining scientific research with real clinical cases of children who have been exposedto harmful toxins in the womb, the book illustrates the broad range of risks that include changes to key structures of the brain and increased incidence of learning disabilities. Other resultingrisks include a host of behavior problems from chronic temper tantrums in early childhood to acts of physical and sexual violence in later adolescence. “Risk is not destiny,” notes Chasnoff.
“There is hope for at-risk children affected bypregnancy alcohol or drug use, an alternative to the cycle of school failure, gang activity, and drug abuse, if we are ready to make the investment.”Written in an effort to help families who are struggling with children deemed „at-risk‟ because of behaviors during pregnancy and a lack of proper care and support after, Chasnoff provides practical behavior management techniques and proven intervention tips for parents—biological, foster, or adoptive—as well as teachers and healthcare practitioners.Specifically addressing the reality that many of these children will end up in a revolvingdoor of foster homes with adults ill equipped to care for their specific needs, Chasnoff outlines the importance for public policy to provide better preventive, integrated systems of care. In what he calls the „GoodEnough Syndrome,‟ Chasnoff takes aim at U.S. public policies that ignore the common good for the sake of political agendas.“We have seen a failure of the health care system to address the core needs of at-risk children and families,” said Chasnoff. “This book illustrates how we can translate scientificallysound principles into public policy that will enhance children‟s future and hopefully lead to better access and appropriate treatment for children with developmental and behavioral issues.”
In The Mystery of Risk: Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and the Vulnerable Child,Chasnoff explores the science behind the following topics: Why no amount of alcohol is safe to drink during pregnancy How multiple factors place children at risk for developmental, learning, and behavioral difficulties The „GoodEnough Syndrome‟—policies and practices that use the lowest common denominator of achievement to define success Behavior management strategies for adoptive parents of at-risk children.The Mystery of Risk is ultimately about high-risk children and the families who care forthem. It is the only book that combines scientific research with true stories of children to help illustrate the long-term damage and the broad range of risks drugs and alcohol use duringpregnancy can create. It is also the only book of its kind to offer clear guidance in behavior management and treatment for these children.
Ira J. Chasnoff, MD is the President of the Children’s Research Triangle and a professor ofclinical pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. Chasnoff has received funding for research from National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Instituteon Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Administration for Children and Families (ACF, Centers for Disease Control Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and the US Department of Education. Dr. Chasnoff received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center and served a pediatric residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago.Chasnoff has published over 100 articles in medical, psychology, and education journals and books, including a 1990 research article on racial and social class bias in the health care system that has been cited as a landmark study by the American College ofObstetricians and Gynecologists. He is also the author of ten previous books, one of which, Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy and Parenting, received the Book of the Year Award from theAmerican Journal of Nursing.For more information on Ira Chasnoff or to purchase a copy of The Mystery of Risk, visit http://www.ntiupstream.com/mysteryofrisk/. The Mystery of Risk is also available forpurchase on www.amazon.com.
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