CUU

As I mentioned in the previous post, Micheal was labelled a CUU child - callous, unemotional, and uncaring. Here is the assessment used to diagnose this:

Calloussness:

1. I do not care who I hurt to get what I want.
2. I am not concerned about the feelings of others.
3. I do not care if I get into trouble.
4. I do not feel remorseful when I do something wrong.
5. I do not care if I do things well.
6. The feelings of others are unimportant to me.
7. I do not care about being on time.
8. I do not like to put the time into doing things well.
9. What I think is right and wrong is different from what other people think.
10. I do not let my feelings control me.
11. I seem very cold and uncaring to others.

Uncaring:

1. I never try my best.
2. I never work hard.
3. I don't apoligize to those I hurt.
4. I don't care about how well I do in school or at work.
5. I try to hurt other's feelings.
6. I don't do things to make others feel well.
7. I easily admit to being wrong.
8. I don't feel bad or guilty when I do something wrong.

Unemotional:

1. I don't express my emotions openly.
2. I am not expressive or emotional.
3. I do not show my emotions to others.
4. I hide my feelings from others.
5. Others cannot easily tell how I'm feeling.

A Nine Year Old Psychopath?

Micheal is a nine year old boy whose problems began showing themselves at the age of three. His mother, Anne, said that after his brother, Allan, was born he was just acting like a brat. All the doctors said that sibling rivalry was to blame. However, Anne remembers that his behaviors weren't those of normal children; they were really odd. Anything would set him off and his parents were almost afraid of him. He would punch holes in the doors and kick the walls until all of a sudden he snapped out of his tantrum... but it was more than that.

When Micheal turned five, he had developed the ability to switch instantly from full blown anger to a state of somberness. Anne says she can recall a specific arguement that hit her as extremely unsettling. They were working on a homework assignment and he was crying about it. She tried to calmly speak with him. "I said: 'Micheal, remember the brainstorming we did yesterday? All you have to do is take your thoughts from that and turn them into sentences, and you're done!' He's still screaming bloody murder, so I say: 'Micheal, I thought we brainstormed so we could avoid all this drama today.' He stopped dead, in the middle of screaming, turned to me in this flat, adult tone and said, 'Well, you didn't think that through very clearly then, did you?'"

Micheal has been labelled a CU kid - callous, unemotional. Read about CU in the next post!

Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman on Feburary 26, 2012 in Sanford, Flordia. He was seventeen years old and an African American. Zimmerman was a 28 year old multi-racial man who was the community watch coordinator.

Zimmerman was on a private errand when he saw Martin walking inside the gated community. He was visiting his father and his father's fiancee. Zimmerman then called the police to report that Martin's activities seemed suspicious. Shortly after, there was an altercation followed by a bullet in the chest of Martin at close range.

When the police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman told the police that Martin had attacked him and that the shooting was only a form of self-defense. Zimmerman had a wound to the back of the head & his nose was bleeding. EMS treated Zimmerman on the scence and, afterwards, he was taken to the police station for hours of questioning. A video statement was taped and he was released without being arrested.

Allegations of a racist motivation for the crime sprung up and a special prosecutor was appointed to the case. She chose to file for murder in the second degree against Zimmerman.

Family & friends have a hard time dealing with the tragic loss of Trayvon Martin and the supposed racism behind his death.

info from wiki

image from google images

video from youtube

Children Overcoming Tragedy

I was browsing through Psychology Today when I found an article called Five Ways Children Overcome Tragedy. As a child who did have to overcome such things, I found this interesting. I wanted to look and see if I used any of these skills. Turns out, I did and I'll tell you just how I applied them to my life.

1. Focus on positive reinforcements. Basically, this is just talking about the love that is needed from surrounding adults, especially parents. As there was no way I was going to get love from my biological parents, my new family showed me more than what I knew how to take. My biggest struggle with this was accepting all they had to offer. However, once I learned how to do that, it helped immensely.
2. Maintain regular structure and routines. This provides children with a baseline - something stable. It could be anything from eating together at the dinner table to reading a bedtime story to playing a game. Whatever you choose to do, it will help the child feel secure and realize their safety. I began composing my routine right away so that I'd have something familiar. School was probably my save haven.
3. Nurture positive choices and teach problem-solving. This helps children distinguish between good and bad choices. Although sometimes it is assumed that everyone knows good from bad, that's not necessarily true. When I was growing up, my normal was completely different from everyone else's normal. My new parents did a good job of teaching me right from wrong. Believe it or not, I am still learning every day. Often times, I do things that I don't even realize are out of line. That's why my parents are there - to tell me what I'm doing wrong so I can correct it.
4. Remember every day is a new day & a new opportunity. This is so important because we're all human and we are all going to make mistakes - especially when we are healing. I still make mistakes on a daily basis, and because of my extreme personality, I'm usually go big. Either way, I am constantly reminding myself that "Just for today.." I can change things. My day can change at any given time and tomorrow begins a clean slate.
5. Understand that severe or ongoing problems require professional help. It is common for children and adults to be left with serious issues that require serious help after tragedy. I have a number of these issues. I have two counselors that I meet with weekly and many different problems to work through. This doesn't mean I'm a bad person or that I'll never heal. If anything, it makes me strong for getting the help I need. Just remember that everything takes time.

Hope this helps with others. It sure did help me(:
info from psychologytoday.com; picture from gorgeoushealthyme.com

Juvenile Delinquency Pt. 2

Because juvenile court differs so much from a regular court system, the terms used differ as well. Here is a quick list so you know what you're talking about:

Juvenile Term                                        Adult Term

Adjucation                                             Conviction of guilty

Adjustment                                           Referring to plea bargaining

After-care                                             Parole

Commitment                                        Sentence to imprisonment

Delinquent act                                      Crime

Detention                                              Holding in jail

Dispositional hearing                           Sentencing hearing

Hearing                                                 Trial

Petition                                                 Accusation/Indictment

Residental Care Facility                     Halfway House

Shelter                                                  Jail

Take into custody                              Arrest

Contrary to what some may believe, juveniles have the right to counsel, the right to early written notification of the charge, the right to confront and cross-examine one's accuser, the right to remain silent, and protection from self-incrimination.

Keep in mind, I'm not telling anyone to go out and become a juvenile delinquent, nor am I making excuses for them. I am simply attempting to inform the public on the nature of how a juvenile's behavior becomes delinquent.

info from http://www.yale.edu/

Juvenile Delinquency Pt.1

How does juvenile behavior become delinquent? When? What happens as a result?

• Statistics show that broken homes, the order of birth, and family size are huge contributors to who may become a juvenile delinquent. In 1950, 40.5 million children were living in families with both a father and a mother while 4.1 million children were living within broken families. In 1970, there were about 7.6 million minors growing up with only one parent or with neither. In 1966, every three marriages ended in divorce and the number of children in broken homes significantly increased. Because of this, children are spending more time alone, thus leaving them with emotional voids that they try to fill by acting out.
• The result of this has increased the number of runaways, teenage suicides, teenage parenthood, etc.
• Most girls are arrested for running away, being involved in a gang, and/or sex offenses.
• Most boys are arrested for vandalism, theft, assault, rape, drugs, and some major offenses.

Discipline in the home relating to delinquent behavior:

• When family realtions are disturbed, it is more likely that children will become delinquents. There are three main contributing factors:
• careless or inadequate supervision by the mother;
• erratic or overly strict discipline;
• lack of cohesiveness of the family unit.
• Types of discipline:
• Sound - consistant and firm control but not strict enough to cause fear;
• Fair - control which is indefinate: sometimes strict, somtimes relaxed;
• Unsound - extremely relaxed OR extremely strict which either gives unrestrained acts of freedome or restricts to the point of rebellion.

info from http://www.yale.edu/

Tragedy Due To Bad Parenting

There's a four year-old child dead and his mother is wounded. Because of the investigation that is taking place, police believe that the boy's mother was sleeping and that the boy was standing beside her bed. Police do not think that this was the first time the boy had handled the gun because he'd been seen playing with it in the past.

Bad parenting or bad parenting? How do you let your children play with a gun? How do you let your gun unsecured? A four year-old doesn't have much knowledge of a gun, typically. Because of these careless actions, an innocent four year-old is dead. How tragic.

info from topix.com