Chapter 6 of The Boy Who Was Raised
As A Dog discusses two unique, yet similar cases. First, Bruce Perry describes his experiences
working with a young boy named Justin, who is the inspiration for the name of
this book. Justin was raised among dogs
in a cage by his then-caretaker and was unknowingly neglected for multiple
years of his early childhood. Second,
Bruce Perry explores his experiences working with a teen named Connor, who was
left alone by his babysitter for hours per day for the first eighteen months of
his life. Both boys experienced
developmental delays and difficulties relating to others and engaging in social
situations. Additionally, Bruce Perry
frequently revisited the subject of chapter 5 (The Coldest Heart), Leon, in
order to provide comparison for what seemed like three individuals very similar
experiences and drastically different outcomes.
I found these comparisons fascinating, frightening and hopeful.
These comparisons particularly
stuck out to me because I found myself having a strong emotional reaction to
the mention of Leon in relation to Connor and Justin. All three of these boys experienced an eerily
similar amount of painful neglect and yet I had a difficult time justifying
comparing their stories because all three of them are different
individuals. Though I realize that this
is the reasoning Bruce Perry gives for the vastly different outcomes of the
boys, I felt as though he was still grappling with the meaning or reason for
Leon’s extremely destructive behavior.
Additionally, I found that the more Leon was compared to Connor and
Justin, the easier it could be for someone to argue that Leon’s experiences did
not matter. Though his experiences don’t
excuse his crimes, he still deserves empathy for the experiences he endured as
a child.
Adversely, I found these
comparisons hopeful after the hopelessness experienced after reading chapter 5. To put it plainly, all of these boys experienced
similar neglect and two of the three went on to thrive much more than anyone
ever expected them to. They took fairly
immediately to therapy and were able to progress with exceptional speed with
the help and creativity of Bruce Perry.
Through earlier intervention, Perry was able to employ different
modalities in order to progress both Connor and Justin’s developmental
stages. I appreciated that he recognized
the individual needs of these boys and avoided the “conventional” modality of
talk therapy. He used creative approaches
that were more developmentally appropriate in order to allow expression and
foster connection. The progress of
Connor and Justin expressed in this chapter allowed me to feel that not all is
lost in cases of neglect and that there is the possibility of growth and
healing for many people who experience developmental trauma.
ReplyDeleteTaylor,
Hearing you express discomfort when Perry was discussing and comparing Leon, Connor, and Justin’s circumstances stood out to me too. I really appreciate you brining up this point that he was in some way trying to understand and explain their experiences by generalizing their trauma. Thinking about that seems callous and unprofessional. You are exactly right that you cannot compare three different individuals solely based on their traumatic past. We know as social workers that there are so many different factors that influence an individual’s outcome even if they appear to be relatively “the same.” 🙄Comparing all three of them lacks the exploration and examination of the systematic influences, the temperament, the attachment style, the resources, their culture and so many other factors that contribute to a person’s wellbeing and achievement. His views are limited, but not surprisingly it’s also not his job to analyze those systematic forces, or the social justice impacts, or lack thereof, that have an impact on these boys. That is why the world needs social workers. 😁
However, I am also appreciative of Perry’s creative and innovative approach to treat both Justin and Connor. Perry does a great job of meeting the clients exactly where they are, especially neurobiologically and developmentally especially in his neurosequential treatments. These interventions were by far nontraditional and yet seemed the need of the youth. It was in fact, uplifting and powerful to read about Perry’s success with both students and makes we wonder what the approaches would have been like with Leon.
I think that your comparison has really made me think about the cause and the purpose of what Perry was doing. I'll be honest, I didn't think twice about comparing the two stories but you are completely correct that as social workers it is our duty to view each person as an individual! I also wonder if this is a reflection of society as a whole, in that as son as each person is "labeled" I think that it often predetermined what their outcome will be. I wonder if, when reading this chapter, society as a whole can see that each person can have very different outcomes based on interventions and support systems. I would hope that if an individual who is going into a non-helping profession were to read this book (whether its for sensationalism or because they are interested) can see that there are so many factors to understanding the outcome of someone's mental health, and maybe (in my perfect world) they would then be able to look at their own lives and identify how they ended up where they were and maybe even see that it wasn't all on their own.
ReplyDeleteHi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI was also struck by the different outcomes between the three boys considering their similar forms of developmental neglect. I also agree that despite how horrible Leon’s crimes were, one still has to recognize the damage done to his psyche as an infant. He’s certainly not excused for his behavior but one has to empathize with his emotional abandonment at the most critical time of his development. What’s interesting to me is if you were to apply this knowledge of how horribly wrong a person’s life can develop given their childhood experiences, one can apply this understanding to society as a whole. For me it’s the recognition that nearly everyone has some logical explanation for their maladaptive behavior. Every human being is flawed. It’s seems to be the variety and to what degree. Obviously, I still see those institutions designed to keep society safe as necessary but I find it a universal connection. Although I identify as an agnostic, the phrase “But for the grace of God, there go I” seems to remind me of our sometimes-random good fortune. It helps me to be personally grateful and empathetic of others at the same time.
I also found hope in the outcomes of Justin and Connor. Although they’ll probably always carry emotional and psychic scars from their experiences as children, it looks as though that they could potentially enjoy a quality of life unimagined. It was their good fortune to be treated by Perry who recognized their unique and individual needs from an intervention standpoint.