Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

When I thought about an uplifting research story that dealt with benefits to children and families I immediately thought about a local story I had heard about in the news.  6 year old Jayden David suffered from epileptic seizures due to his medical condition, Dravets syndrome.  His father had tried everything including medications, 22 a day, that helped stop the seizures but would leave his son immobile from the side effects.  When his father gave him a liquid form of the nonpsychoative form of marijuana the effects were alarming.  Jayden’s daily seizures stopped and he was a happy functioning child again. 

The full article is here:

Porter, B. E., & Jacobson, C. (2013). Report of a parent survey of cannabidiol-enriched cannabis use in pediatric treatment-resistant epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior, 29(3), 574-577. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/health/medical-marijuana-child/

I also found similar stories here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/31/cannabis-for-children_n_4697135.html

And a survey report here:

http://www.epilepsybehavior.com/article/S1525-5050(13)00462-9/fulltext

Since it is a controversial topic for adults even, there is still official research to be done on this subject but I can see how if it were accomplished the positive effects would help children and families in ways that they never thought possible.  That is why research is so important, the benefits can change lives.

Personal Research Journey

My reasons for choosing this topic and subtopics is because of my personal and professional experiences.  Personally, I did learn English as a second language.  Professionally, I work at an elementary school where a high percentage of the students and families are also learning English as a second language.  I have had the opportunity to teach children English language development and English phonics as well.  This school year, the topic is even more relevant as I am working with two new students from Vietnam who have only been in the country for six months.  Adding to that, there is also a new student in the same class who only speaks Arabic and I have been working with the three of them together in a group.  I am interested in seeing how it will all work out.

In last week’s discussion I shared that the general early childhood topic of my choice was second language learning but I have decided to refine my choice to that of English Language Learners or ELL’s.  With the topic of ELL for the simulation the subtopic that will be the focus of my simulations in the coming weeks is if there is difference in approaches with teachers who were ELL’s themselves and those who were not.

I chose this topic because of my personal and professional experiences with it.  Personally, I learned English as a second language myself.  Professionally, I work at an elementary school where most of the student and family population are also learning English as a second language.  I have had the opportunity to teach children English language development and English phonics as well.  I am curious to learn if and what types of personal experiences make a difference when the teaching ELL’s.

My personal experience with this simulation process is that I am still learning a lot about the terms, topics and how to properly reflect on research and resources.  The “Understanding Research Chart” is a very appropriate assignment that helped me identify areas in which I need improvement, it helped me better understand the content and how to apply it.

Any advice, insight or resources that might help is appreciated.