Developmental Disadvantages

    Psychologists have long known that children of poorly educated, low-income parents often don’t reach the same intellectual levels as children of well-educated, wealthy parents. Parents who are preoccupied with a daily struggle to ensure that their children have enough to eat and are safe from harm may not have the resources, information, or time they need to provide the stimulating experiences that foster optimal brain development. Infants and children who are rarely spoken to, who are exposed to few toys, and who have little opportunity to explore and experiment with their environment may fail to fully develop the neural connections and pathways that facilitate later learning. Despite their normal genetic endowment, these children are at a significant intellectual disadvantage and are likely to require costly special education or other remedial services when they enter school.

     Studies have shown that exposure to alcohol or other drugs, especially early in pregnancy, can alter the development of the cortex, reduce the number of neurons that are created, and affect the way in which chemical messengers are used.   Although not all children who are exposed develop neuro-biological problems, many do. These problems include difficulties with attention, memory, problem-solving, and abstract thinking.Researchers believe that during these years there may be “sensitive periods” for development of certain capabilities. Because synapses are being formed at such an intense pace during this time, the opportunities for learning are almost limitless. But as the process of pruning synapses starts to increase, especially after age 3, these opportunities begin to decrease . If certain synapses and neuronal pathways are not repeatedly activated, they may be discarded, and the capabilities they promised may be diminished.
      Malnutrition, both before and during the first few years after birth, has been shown
to result in stunted brain growth and slower passage of electrical signals in the brain. These effects on the brain are linked to cognitive, social, and behavioral deficits with possible long-term consequences. Babies’ brains grow and develop as they interact with their environment and learn how to function within that environment. When babies’ cries bring food or comfort, they are strengthening the neuronal pathways that help them learn how to get their needs met, both physically and emotionally. But babies who do not get responses to their cries, and babies whose cries are met with abuse, learn different lessons. The neuronal pathways that are developed and strengthened under negative conditions prepare children to cope in that negative environment, and their ability to respond to nurturing and kindness may be impaired.
     Brief periods of moderate, predictable stress are a problem - in fact, they prepare a child to cope with the general world. The body’s survival actually depends upon the ability to respond to stress. But prolonged, severe, or unpredictable stress—including abuse and
neglect—during a child’s early years is a problem. The brain’s development can literally
be altered by these experiences, resulting in negative impacts on the child’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth. Chronic stress sensitizes neural pathways and over-develops certain regions of the brain involved in anxiety and fear responses, and
often results in the under-development of other pathways and regions of the brain.