Information Related to "Successful Parenting Begins With the Brain"
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Successful Parenting Begins With
The Brain
by Howard Davis
I knew something was wrong when my wife called my Seattle office the afternoon of Jan. 19, 1987. Rushing out of a computer-system demonstration for a client, I raced home to find her collapsed on the floor.
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| Parental attention in the forms of talking, smiling, singing, feeding and touching makes a significant difference to brain-damaged children. |
Our son wasn’t due to be born for nine weeks. But, a few hours later, Benjamin was taken by cesarean section. Monitors detected he had been dying in the midst of a disintegrating placenta. Patti had lost so much blood that her life was in danger as well.
Although more than 14 years have passed, some memories remain vivid. I often reflect on the powerful impact my decisions, emotions, actions and inaction have on our children’s lives.
When Benjamin was lying in an incubator for seven weeks to gain weight—he weighed as little as two pounds—I remember Patti driving to the Tacoma General intensive care unit every day to talk with— and touch—our tiny son.
I was busy with business at the time and thought it wasn’t important for me to see Benjamin that often. I didn’t need to reach through the openings in the incubator’s side and feel his small stick-sized limbs as Patti felt compelled to do. After all, he seemed so peaceful resting there by himself, amazing me with his calm maturity for a person so tiny. He didn’t really need me, I thought.
Three years later Benjamin was diagnosed with autism.
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