Chapter 6 - The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog
In chapter six, we follow the stories of both Justin and Connor as Perry explores the particulars and nuances of the effects of trauma on human cognitive and social development. We first meet Justin, who we soon learn is himself the titular boy who was raised as a dog. Placed in a cage and raised alongside dogs from the time he was about a year old, Justin was nonverbal and significantly stunted in terms of his neurocognitive and social development when Perry first encounters him as a six-year-old on the PICU. In the case of Connor, whom we meet as a teenager, we learn that he was routinely left alone for hours and hours by a negligent babysitter while his mother was working, resulting in years of sensory deprivation and limited human interaction.
For several chapters and cases in a row now - Laura, Leon, Justin, Connor - Perry has been painting a grim picture of what neglect and ignorance can do to a developing child, particularly in tandem. But what I keep seeing, the theme I keep picking up on in each of these chapters, is that so much of the damage that is done to children developmentally seems to be unintentional even as it is systemic. We have been introduced now to at least three guardians whom Perry describes as non-malicious - and by all accounts this seems to be true - but who do ignorant and harmful things to the children in their care because they do not know how else to care for children. Perry highlights this fact again and again that so many people are simply ill equipped to raise children because they do not know what children need - whether this is because they themselves never received it or because they were never explicitly told that it was important.
Take the case of Justin. He was the child of a 15-year-old who immediately gave him to her own mother, who herself soon died of health complications arising from obesity; after her death, when Justin was only 11 months old, Arthur, the grandmother's boyfriend, took over Justin's care in the only way he, an elderly dog-breeder, knew how: to place him in a cage like a dog, to feed him and water him and clothe and shelter him, but nothing else. And he did all this with the blessing of CPS, which was totally ignorant of the situation.
When I read Justin's story as Perry tells it, I see a series of systemic failures, both cultural and institutional, falling into place like so many dominoes. Justin's situation only gets worse when we learn that he was routinely failed by his healthcare providers who neglected to carefully review his situation before formulating diagnoses. The amount of institutional oversight that Perry describes here is mind-boggling, but also woefully understandable. I know how easy it is to make stupid mistakes or cut corners when caseloads are so high. This, of course, is no excuse, however.
Connor's case is similar to Leon's in a number of ways. Both suffered regular neglect for long periods of time on more days than not, and both at the hands of incredibly ignorant caregivers. It absolutely boggles my mind to think that anyone could be so negligent as the caregivers in these chapters. I almost can't wrap my brain around it. But I see that this ignorance is, as I said, unintentional even as it is systemic.
It's infuriating that the cases of both Justin and Connor could have been 100% prevented under only slightly improved circumstances and with slightly better choices by the caregivers in charge of them. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and I'm glad that both of them made significant advancements in their respective recoveries; but with the knowledge that we now have about human development, attachment, and trauma, I do firmly and resolutely believe that we, all of us, as members of this society, have a mutual obligation to each other not to allow things like this to happen to the extent that we are able. No longer in the era of modern neurobiological knowledge should these cases of ignorant negligence be an issue. There is absolutely no excuse for it.
I really appreciate you viewing this from a systemic point of view, as well as pointing out that the caregivers all had unintentionally caused this harm to their children. The systemic failures of CPS in this case are massive. I would’ve loved to have had more detail about why there was no other biological kin available for Justin, or if it was even looked into. I was very surprised that no home visits were conducted or questions asked about where the boy slept or what his day looked like. His caregiver wasn’t hiding this information at all since he didn’t see how what he was doing was wrong.
ReplyDeleteConnors’ mother loved him very much, and it saddens me that the cousin was so dishonest, and somehow thought that leaving Connor alone all day was okay. So while the mother was unintentionally leaving her son in harms’ way, the cousin was very aware she was leaving the baby alone all day. Leons’ mother didn’t have the knowledge to take care of him herself, and the husband was aware of her deficits. In a way I wish the husband had found some safeguards for his wife since extended family was no longer present. The need for parental education is pretty dire. I wonder if this can be included in hospital check ups and prenatal care.
Alex, I feel like the key points in our blog post overlap. First, a major issue with neglect is due to a systemic issue and second, the fact that, as you said, " so many people are simply ill equipped to raise children because they do not know what children need". I think two things need to be addressed, a better education to teach parenting, more specifically how the brain development of a child works and what it needs to thrive. I think making this at least a section in a high school course would be beneficial. While I know that not everyone wishes to be parents, we all interact with children at some point in our life and having this information would be helpful to help children thrive in the community.
ReplyDeleteNeurology can be confusing, and is often a subject focused on at a university level. I think connecting neurology of a child to experience, for example portraying how the experiences of a neglected child vs a child who received affection and stimulation differ and the consequences that come with it to help battle this non-malicious ignorance in adults.
Another point you made, regarding the health care system, I think would also be helped with education on the significance of analyzing childhood and family history. While I hope that we've already implemented this since Perry wrote The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog, and I believe some institutions have by highlighting a collaborative care model, but if we have not, I think it is something crucial we need to address in the provision of healthcare services.