Chapter 7: Satanic Panic

At the very beginning of the chapter, I had a little trepidation about Perry referring to giving the benefit of the doubt to the victim as unfortunate. In the current cultural climate where we are moving towards acknowledging and giving justice to the survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse (i.e. “MeToo” movement), I had difficulties embracing the idea of children erroneously describing abuse. I immediately thought of the ramifications of ignoring children’s reports of abuse. I’m assuming that watching the video of more than 140 ‘Sister Survivors’ of sexual abuse accept the courage award at the ESPYs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9hu5HLoSzM) contributed to my reaction. The speakers’ description of the invalidation they experienced was maddening; however, my perception of Perry’s comment changed as I continued through the chapter.

During Perry’s description of Gilmer, TX, I was confused by the mentioning of it having the highest illiteracy rate in the nation. It would have made sense if there was more context, but the statistic seemed to be stuck in between two sentences and not addressed. I have a feeling the literacy rates had some significance in relation to the story, but I couldn’t figure out the source of the significance. I have a few theories. Perry mentions the multigenerational nature in which sexual and physical abuse and ignorance are passed down. As we learned earlier, the brain of a child experiencing abuse is not going to develop properly, and illiteracy could be a result. I’m not sure of the prevalence of abuse in Gilmer, but if a large portion of the adults in Gilmer had been abused themselves, this MIGHT contribute to the high illiteracy rate. The part that struck me most in this section was Perry’s comparison of the passing down of physical and sexual abuse to the way families pass down Christmas recipes. I found it to be a gut-wrenching representation of the damage abuse can impart.

Additionally, I was struck by the utter lack of evidence for the efficacy of “holding therapy” and the conviction of Sergeant Brown. Perry mentions that the foster parents and CPS caseworkers didn’t know about the dangers of the so-called “therapy”.  I had to remind myself that not everyone knows how to operate Google Scholar. Moreover, 1 in 4 of the people in Gilmer couldn’t read. But still, it’s difficult to fathom that the foster families didn’t realize what they were doing was abusive. I also found myself very frustrated when the special prosecutor ignored every piece of evidence that cleared Sergeant Brown. I’m assuming that the special prosecutor could have seen a non-affiliated cult member murder Kelly Wilson and still arrested Brown. Both examples demonstrate the ability of panic to cloud peoples’ judgment and ignore apparent truths. The phrase “witch hunts” in the last sentence of the chapter reminded me of reading and watching The Crucible in Junior High. In the same way the people of Gilmer acted out of fear of the Satanic Cult, people in the Salem Witch Trials acted on hysteria out of fear of witchcraft.

References:

ESPN. (2018, July 18). ‘Sister survivors’ moment of solidarity accepting Arthur Ashe Courage Award | ESPYS 2018 | ESPN [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9hu5HLoSzM

Chapter 6: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog

Despite the heart wrenching neglect faced by both boys, Chapter 6 made me feel the most hope and joy of any of the chapters. Based on the title of the book and chapter, I had an idea of what the chapter would entail, but the description was still haunting. The physical effects of the unintentional neglect Justin experienced were astounding. Dr. Perry mentioned that Justin didn’t stand or walk because he didn’t have anyone to steady or encourage him, but I thought about it from an even more basic, physical nature. Despite Justin being let out of his cage daily, I cannot imagine it was enough for his legs to develop enough strength to stand, moreover walk. Any muscle his body might have built, likely atrophied from lack of use. I also pictured an attending physician showing Justin’s brain scans to a group of residents or interns, without any other information, and asking them to diagnose the patient. I can only imagine their reactions when they found out his age. Fortunately, Justin did not have Alzheimer’s disease and his condition could improve.

I laughed a few times throughout the chapter; the first time was during the story that led Dr. Perry to realize Justin had the capacity to change. I loved Perry’s connection between a primitive sense of humor and his ability to connect with others- not to mention the story was funny. As Perry began to help Justin access his capacity to change, the phrases of “patterned, repetitive experience” and “safe environment” surfaced. I noticed the same phrases being used in the description of Connor’s treatment. Dr. Perry’s treatment reminded me of many of the concepts in Attachment Theory. At the end of the chapter, he mentioned the ability of children to feel a certain level of competence and mastery when they have a “nurturing ‘home base’”. Home base is a common term used in Attachment Theory. From what I understand, it sounds that Dr. Perry was trying to create “secure-attachment relationships” for the two boys. Previously, the boys had experienced inconsistent, unpredictable attachment- either avoidant, ambivalent or disorganized- and their schema of relationships developed based on their early interactions. Through consistent, repetitive stimulation, the boys were able to adapt their schemas.

One of the sections I found most interesting was the discussion of the course of development for a baby’s rhythm. I had never considered this crucial aspect of development. I enjoyed the section on the soothing impact of a mother’s heartbeat, because a similar occurrence happens in puppies (I promise I don’t think children are dogs; I just really love dogs). My grandpa was a vet and he would always tell us to put a clock in a puppy’s kennel at night to keep it from whining. I didn’t understand why for the longest time, until my dad told me that it mimics the mother’s heartbeat in the womb. I thought that was brilliant and I wonder if putting a ticking clock in/near a baby’s crib would soothe the baby. I haven’t heard of it being done before, so it may not work the same.       

Chapter 5: The Coldest Heart

After sitting with this chapter for a little while, I am still bursting with an array of emotions. Out of any social work setting, I have always thought that I would have the most difficulty working in a jail or prison. This chapter reaffirmed my belief. As I read Dr. Perry’s description of the crime, my body filled with anger. I’m not sure if anger is even a strong enough emotion; it was more like rage. I can usually stomach the cases when a person is assessed as “legally insane” and unable to tell right from wrong. However, I get stuck when an individual knew what they were doing. Based on previous chapters, I assumed a description of severe neglect or abuse would follow the account of Leon’s crime. My gut reaction - the limbic area of my brain- and my research-oriented brain - aka my prefrontal cortex – started battling it out when the chapter ended.

I had the stereotypical thoughts: “not every neglected child murders and rapes” and “how would I feel if the victims were someone I knew?” On the other side, my brain was thinking: “did his genetics and environment create a perfect storm?” I have a difficult time accepting Leon’s actions as inevitable. However, many of the things that would have changed Leon’s path were out of his control. Leon only received punishment, he never came to understand the relationship between people and pleasure, and the programs he was put in only worsened the situation.

I have seen the effects of putting a group of “troubled” adolescents together for extended periods of time. Dr. Perry uses the word “troubled” to refer to disturbed children with behavior problems, but I’m referring to behavior disturbances, as well as self-harm, depression, anxiety, etc. Adolescents benefit from hearing peers in similar situations talk about their experiences. The loneliness or ostracization they feel can be lessened by knowing they aren’t the only ones going through the difficulties. The downside is what Dr. Perry describes as children “egging each other on” and “modeling” behaviors. I witnessed more than one instance of these type of behaviors, whether it be a patient egging on another to fight or one patient self-harming and two or three self-harming soon after. After reading the chapter on behavior therapy, I wonder how reinforcement played a role in Leon’s life and the patients I worked with.

Normally, positive and negative reinforcement is used to reward positive behavior and encourage people to continue to engage in the behavior. However, I’ve noticed that when only punishment is used, the “bad” behavior can be reinforced. In the case of Leon, he only received attention, albeit negative, when he lashed out. I don’t mean to refer to Leon as an animal, but I notice a similar pattern with my roommate’s cat. If I start ignoring Cheddar, he will do something he knows he isn’t supposed to (e.g. knocking over water bottles, scratching the couch). Even though the attention I give him is negative, he knows he gets my attention when he starts engaging in one of those behaviors. More recently, I’ve tried to ignore him whenever his acts up and start petting him when he stops. We discussed in class that positive reinforcement is much more effective than punishment. I would imagine the increase of positive reinforcement and affection early in Leon’s life would have worked wonders. I would hope that even implementing positive reinforcement in preschool would have been helpful. It’s easy for me to say teachers should focus more on positive behaviors, but I’m not the one who has to manage 20 kids in a classroom by myself. I think it’s easy to blame teachers for yelling at their students, but the way the system is set up doesn’t always allot them time to build genuine relationships. I get irritated with my own cat when I’m trying to do something; I can’t imagine trying to implement behavior modification and teach 20 children at the same time.