+INFANT-CHILD ABUSE SURVIVORSHIP: GETTING ENOUGH TO ‘GO WITH’

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Well, time to see if I can write anything like a coherent post out of some of the thousands of thoughts that have been flying through my mind in the past week.  Most certainly this post is again about the visual contained in this link  (Sorry – WordPress is eliminating spacing between paragraphs today!):


The baby in this video returns, as I mentioned before, to its mother during a point in its exploration of its own self in the mirror when a sense of LACK of safety and security overwhelms it.  It returns to her for PROTECTION.  It returns to her because the baby is FEELING a sense of RUPTURE within itself that requires REPAIR.  Appropriately, its repair is tied to its reliance upon its mother.  If the baby DID NOT have — already PRIOR to this experience — a safe and secure attachment experience-relationship with its mother, where could it have possibly have turned for the REPAIR (protection, safety, security) that it so fundamentally needed at that moment?
Then I think about my own self as an infant-child.  I had NOBODY to turn to, and I never did from the moment I was born.  Then I think again about the furry baby in the video (above).  I think again about all I have learned about how the LACK of safe and secure attachment (protection) changes an infant’s total physiological development — so that the ‘stress response’ end of the continuum that is supposed to be counter-weighted and counteracted by the ‘calm connection’ end of the response system is never activated.
So development is guided by the stress hormone cortisol rather than by the optimal physiological ‘guidance system’ of safe and secure attachment.  Where do we find our CALM?  Where would the furry baby have been able to find its calm at the point it needed to down-regulate its anxiety-stress-not-feeling-safe-in-the-world response?
Being able to yet AGAIN turn its its external source of regulation for repair means that yet AGAIN those patterns of rupture WITH the experience of repair were building themselves into the little ones growing body-brain.
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The baby’s growing and developing body-brain was malleable.  It was going to adapt one way or the other to either NO REPAIR (no safety, security, protection, attachment) or to the opposite.  The resiliency factor was its MOTHER and HER ability to form and foster that attachment relationship.
This all led me to realize that just as I have said before that my mother’s orchestrated CONSTANT moving around was GOOD FOR ME.  The moving meant we went to different schools, often changing schools in the middle of the year after we had started the school year late.  I HAD to build ACTIVE COPING skills into my own self in response to those challenges.  I had NO way, on the other hand, to use active coping skills at home in response to my mother’s constant abuse of me.
My body-brain grew and developed, however, with active coping skill abilities built into it to a large extent because of the continual moving.
I also realized today that this moving, as it included moving on and off of our mountain homestead was good for me, also.  My ONLY safe and secure attachment was to the glorious wilderness that mountain provided me.  When we left it — as in the book Heidi by Johanna Spyri which was my absolute favorite story when I was growing up — I experience terrible grief when we left the mountain (RUPTURE) as I also experienced calm-connection-joy (REPAIR) when we returned to it.
Instead of having any human being (including a mother) to experience the patterns of rupture and repair with, I had the Alaskan wilderness mountain homestead.  Well, that was evidently GOOD ENOUGH!  As a result I do have rupture-repair patterns built into me.  They happened beginning when I was 7 (when we found the mountain), not before that except with my 14-month-older brother.  But evidently that was ENOUGH to get me by.
It wasn’t enough to let my body-brain avoid growing itself with a massive ‘stress-anxiety’ ON GO system being overdeveloped within me — along with the host of problems this reality creates for me.  But at least I have enough to WORK WITH as I use what I do have to learn, grow, heal and change NOW in spite of the terrible difficulties I suffered during those first 18 years of my critical growth and development.

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+PRIMARY CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION – NEW YORK CUTS

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Cuts to Healthy Families New York Will Cost Us Dearly

Posted: 09 Feb 2011 12:36 PM PST on Prevent Child Abuse New York Blog

While I was happy to recently read about the successes Mt. Hope Family Center’s Building Healthy Children, a few days later the Governor’s budget proposal was revealed, and with it the complete elimination of funding for New York’s largest program that uses similar means to achieve similar outcomes.

The science of preventing negative childhood experiences, such as abuse, neglect and pre-term birth, before they happen is called primary prevention. Healthy Families New York has been a leading primary prevention program in New York state for sixteen years, and has fantastic data proving that mothers who enroll in it experience fewer low birth weight deliveries, lower rates of substance abuse and depression, and are less likely to abuse or neglect a child, even if they have abused or neglected a child in the past. After seven years, mothers who enroll in the program are less likely to have their child repeat a grade or receive special-education services, and they are more likely to have a child in a gifted program.

It is wonderful to give lip service to things like child abuse prevention and school readiness, but by eliminating funding to primary prevention programs, the governor’s budget actually costs us money in the short and long term. Healthy Families NY has been proven to save $50 in taxpayer money per family enrolled the year the family enrolls, and those savings increase as time goes by. The program has served between 4000-5000 families throughout the state in the last few years, so the savings are considerable. Leading economists have agreed that the best way to stimulate long-term economic growth is to invest in evidence-based early childhood programs such as Healthy Families NY.

In his race to close this year’s budget gap, the governor has managed to cut so deep as to lacerate a system that already saves us money. And he is doing it by dooming thousands of children to suffering needlessly throughout their lives.

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www.ted.comTED Talks Brene Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity

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+MY LIFE PALES WITHOUT IMPORTANCE – PRAYERS FOR EGYPT

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I just want to stop in and say “Hello.”  In light of the suffering of the people of Egypt there doesn’t seem to be anything in my life worthy of mention.  Prayer, that’s all I can do — and care.

Strikes in Egypt add to pressure from protests

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+ADOBE MOMMA NEWS: ANYONE ELSE LOVE FLOWERS? TODAY’S NATIVE PLANT ORDER….

February 5, 2011 – High Country Garden Order 1-800-925-9387

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/75797/#facts

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Item # 58690 – Heuchera sanguinea ‘Firefly’ Coral Bells – page 63

TOLERATES SOME SHADE

Description:  18” x 15” wide, (seed propagated). Heuchera is a western wildflower that has been bred and improved …. The bright red flowers are held high on long thin wands over the tidy mounds of scalloped foliage. Heavy blooming in well-drained, compost enriched soil, flowering is prolonged by deadheading of faded flowering spikes. Best in part sun and shade in hot climates, but will do well in full sun at higher altitudes with cooler summer weather. Water regularly for the best show of flowers.

Bloom Time Late Spring, Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Hummingbirds — Water regularly for the best show of flowers.

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Item # 42410 – Diascia integerrima ‘Coral Canyon’® Coral Canyon® Twinspur – page 63

TOLERATES SOME SHADE

Description:  15” x 18” wide, (cutting propagated). 2000 Plant Select Winner. A cold hardy Twinspur, Coral Canyon® Twinspur is a vigorous perennial that blooms throughout the summer months. The salmon-pink flowers are held above the foliage on wiry stems. Originally from the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa, this superb plant has proven itself to be a stand-out in our western landscapes! Coral Canyon® Twinspur thrives in enriched garden soils and appreciates regular watering.

Special Notes: Compact, longblooming summer performer.

PINK – Bloom Time Late Spring, Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Medium – 12in. to 36in.

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Item # 70992 – Monarda ‘Violet Queen’ Violet Queen Bee Balm – page 66

CENTERPIECE PLANT – tolerates some shade

Description: 42” x 18” wide, (cutting propagated). Stunning! A large clump of “Violet Queen” in full flower will be the highlight of your summer garden. The deep lavender-pink flowers are highly attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. The fuzzy green foliage has excellent mildew resistance. “Violet Queen” like other Monarda varieties enjoys fertile garden soils. Mulch well and water regularly to keep the soil moist. Plant with Silene ‘Prairie Fire’ for a dazzling combination.

Bloom Time Summer Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Large – 36in. to 5ft. Attracts Attract Bees, Attract Butterflies, Attract Hummingbirds

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Item # 82930 – Rudbeckia ‘Henry Eilers’ – Henry Eilers Quilled Brown Eye Susan – page 36 – YELLOW – tolerates some shade

Description: 4-5’ x 18-24” wide A remarkable late 20th century discovery made by Henry Eilers, this unusual native plant was found growing in an Illinois prairie remnant along an abandoned rail road track. A towering perennial once mature, the plant blooms in late summer with numerous clusters of distinctly quilled, light-yellow petaled flowers. The foliage releases a mild anise fragrance when brushed. Great cut flower too! Catalog/Website only. Compost Enriched Garden Loam

Bloom Time Summer, Early Fall Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Large – 36in. to 5ft. Attracts Attract Butterflies Resists Resists Deer Fragrant Fragrant Flowers

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Item # 10090 – Achillea ‘Paprika’ Paprika Yarrow – page 47 – coral/peach – tolerates some shade

Description:  24” x 30” wide, (cutting propagated). This Galaxy hybrid selection is renowned for its large clusters of bright red flowers. Each individual flower in the cluster also has a distinctive yellow eye. As is the case with all Yarrows, the flowers fade as they age; “Paprika” fades from red to pink. Planting in afternoon shade will slow the fading a bit. Adding to its good looks is the fern-like deep green foliage. “Paprika” is everblooming with regular deadheading and is best used in the perennial border where it enjoys enriched soil and regular watering.

Bloom Time Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 23530 – Aster oblongifolius ‘Dream of Beauty’ Fragrant Aster – NOT IN BOOK – CARPET LOW SPREADER  – full and afternoon sun – lavender and white

Description:  12” x 24”+ wide, (cutting propagated). Aster ‘Dream of Beauty’ is a superb high plains native. Introduced in 1960 by the visionary Great Plains plantsman Claude Barr for its vigorous, low-spreading habit and amazing fall display of sugar-pink flowers with burnt orange centers. Growing in a wide range of soil types, including clay, ‘Dream of Beauty’ spreads to form a dense carpet of flowers and foliage; so give it room!

Bloom Time Early Fall Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Clay Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Small – up to 12in.

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Item # 20811 – Aquilegia caerulea Rocky Mountain Columbine – page 64

WILL TAKE FULL SHADE

Description:  18” x 15” wide, (seed propagated). Rocky Mountain Columbine is the state flower of Colorado, and is treasured for its big blue and white flowers. A must for mountain gardeners, this plant is at its best in cool, higher altitude areas of the West. At lower elevations, place in cool shady beds that receive regular watering. Not recommended for hot , humid climates

Bloom Time Late Spring Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade, All Day Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Hummingbirds Resists Resists Rabbits

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Item # 76613 – Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Blue Spires‘ – Blue Spires Russian Sage – PAGE 46

Description:  4’ x 4’ wide, (cutting propagated). Russian sage has taken the gardening world by storm, rising from obscurity to enormous popularity in the past decade. Along the way, however, a number of different forms of the plant were introduced, resulting in a variety of good and not-so-good Russian Sage plants. Be assured that ‘Blue Spires’, a European cultivar, is a vigorous, well-shaped grower with attractive dark-blue flower spikes.

Bloom Time Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Clay Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Large – 36in. to 5ft. Attracts Attract Bees Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 10045 – Achillea ‘Moonshine’ – Moonshine Yarrow – PAGE 33

Description:  18” x 24” wide, (cutting propagated). We recommend ‘Moonshine’ as one of the best garden perennials currently available. It can be used in both xeric and non-xeric perennial borders, as it is highly adaptable in its soil and water needs. The distinctive silver-gray foliage is a fine backdrop for the lemon-yellow flower clusters that keep coming all summer.

Bloom Time Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Clay Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 84780 – Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ – May Night Meadow Sage – purple – PAGE 33

Description:  18” x 18” wide, (cutting propagated). Selected as the 1997 Perennial Plant of the Year. Outstanding for its compact growth habit, profuse deep purple flower spikes and vigorous re-blooming nature. “May Night” thrives in hot, sunny planting sites. The first flush of flowers comes in late spring. Deadheading and a little extra watering assures heavy re-blooming.

Bloom Time Late Spring, Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Bees Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 59001 – Hymenoxys acaulis – Sundancer Daisy (yellow) – page 15

Description:  15” x 15” wide (seed propagated). This fantastic, ever-blooming western wildflower is a must for any xeriscape. The plant has attractive thread-leaf foliage, which is covered by large, bright yellow, long-stemmed daisies from late spring through fall. Remarkably adapted to arid regions, Sundancer Daisy grows well from the low desert to the mountains above. Plant in any lean, well-drained non-clay soil.

Bloom Time Late Spring, Summer, Early Fall, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Butterflies Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 59005 – Hymenoxys scaposa – Thrift-leaf Perky Sue (yellow – SHORT) – page 22

Description:  5” x 8” wide, (seed propagated). A wonderful everblooming yellow daisy that is both heat loving and drought tolerant. The foliage is evergreen and looks just like Armeria. A vigorous reseeder, it quickly colonizes harsh areas of the garden. Perky Sue loves gravel mulch. We use it to interplant with cold hardy cacti. Provide lean, well-drained soil. Once established Hymenoxys scaposa is very xeric, needing little extra water. A Choice Plant!

Plant with Ruschia and cold hardy cacti! Provide lean, well-drained soil. Once established Hymenoxis scaposa is very xeric, needing little extra water.  Bloom Time Late Spring, Summer Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Very Xeric Height Small – up to 12in. Attracts Attract Butterflies Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 77103 – Phlomis cashmeriana – Kashmir Sage – page 16

TOLEARATES FULL SHADE

Description:  36-48” x 18-24” wide, (seed propagated). Native to the drier areas of the western Himalayas and Kashmir, this outstanding performer is right at home in western gardens where its stately architecture, large, handsome gray-green foliage and showy spikes of lavender-pink verticillasters (whorled flower clusters) make Kashmir Sage a highlight of the summer garden.

This plant is invaluable for use in both sun and shade. Easily grown in most any well-drained soil. You can thank Panayoti Kelaidis of Denver Botanic Garden for his long time advocacy of this undeservedly obscure plant.

Bloom Time Late Spring Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade, All Day Shade Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Large – 36in. to 5ft. Resists Resists Deer

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Item # 20812 – Aquilegia caerulea ‘Red Hobbit’ – Red Hobbit Columbine – page 64

SEMI SHADE BORDER or ALL SHADEPROTECT FROM AFTERNOON SUN

Description:  12-14” x 12” wide, (seed propagated).  A delightful addition to the semi-shade border, Red Hobbit is a dwarf Danish selection with eye-catching red and white flowers. Hybridized from our native Rocky Mt. Columbine, it likes compost-enriched soil with regular irrigation and protection from the afternoon sun. This stable hybrid comes true to color when reseeding in the garden, unlike many other hybrid varieties.

Bloom Time Late Spring Sun Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade, All Day Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Hummingbirds Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 84782 – Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ – Caradonna Blue Sage – page 21

Description:  24” x 18” wide, (cutting propagated). ‘Caradonna’ is a distinctive, award winning cultivar developed at Zillmer Nursery in Germany. Unique with its tall, very dark purple flower stems and stunning blue-violet flowers, ‘Caradonna’ blooms for many weeks beginning in late spring. The nemorosa type sages thrive in a wide range of soils (including clay), and provide a strong vertical element with their uniformly upright flower spikes. They thrive with minimal care

Bloom Time Late Spring Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Clay Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Bees Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 11821Agastache ‘Ava’ – Ava’s Hummingbird Mint – page 7

CENTERPIECE PLANT – PINK/RED

Description: 4-5’ x 24” wide, (cutting propagated). Of all the hummingbird mints varieties High Country Gardens has released (and they are our specialty), this is our finest introduction. This stately hybrid between Agastache cana and Agastache barberi will be the centerpiece of any planting with its huge spikes of deep rose-pink flowers, raspberry-red calyxes and sweetly scented foliage.

Flowering begins in mid-summer and continues for months, the spikes elongate up to a foot or more in length and intensifying in color with each passing week. Unlike any other Agastache I’ve grown, Ava’s calyxes retain their intense coloration keeping the plant beautiful until hard frost. Or like fine dark-flowered Lavender, it can be picked and dried to make a fragrant everlasting flower.

This plant takes two to three growing seasons to reach mature size and will live for many years when happy. Plant in enriched, well-drained garden soil. Fertilize annually in mid-fall with Yum Yum Mix and leave the stems standing through winter. Cut it back in mid-spring.

Bloom Time Summer, Early Fall, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Large – 36in. to 5ft. Attracts Attract Hummingbirds Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits Fragrant Fragrant Flowers, Fragrant Foliage

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Item # 30715 – Caryopteris clandonensis ‘Dark Knight’ – Blue Mist Spirea – page 78

SMALLER SHRUB – can tolerate afternoon shade

Description:  3-4’ x 4’ wide, (cutting propagated). One of the best Blue Mist Spirea varieties, “Dark Knight” has the deepest blue color of them all. Its tidy, upright growth habit and profusion of flowering spikes make it an essential part of the summer landscape. A reliable performer, “Dark Knight” flowers heavily every year. Of modest size, it can be used in front of low walls, as a hedge or in groups around the base of larger shrubs, small trees and upright evergreens. Avoid heavy wet clay soils.

Bloom Time Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Large – 36in. to 5ft. Attracts Attract Bees, Attract Butterflies Resists Resists Deer, Resists Rabbits

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Item # 82702 – Rosa ‘Darlow’s Enigma’ – SHADE TOLEARANT (needs morning sun) WHITE CLIMBING ROSE – page 84

Description: 6-8’x 4’ wide. A fabulous rose of mysterious origins, ‘Darlow’s Enigma’ is an outstanding climbing rose that is both shade tolerant (an unusual trait in roses) and long blooming. This beauty comes into flower in early summer with floribunda-like clusters of single white flowers that bring fragrance to the garden with its light but lingering perfume. Flowering continues into fall!

‘Darlow’s Enigma’ also has a nice display of small red hips to give the plant fall and winter interest.

Special Notes: A climbing rose. Shade tolerant (unusual trait for a rose).

Bloom Time Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Extra Large – over 5ft. Fragrant Fragrant Flowers

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Item # 82721 – Rosa ‘John Cabot’ – Canadian Explorer Series Hybrid Climber – page 84

Description: 8-10’ x 3-4’ wide (cutting propagated) Climbing growth habit. Medium-sized double-deep fuchsia-pink flowers highlight this big climber. Blooming all summer with heaviest blooming in late spring, “John Cabot” should be used where it can grow to its full size. Cover big fences and tall empty walls with this vigorous variety. Super cold-hardy canes.

Special Notes: Plant with ‘Dark Knight’ Blue Mist Spirea or ‘Black Knight’ Butterfly Bush for a dramatic combination! Super cold-hardy canes.

Bloom Time Late Spring, Summer, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Regular Water Height Extra Large – over 5ft. Fragrant Fragrant Flowers

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Item # 75764 – Penstemon pinifolius ‘Mersea Yellow’ – Yellow Pineleaf Penstemon – page 25

Description:  12” x 15” wide (cutting propagated). This unusual color variant (or “sport”) was discovered in an English garden in 1980. Hundreds of soft yellow tubular flowers cover the plant for many weeks in midsummer. Originally, we expected ‘Mersea Yellow’ to not be as vigorous and heat tolerant as orange-flowered Penstemon pinifolius, but its performance in our gardens has proved otherwise. This plant does appreciate a little extra water, and can be grown in both lean and enriched garden soils as long as the drainage is good. Needs afternoon shade in hot desert climates. Yellow Penstemons are a great rarity in this huge genus.

This plant does appreciate a little extra water, and can be grown in both lean and enriched garden soils as long as the drainage is good. Needs afternoon shade in hot desert climates.

Hot desert — Bloom Time Late Spring, Summer Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Hummingbirds Resists Resists Rabbits

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Item # 75797 – Penstemon mexicali ‘Pikes Peak Purple’ – Pikes Peak Purple™ Beardtongue – NOT IN CATALOG

Description:  18” x 15” wide (cutting propagated) 1999 Plant Select® winner. This, the companion to Penstemon Red Rocks™ with concord grape-colored flowers, Pikes Peak Purple™ is long blooming and easy to grow. I like to plant it with yellow-flowered perennials like Coreopsis ‘Sunray’ and Sundrops (Calylophus). This is a vigorous grower that performs best in moderately fertile, but well-drained soils. Will flower most vigorously with regular watering.

HOT DESERT – Bloom Time Late Spring, Longblooming Sun Full and Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun and Afternoon Shade Soil Average Garden Soil, Sandy Garden Soil Moisture Xeric Height Medium – 12in. to 36in. Attracts Attract Bees, Attract Hummingbirds Resists Resists Rabbits

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+ADOBE MOMMA NEWS: NOTICING THE GIFT

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This week has been fraught with near zero night temperatures – record lows for us, complete with frozen water lines, frozen sewer lines.  All my water pipes are STILL frozen.  But outside in the glorious sunshine this morning I happened to notice THIS:

This is the latest sunken adobe walkway I poured and patted into place a week ago before the COLD hit us.
I just happened to notice this GIFT today - as the mud was both freezing and drying the patterns of ice crystals embedded themselves into the mud
With the first footsteps across this amazing beauty, with the first rain, they will disappear - but not from my memory

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+NO MONEY FOR OUR NATION’S NEEDY KIDS? OUR DEBT DEBT DEBT

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Global debt percentage of GNP/GDP – the Top 20By Paul Toscano
Updated 30 Sept 2010, © 2011 CNBC.com THE WORLD’S BIGGEST DEBTOR NATIONS

(click grey arrow at top of pictures on your screen — and be sure to see the link at bottom of this post to info that explains what all this means)

“Throughout the financial crisis, many national economies have looked to their government and foreign lenders for financial support, which translates to increased spending, borrowing and in most cases, growing national debt.

Deficit spending, government debt and private sector borrowing are the norm in most western countries, but due in part to the financial crisis, some nations and economies are in considerably worse debt positions than others.

External debt is a measure of a nation’s foreign liabilities, capital plus interest that the government and institutions within a nation’s borders must eventually pay. This number not only includes government debt, but also debt owed by corporations and individuals to entities outside their home country.

So, how does the US debt position compare to that of other countries? A useful measure of a country’s debt position is by comparing gross external debt to GDP [GNP]. By comparing a country’s debt to what it produces, this ratio can be used to help determine the likelihood that a country will be able to repay its debt.

This report takes a look at the world’s 75 largest economies to see which ones have the highest external debt to GDP [GNP] ratio, calculated using the most recent numbers from the World Bank. We’ve listed the top twenty here.

Since the first time this report was published in April 2009, the debt situations of many countries have become of increasingly influential in the markets. In many European nations, these debt levels have caused international organizations and bond investors to put pressure on governments to cut public debt through austerity measures and additional reductions in spending.

So, what are the world’s biggest in-debt nations?”

20thUnited States – 98.4%

External debt (as % of GDP): 98.4%
Gross external debt: $13.92 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $14.14 trillion
External debt per capita: $45,302

19thHungary – 120.6%

External debt (as % of GDP): 120.6%
Gross external debt: $224.36 billion
2009 GDP (est): $186 billion
External debt per capita: $22,650

18thAustralia – 121.9%

External debt (as % of GDP): 121.9%
Gross external debt: $1.037 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $851.1 billion
External debt per capita: $48,787

17thItaly – 141.3%

External debt (as % of GDP): 141.3%
Gross external debt: $2.456 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $1.74 trillion
External debt per capita: $42,267

16thGreece – 167.2%

External debt (as % of GDP): 167.2%
Gross external debt: $557.4 billion
2009 GDP (est): $333.4 billion
External debt per capita: $51,916

15thGermany – 176.8%

External debt (as % of GDP): 167.2%
Gross external debt: $557.4 billion
2009 GDP (est): $333.4 billion
External debt per capita: $51,916

14thSpain – 176.9%

External debt (as % of GDP): 176.9%
Gross external debt: $2.40 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $1.36 trillion
External debt per capita: $59,459

13thNorway – 208.8%

External debt (as % of GDP): 176.9%
Gross external debt: $2.40 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $1.36 trillion
External debt per capita: $59,459

12thFinland – 215%

External debt (as % of GDP): 215%
Gross external debt: $383.7 billion
2009 GDP (est): $178.8 billion
External debt per capita: $73,082

11thHong Kong – 224.7%

External debt (as % of GDP): 224.7%
Gross external debt: $678.29 billion
2009 GDP (est): $301.8 billion
External debt per capita: $96,142

10thPortugal – 231.2%

External debt (as % of GDP): 231.2%
Gross external debt: $537.85 billion
2009 GDP (est): $232.6 billion
External debt per capita: $50,230

9thFrance – 244.3%

External debt (as % of GDP): 244.3%
Gross external debt: $5.23 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $2.09 trillion
External debt per capita: $79,982

8thAustria – 251.4%

External debt (as % of GDP): 251.4%
Gross external debt: $809.2 billion
2009 GDP (est): $321.8 billion
External debt per capita: $98,554

7thSweden – 269.7%

External debt (as % of GDP): 269.7%
Gross external debt: $893.86 billion
2009 GDP (est): $331.4 billion
External debt per capita: $98,664

6thDenmark – 307.3%

External debt (as % of GDP): 307.3%
Gross external debt: $607.818 billion
2009 GDP (est): $197.8 billion
External debt per capita: $110,502

5thBelgium – 326.7%

External debt (as % of GDP): 326.7%
Gross external debt: $1.253 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $383.4 billion
External debt per capita: $120,267

4thNetherlands – 369.6%

External debt (as % of GDP): 369.6%
Gross external debt: $2.44 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $660 billion
External debt per capita: $145,928

3rdSwitzerland – 378.6%

External debt (as % of GDP): 378.6%
Gross external debt: $1.191 trillion (2009 Q3)
2009 GDP (est): $314.7 billion
External debt per capita: $156,694

2ndUnited Kingdom – 428.8%

External debt (as % of GDP): 428.8%
Gross external debt: $9.12 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $2.128 trillion
External debt per capita: $149,281

1stIreland – 1,305%

External debt (as % of GDP): 1,305%
Gross external debt: $2.25 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $172.5 billion
External debt per capita: $535,529

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SEE ALSO:  Countries Overloaded With DebtBy: Paul Toscano© 2011 CNBC.com

And — Slideshow: Biggest Holders of US Gov’t DebtBy Paul Toscano
Updated 18 Jan 2011

Detailed information about the following can be found by clicking on the above title link:

1st Federal Reserve and Intragovernmental Holdings — That’s right, the biggest holder of US government debt is actually within the United States. The Federal Reserve system of banks and other US intragovernmental holdings account for a stunning $5.351 trillion in US Treasury debt. This is the most recent number available (Sept 2010), and marks an all-time high.

2nd Other Investors/Savings Bonds — With the most recent numbers from Sept 2010, this extremely diverse group includes individuals, government-sponsored enterprises, brokers and dealers, bank personal trusts, estates, savings bonds, corporate and non-corporate businesses for a total of $1.458 trillion;

3rd China — The largest foreign holder of US Treasury securities, China currently holds $895.6 billion in American debt, although it is down from all time highs of $929 billion one year earlier in November 2009;

4th Japan; 5th Pension Funds; 6th Mutual Funds; 7th (Tied) United Kingdom and (Tied) State and Local Governments; 9th Depository Institutions; 10th Insurance Companies; 11th Oil Exporters; 12th Brazil; 13th Caribbean Banking Centers; 14th Hong Kong; 15th Canada;

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+AMERICAN CHILD WELL-BEING: SOME ‘IN-HOUSE’ GAPS

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I included some information in my last post from the United Nation’s 2010 findings about the growing inequality record between the ‘have’ and the ‘have not’ children in the United States in comparisons of three measures of child well-being between the globe’s 24 richest nations.  According to the United Nations (in this report),

“Three dimensions of inequality are examined:  material well-being, education, and health. In each case and for each country, the question asked is ‘how far behind are children being allowed to fall?’
“The idea that inequality is justified as a reflection of differences in merit cannot reasonably be applied to children. Few would deny that children’s early circumstances are beyond their own control. Or that those early circumstances have a profound effect on their present lives and future prospects. Or that growing up in poverty incurs a substantially higher risk of lower standards of health, of reduced cognitive development, of underachievement at school, of lower skills and aspirations, and eventually of lower adult earnings, so helping to perpetuate disadvantage from one generation to the next.

“None of this is the fault of the child.

“Second, the question being asked here – ‘how far behind are children being allowed to fall?’ – requires a measure not of overall inequality but of inequality at the bottom end of the distribution. In other words, the metric used is not the distance between the top and the bottom but between the median and the bottom. The median level of child well-being – whether in material goods, educational outcomes, or level of health – represents what is considered normal in a given society and falling behind that median by more than a certain degree carries a risk of social exclusion.

“Today, ‘bottom-end inequality’ is no longer a concern only of the political left. In the United Kingdom, for example, a Conservative Prime Minister has argued that “We should focus on closing the gap between the bottom and the middle not because that is the easy thing to do, but because focusing on those who do not have the chance of a good life is the most important thing to do.

“That ‘gap between the bottom and the middle’ is the focus of Report Card 9.”

According to this U.N. report inequalities based on this “distance between the median and the bottom” on child well-being places America 23rd (followed only by Slovakia) on the ‘material’ measure of child well-being;  19th of 24 on the ‘education’ measure of child well-being; and 22nd (followed by Italy and Hungry) on the ‘health’ measure of child well-being.

++

Today I wanted to spend some time looking at some of our national data that breaks some related information down ‘in house’ by each of our 50 states.

I want to highlight some of the most recent United States of America national statistics concerning the state of well-being and lack of well-being for America’s children as they are presented on the national KIDS COUNT data pages.  Yes, ‘the numbers’ might lie, but if they do the error is on the side of being too conservative because of non-reporting, under recognition, underreporting along with the possibility of lack of consistency in data collection between states.

In all cases the appearance of “S” means to me that the overall percentage of Children in Poverty by state and nationally is not accurate because these numbers are significantly missing.

As KIDS COUNT states about these findings:

Definitions: The share of children under age 18 who live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The federal poverty definition consists of a series of thresholds based on family size and composition. In calendar year 2009, a family of two adults and two children fell in the “poverty” category if their annual income fell below $21,756….  The data are based on income received in the 12 months prior to the survey. More…

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, 2001 Supplementary Survey, 2002 through 2009 American Community Survey.  More…

Footnotes: Updated September 2010.
S – Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points. N.A. – Data not available. A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in poverty by race.  (Please also see beginning on  page 21 of the United Nations Report concerning ‘measures of poverty’.)

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Given that I would believe the following states DO in fact have a recognizable percentage of their state population within these ‘racial’ categories.  I would also have to seriously question the overall top states’ ranking in the nation on measures of child-well being based on the following:  

New Mexico is missing its report for Black or African American or Asian and Pacific Islander children in their population

New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin are missing data for their American Indian children

Iowa has no data for American Indian or for Black or African American children

Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah (ranked 4th on overall child well-being in the nation?) and (appallingly!) District of Columbia all report no data on their Black or African American, American Indian and Asian and Pacific Islander children

Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire (ranked 1st on overall child well-being in the nation?), North Dakota, Vermont (ranked 3rd on overall child well-being in the nation?), West Virginia and Wyoming only report here for the non-Hispanic White children!

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I am also including beside each state below information beside the name of each state where that state ranks from this page:   KIDS COUNT overall rank (Number) – 2010

Children in poverty by race (Percent) – 2009

The national whole

Non-Hispanic White 12%

Black or African American 36%

American Indian 35%

Asian and Pacific Islander 13%

Hispanic or Latino 31%                                   Total 20%

Children in poverty by race (Percent) – 2009 – by state — (totals below represent the approximate percentage of kids in poverty within each state):

Alabama (47th)

Non-Hispanic White 14%

Black or African American 42%

American Indian S Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 44%                                  Total 25%

Alaska (38th)

Non-Hispanic White 9%

Black or African American S

American Indian 24%

Asian and Pacific Islander S Hispanic or Latino S         Total 13%

Arizona (39th)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American 30%

American Indian 45%

Asian and Pacific Islander 11%

Hispanic or Latino 33%                                                     Total 23%

Arkansas (48th)

Non-Hispanic White 18%

Black or African American 49%

American Indian S Asian and Pacific Islander 9%

Hispanic or Latino 43%                                               Total 27%

California (19th)

Non-Hispanic White 9%

Black or African American 29%

American Indian 31%

Asian and Pacific Islander 12%

Hispanic or Latino 28%                                               Total 20%

Colorado (20th)

Non-Hispanic White 8%

Black or African American 36%

American Indian S Asian and Pacific Islander 7%

Hispanic or Latino 34%                                           Total 17%

Connecticut (8th)

Non-Hispanic White 5%

Black or African American 25%

American Indian S Asian and Pacific Islander 6%

Hispanic or Latino 31%                                    Total 12%

Delaware (27th)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American S

American Indian S Asian and Pacific Islander 5%

Hispanic or Latino S                                    Total 16%

Florida (35th)

Non-Hispanic White 13%

Black or African American 38%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 12%

Hispanic or Latino 25%                               Total 21%

Georgia (42nd)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American 33%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 14%

Hispanic or Latino 42%                                         Total 22%

Hawaii (22nd)

Non-Hispanic White 12%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 11%

Hispanic or Latino 19%                            Total 14%

Idaho (21st)

Non-Hispanic White 15%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 35%                                Total 18%

Illinois (24th)

Non-Hispanic White 10%

Black or African American 40%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 11%

Hispanic or Latino 26%                           Total 19%

Indiana (33rd)

Non-Hispanic White 14%

Black or African American 45%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 15%

Hispanic or Latino 37%                           Total 20%

Iowa (6th)

Non-Hispanic White 13%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 5%

Hispanic or Latino 32%                         Total 16%

Kansas (13th)

Non-Hispanic White 12%

Black or African American 40%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 9%

Hispanic or Latino 32%                                    Total 18%

Kentucky (40th)

Non-Hispanic White 23%

Black or African American 44%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 7%

Hispanic or Latino 39%                                       Total 26%

Louisiana (49th)

Non-Hispanic White 12%

Black or African American 42%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 8%

Hispanic or Latino 21%                                     Total 24%

Maine (14th)

Non-Hispanic White 15%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                              Total 17%

Maryland (25th)

Non-Hispanic White 6%

Black or African American 19%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 7%

Hispanic or Latino 15%                        Total 12%

Massachusetts (5th)

Non-Hispanic White 7%

Black or African American 28%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 11%

Hispanic or Latino 38%                   Total 13%

Michigan (30th)

Non-Hispanic White 15%

Black or African American 47%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 20%

Hispanic or Latino 36%                          Total 23%

Minnesota (2nd)

Non-Hispanic White 8%

Black or African American 47%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 22%

Hispanic or Latino 32%                                Total 14%

Mississippi (50th)

Non-Hispanic White 16%

Black or African American 48%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                                               Total 31%

Missouri (31st)

Non-Hispanic White 16%

Black or African American 40%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 8%

Hispanic or Latino 34%                                  Total 21%

Montana (32nd)

Non-Hispanic White 16%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                                       Total 21%

Nebraska (9th)

Non-Hispanic White 9%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 29%                            Total 15%

Nevada (36th)

Non-Hispanic White 10%

Black or African American 30%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 10%

Hispanic or Latino 25%                             Total 18%

New Hampshire (1st)

Non-Hispanic White 9%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                                   Total 11%

New Jersey (7th)

Non-Hispanic White 6%

Black or African American 26%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 8%

Hispanic or Latino 25%                                    Total 13%

New Mexico (46th)

Non-Hispanic White 12%

Black or African American S

American Indian 35%

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 30%                                        Total 25%

New York (15th)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American 31%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 19%

Hispanic or Latino 33%                                    Total 20%

North Carolina (37th)

Non-Hispanic White 12%

Black or African American 37%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 13%

Hispanic or Latino 42%                                 Total 23%

North Dakota (12th)

Non-Hispanic White 9%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                         Total 13%

Ohio (29th)

Non-Hispanic White 16%

Black or African American 47%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 12%

Hispanic or Latino 38%                              Total 22%

Oklahoma (44th)

Non-Hispanic White 16%

Black or African American 40%

American Indian 28%

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 35% Total 22%

Oregon (18th)

Non-Hispanic White 16%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 29%                    Total 19%

Pennsylvania (23rd)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American 37%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 15%

Hispanic or Latino 35%                                   Total 17%

Rhode Island (17th)

Non-Hispanic White 10%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 35%                               Total 17%

South Carolina (45th)

Non-Hispanic White 13%

Black or African American 41%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 7%

Hispanic or Latino 41%                  Total 24%

South Dakota (26th)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American S

American Indian 60%

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                              Total 19%

Tennessee (41st)

Non-Hispanic White 17%

Black or African American 42%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 9%

Hispanic or Latino 37%                                    Total 24%

Texas (34th)

Non-Hispanic White 10%

Black or African American 32%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 12%

Hispanic or Latino 35%                                   Total 24%

Utah (4th)

Non-Hispanic White 9%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino 23%                               Total 12%

Vermont (3rd)

Non-Hispanic White 12%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                                    Total 13%

Virginia (16th)

Non-Hispanic White 9%

Black or African American 28%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 7%

Hispanic or Latino 17%                             Total 14%

Washington (11th)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American 34%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 13%

Hispanic or Latino 32%                           Total 16%

West Virginia (43rd)

Non-Hispanic White 23%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                                   Total 24%

Wisconsin (10th)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American 48%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander 16%

Hispanic or Latino 32%                                      Total 17%

Wyoming (28th)

Non-Hispanic White 11%

Black or African American S

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                           Total 13%

District of Columbia

Non-Hispanic White 3%

Black or African American 43%

American Indian S

Asian and Pacific Islander S

Hispanic or Latino S                Total 29%

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Each of the main links on this KIDS COUNT page — Data Across Statesexpand so that you can identify individual categories in which detailed information is available.  You can also access Data By State

For example:

Children in low-income households where housing costs exceed 30 percent of income (Percent) – 2009

Scale: 46% – 82%

United States 67%
Alabama 58%
Alaska S
Arizona 67%
Arkansas 55%
California 76%
Colorado 69%
Connecticut 80%
Delaware 74%
Florida 76%
Georgia 67%
Hawaii 71%
Idaho 59%
Illinois 70%
Indiana 60%
Iowa 53%
Kansas 54%
Kentucky 55%
Louisiana 57%
Maine 66%
Maryland 77%
Massachusetts 73%
Michigan 69%
Minnesota 67%
Mississippi 56%
Missouri 59%
Montana 51%
Nebraska 52%
Nevada 76%
New Hampshire 77%
New Jersey 82%
New Mexico 51%
New York 74%
North Carolina 60%
North Dakota S
Ohio 64%
Oklahoma 50%
Oregon 68%
Pennsylvania 64%
Rhode Island 76%
South Carolina 58%
South Dakota 46%
Tennessee 59%
Texas 61%
Utah 65%
Vermont 67%
Virginia 68%
Washington 69%
West Virginia 47%
Wisconsin 67%
Wyoming S
Puerto Rico 36%
Virgin Islands N.A.

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KIDS COUNT overall rank (Number) – 2010 – by state at this link

(Most current data)  Children who have one or more emotional, behavioral, or developmental conditions (Percent) – 2007 – by state at this link and presented below:

United States 15%

Alabama 18%

Alaska 15%

Arizona 14%

Arkansas 19%

California 13%

Colorado 13%

Connecticut 16%

Delaware 19%

Florida 16%

Georgia 12%

Hawaii 13%

Idaho 14%

Illinois 13%

Indiana 18%

Iowa 17%

Kansas 16%

Kentucky 18%

Louisiana 19%

Maine 20%

Maryland 18%

Massachusetts 18%

Michigan 17%

Minnesota 14%

Mississippi 15%

Missouri 16%

Montana 17%

Nebraska 15%

Nevada 13%

New Hampshire 17%

New Jersey 14%

New Mexico 14%

New York 14%

North Carolina 20%

North Dakota 16%

Ohio 20%

Oklahoma 18%

Oregon 16%

Pennsylvania 17%

Rhode Island 19%

South Carolina 15%

South Dakota 13%

Tennessee 16%

Texas 12%

Utah 14%

Vermont 20%

Virginia 16%

Washington 17%

West Virginia 18%

Wisconsin 15%

Wyoming 17%

District of Columbia

15% Puerto Rico N.A.

Virgin Islands N.A.

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Teens ages 16 to 19 not in school and not high school graduates

2005 – 7% — 1,114,000

2009 – 6% — 1,053,000

Teens ages 16 to 19 not attending school and not working

2008 – 8% — 1,410,000

2009 – 9% — 1,559,000

Children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment

2008 – 27% — 20,181,000

2009 – 31% — 23,062,000

Children in single-parent families

2005 – 32% — 21,682,000

2009 – 34% — 23,808,000

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Previous post:

+WE MAY SAY WE ARE A FAIR NATION – BUT LOTS OF KIDS WOULD SAY OTHERWISE

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+WE MAY SAY WE ARE A FAIR NATION – BUT LOTS OF KIDS WOULD SAY OTHERWISE

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From the United Nations

UNICEF  Innocenti Research Centre Report Card 9

The Children Left Behind:  A league table of inequality in child well-being in the world’s [24] rich countries

Written by Peter Adamson – 2010

The Just Society:  A Measure

The statistics presented in the Report Card can also be read as a first attempt to measure nations by the standards of a ‘just society’ as defined by the American political philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002).

Rawls proposed that the just society would be one in which the rules were drawn up for the benefit of society as a whole.  To achieve this, he argued, the starting point should be ‘the original position’.  By this he meant a kind of celestial ante-room in which all those waiting to be born would draw up the rules without knowing what position in society they themselves would occupy.  From behind this ‘veil of ignorance’, the rule-makers would not know whether they would be born rich or poor, male or female, with above or below average talents, fit or disabled, part of an ethnic minority or part of a privileged elite.

Because we would not know about our own status, he argued, we would not be able to press for rules that would benefit only ourselves.  Rules drawn up on this basis, therefore, would reflect an equal concern for all classes and groups.

The ‘veil of ignorance’ is therefore designed to tame the power of vested interests.  And ‘the original position’ is the exact opposite of the interest group model that is so influential in today’s politics.  In essence, it is similar to the method of sharing a cake fairly between two people by inviting one person to make the cut and the other to take first choice.

Rawls has his critics among the hundreds who have written books in response to his ideas.  Libertarians have objected that basic human rights such as property rights and the right to self-ownership leave no room for a Rawlsian concept of the ‘just society’.  Ronald Dworkin has argued that hypothetical agreements about rules drawn up from ‘the original position’ are not real agreements and therefore could not find the necessary acceptance and authority.  Amartya Sen finds the same weakness, adding that unanimity would be unlikely to be achieved even from ‘the original position’ and that lack of unanimity would bring the Rawlsian thesis crashing down.  Uniing some of these criticisms, Michael Sandel has objected that decisions about the rules governing communities that have their own traditions and histories cannot be made by reasoning from a rootless and historically abstract position.

But the idea that the rules of society should reflect the interests of all, and not just its dominant members, is widely accepted in theory, even if the methods by which it might be achieved remain controversial.

If we assume that the end, if not the means, commands a measure of agreement, then one way of measuring progress towards the aim of a just society would be to measure the degree of disadvantage suffered by its most disadvantaged members.  That is what this ‘Report Card´ attempts to do.

Clearly, more comprehensive data would be required to measure degrees of disadvantage ‘in the round’, especially if, as Martya Sen suggests, disadvantage should be defined as “those who are least able to realise their potential and develop and exercise their capabilities.”

Nonetheless, the data presented in these pages represent a contribution to that process.  In three different dimensions of well-being – they show how far behind the median level the least advantaged are being allowed to fall.  And the fact that different countries show very different patterns indicates that some countries are making more progress than others towards ‘the just society’.”  [page 26 of the report]

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Also stated in this report:

Reducing bottom-end inequality – to the extent that it involves reducing the steepness of the socioeconomic gradient in health, education and other dimensions of child well-being – will therefore require renewed government efforts to ‘row upstream’ in the years immediately ahead.

Stepping up efforts to protect those most at risk from falling behind is even more necessary at a time when governments are seeking to cut public expenditure….  But it is also more difficult.  And if efforts to prevent children from falling avoidably behind the norms of their societies are to be reinvigorated in changed economic times, then a strong case must be made.

Risks and consequences

That case is strong in principle.  For a child to suffer avoidable setbacks in the vital, vulnerable years of growth in body and brain is a breach of the most basic tenet of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – that every child has a right to develop to his or her full potential.  It is also a clear contradiction of the principle of equality of opportunity to which all OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries aspire.

But the case is also strong in practice.  Allowing children to fall unnecessarily far behind brings in its wake a long list of practical costs and consequences.  Causality is always difficult to establish, but many hundreds of studies in many different OECD [ countries have shown what the costs of falling too far behind may be.  They include the greater likelihood of:

— low Birthweight

— parental stress and lack of parental time

— chronic stress for the child, possibly linked to long-term health problems and reduced memory capacity

— food insecurity and inadequate nutrition

— poorer health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes, chronic asthma, anaemia, and cardio-vascular disease

— more frequent visits to hospitals and emergency wards

— impaired cognitive development

— lower educational achievement

— lower rates of return on investments in education

— reduced linguistic ability

— lower productivity and adult earnings

— u7nemployment and welfare dependence

— behavioural difficulties

— involvement with the police and courts

— teenage pregnancy

— alcohol and drug dependence.

Many individual families – faced with disadvantages of income, education, health and housing – overcome the odds and bring up children who do not fall into any of the above categories.  But this cannot change the fact that children who fall behind early in their lives, or who spend a significant part of their early years in poverty, are likely to find themselves at a marked and measurable disadvantage.  It bears repeating that none of this is the fault of the child.  And a society that aspires to fairness cannot be unconcerned that accidents of birth should so heavily circumscribe the opportunities of life.

The costs

The practical case for a renewed effort to prevent children from unnecessarily falling behind is further strengthened by the economic penalties involved. The heaviest costs are paid by the individual child.  But the long list of problems cited above also translates into significant costs for a society as a whole.  Unnecessary bottom-end inequality prepares a bill which is quickly presented to taxpayers in the form of increased strain on health and hospital services, on remedial schooling, on welfare and social protection programmes, and on the police and the courts.  In addition, there is a significant cost to business and to economies as a whole in the lower skill levels and reduced productivity that are the inevitable result of a large number of children failing to develop to their potential.  Finally, there is a cost that must be paid by all in the threat that bottom-end inequality poses to social cohesion and the quality of life in advanced industrial economies.  “Wide inequality,” says the 2010 report of the United Kingdom’s National Equity Panel “is eroding the bonds of common citizenship and recognition of human dignity across economic divides.

The scale of such costs, though almost impossible to calculate, is clearly significant.  For the European Union as a whole, it has been estimated (2007) that health inequalities alone account for 14% of social security costs and 20% of health care costs….  In Canada, the overall cost of child poverty has been estimated (2008) at between $4.6 and $5.9 billion a year for the Province of Ontario alone….  In the United Kingdom, estimates by Donald Hirsch, in a report (2006) for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, put the direct costs of “services to remedy the consequences of childhood deprivation such as poor health, low educational attainment, crime and anti-social behavior” at approximately $18 billion a year.

In sum, the costs of allowing children to fall too far behind – costs to the principle of fairness and costs to social, civic and economic life – are enormous.  And it is against the full weight of these costs and consequences that the economic arguments for and against a renewed effort to protect those most at risk should be set.

Early intervention

Finally, if the effort to reduce bottom-end inequality in children’s well-being is to make further progress, then it is not just the level of government efforts that must be increased but their effectiveness.

Children who fall behind begin to do so in the very earliest stages of their lives.  And in that simple statement we come face to face with one of the most important and least-acted-on research findings of our times.

During pregnancy and the first few weeks and months of life, critical stages in the child’s mental and physical development follow each other in rapid succession.  Each stage serves as a foundation for the next.  Any faltering in early childhood therefore puts at risk subsequent stages of growth and development.  In other words, disadvantage in the early phases of life can begin to shape the neurobiology of the developing child and initiate a process that, once begun, has a tendency to become self-reinforcing.

In particular, it is in cognitive development that the disadvantaged child is likely to pay the heaviest price.  By the age of two, cognitive ‘falling behind’ can be measured.  By the age of four, much of the potential damage may have been done….

The central practical message for efforts to reduce bottom-end inequality in child well-being could therefore not be clearer:  the earlier the intervention, the greater the leverage.

Overall, the case both in principle and practice for intensifying the efforts to prevent children from falling behind – and for acting as early as possible in the child’s life – has been well summarized by the Nobel laureate and University of Chicago economist James Heckman:

“Investing in disadvantaged young children is a rare public policy initiative that promotes fairness and social justice and at the same time promotes productivity in the economy and in society at large.  Early interventions targeted toward disadvantaged children have much higher returns than later interventions such as reduced pupil-teacher rations, public job training, convict rehabilitation programs, tuition subsidies, or expenditure on police….

Child care

Within the developed world, trends in the way in which young children are being brought up may now offer a unique opportunity to put this message into practice.  Today’s generation of children is becoming the first in which a majority are spending a significant part of early childhood in some form of out-of-home care (subject of Report Card 8).  In theory, this offers a large scale opportunity to take early action against the different dimensions of disadvantage that threaten to become established in the lives of very young children.  Public demand for high-quality child care already exists, and OECD governments are already responding by investing in free or subsidized early childhood services on an increasing scale.

At the heart of this opportunity is the idea that high quality early childhood education and care can help to reduce bottom-end inequality because it is the disadvantaged child who stands to gain the most.  “Although early childhood education and care benefits all children,” concludes an OECD-wide child care review by Canadian researchers Cleveland and Krashinsky, “much of the evidence suggests that the largest benefits flow to children from the most disadvantaged families….

“In practice, there is a danger that the child care transition will contribute to a widening rather than a narrowing of bottom-end inequality.  It is more educated parents and higher-income homes that tend to be most aware of, and more capable of affording, child care of the right quality.  And it is the poorer and less educated homes where the pressures for the earliest possible return to work are felt most acutely and where resources for high quality child care are least likely to be available.  Without specific policies to address this issue – and to ensure the availability and affordability of high-quality early childhood services for all children – this opportunity will therefore be lost, ‘double disadvantage’ will become the norm, and the child care transition will likely become a new and powerful driver of still greater inequality in children’s well-being. [this important statement is on page 30 of the report]

The costs of taking advantage of this chance to reduce inequalities in children’s well-being on a significant scale are obviously substantial.  The costs of not taking the opportunity will undoubtedly be even higher.  No one who has worked with disadvantaged or at-risk children can be in any doubt that, as James Heckman and many others have argued, attempting to compensate for disadvantage after the event is more difficult, more costly, and less likely to be successful.  Children need to be supported and protected from avoidable ‘falling behind’ at all stages of their development, but the point of greatest leverage is the point at which the process begins.

Conclusion

This report began with the argument that children deserve the best possible start, that early experience can cast a long shadow, and that children are not to be held responsible for the circumstances into which they are born.  In this sense the metric used – the degree of bottom-end inequality in child well-being – is a measure of the progress being made towards a fairer society.

Bringing in data from the majority of OECD countries, the report has attempted to show which of them are allowing children to fall behind by more than is necessary in three dimensions of children’s well-being (using the best performing countries as a minimum standard for what can be achieved).  In drawing attention to the depth of disparities revealed, and in summarizing what is known about the consequences, it has argued that ‘falling behind’ is a critical issue not only for millions of individual children today but for the economic and social future of their nations tomorrow. [with America being very nearly at the bottom on all measures!]

In making this case, therefore, principle and practice argue as one.  For if the effort to prevent the unnecessary falling behind of children in different dimensions of their lives is not made, then a fundamental unfairness will continue to shame our pretensions to equality of opportunity – and our societies will continue to pay the price.

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A word about the statistical reality that forms the foundation of this report [see page 29]

Monitoring:  The Need to Know

The statistics presented in this report are not built on a comprehensive consideration of what constitutes child well-being but on the more mundane foundations of data availability.  In particular, an acknowledged weakness is that almost all of the available data concern older children and adolescents who are attending school; there is a glaring lack of comparable information on the critical years of early childhood.

Responding to this inadequacy of data may not seem to have much of a claim to priority in difficult economic circumstances.  But a renewed commitment to reducing bottom-end inequalities in child well-being nonetheless require a renewed commitment to selective monitoring.

If limited resources are to be used effectively, then governments need to know not only how many children are falling behind.  They need to know by how much, in what ways, and for what reasons.  They need to know who and where they are.  And they need to now how policy is affecting and interacting with wider trends in the social and economic life of the nation.

Finally, they need to have the relevant data at their disposal not once every five or ten years but on a timescale that permits timely response to protect those at risk.  Monitoring requires resources.  But it is the indispensable hand rail of cost-effective polity.

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See also (with America again being at the bottom):  UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Report Card 7

Child poverty in perspective:  An overview of child well-being in rich countries – A comprehensive assessment of the lives and well-being of children and adolescents in the economically advanced nations (2007)

Next post:

+AMERICAN CHILD WELL-BEING: SOME ‘IN-HOUSE’ GAPS

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+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART FIVE): DISSOCIATION IS NOT FORGETTING

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Based upon my own experience as a severe infant abuse survivor (followed by an accumulated history of 18 years of child abuse) I will say that I do not believe that dissociation is the same thing as ‘forgetting’ such as the kind of forgetting that the research in my last post seems to suggest.  In fact, I believe dissociation accomplishes the exact opposite of forgetting.  Dissociation allows-forces us to retain the ability to remember trauma in a very unique way.  Under the ‘right’ circumstances I believe we survivors are able to remember everything about every trauma that happened to us in  our childhoods (if not also in much of our infancy).

If anyone should ever need a recount of a specific trauma told to them in order to help a similar trauma from never happening again to someone else, or if a recounting of such a trauma was needed to help a survivor of a similar experience reach some healing – dissociators are the people to ask.  I believe we are a treasure-trove of memory about trauma.  We do not forget.  We dissociate.

I will also say that saying that a trauma is/was ‘overwhelming’ is not the same thing as saying that a trauma is/was ‘unbearable’.  I make this distinction because while I had vast experience of suffering overwhelming brutal traumas over 18 years caused by my mother, I did not ‘turn out like her’.  Even though my traumas were probably MUCH more extensive and intolerable than were the ones my mother suffered when she was little, I was somehow able to BEAR my overwhelming traumas in ways that my mother evidently could not.

The fact that my mother was overwhelmed by traumas that were unbearable to her meant that her body-brain-mind changed in response in ways that mine did not.  I have do doubt that my mother continually dissociated, but my mother was ACTING OUT her traumas by projecting them outside of herself while I – most fortunately — do not.

When it comes to an early recognition of the completely-alone and suffering self, and when it comes to an early ability to attach ongoing experience in memory form to this self, and when the experiences the early self is enduring are brutally traumatic, dissociation is the only way out.  The memories of such a self are simply ‘put somewhere else’.  But they are NOT forgotten.

I don’t believe that dissociation works that way.  I suspect that for severe infant and child abuse survivors, dissociation actually works to preserve memory of overwhelming traumas rather than to evaporate it.  I personally make absolutely NO EFFORT to EVER recall any memory of my traumas.  On my own, I see no purpose to doing so.  If, however, I lived among a different culture that valued what trauma has to teach and knew how to ‘handle’ trauma wisely, I have no doubt that my own experience of being a survivor would be far different than it is – and would be better.

I leave my packed-to-the-rafter memory banks alone.  Often I can sense-feel trauma memories as if they are physically in another part of my house.  I make conscious effort to ignore even the fact that I know those memories exist and are a living part of me that COULD be remembered accurately if I wanted to or chose to.

Without having a clear and direct reason to allow any of my memories to appear – and that reason would ONLY be to assist someone else somehow through what a trauma memory might offer them – I will NEVER make any effort to associate myself with what the wisdom of my body-brain-mind-self has selected to dissociate myself from.

That of course means that I do not allow myself to THINK about most of the experiences of my infant-childhood.  What I DO know is enough for me to deal with.  In fact, I don’t want to say another single word about this topic.  Goodbye.

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+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART ONE): WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT?

+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART TWO): FIRST, SELF-RECOGNITION

+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART THREE): ‘GROUPTHINK’ and ‘GROUPFEEL’

+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART FOUR): SEVERE INFANT ABUSE SURVIVORS’ UNIQUE WORLDVIEW

These posts follow along my line of thinking presented in the posts at this link:

WE the U.S. and the WORLD

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+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART FOUR): SEVERE INFANT ABUSE SURVIVORS’ UNIQUE WORLDVIEW

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The title of this post alone is enough to let all of us know this post is about pain and sadness – along with all the accompanying ‘survival emotions’ that we most often think about as being the ‘negative ones’.  I want to counterbalance this reality with another one.  I suppose because I certainly AM a survivor of severe infant abuse (along with abuse for the rest of my 18 years of childhood) I KNOW something ELSE – and this something else is POSITIVE.

I, along with this body I live in, have had to travel a long road of suffering to get to this point today where I can examine my own reality and then come to this conclusion:  In my uniqueness lies my gift.  And in my uniqueness I am most fully connected with other people who are equally as unique as me.  Those other people belong with me in a different kind of a reality because we were forced, as severe infant abuse survivors, to endure our suffering in a world separate from other people around us.  We therefore now share a unique worldview within our own ‘culture’ and ‘society’ that is unlike any other on earth.

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At this point I will say that I do more at this moment than simply HOPE that I can do this post justice.  I PRAY that I can!  What needs to be said here is critically important – and perhaps this is MOST TRUE for those who do NOT share an infant abuse survivor’s universe and worldview that I am going to attempt to describe here.

Yesterday as I wrote part two (link below) to this series I encountered very accidentally a piece of research that in fact split the tree of my own personal knowledge in two as if it had been struck by a massive bolt of lightning.  What this means to me personally is that the ROOT of my tree of personal knowledge is completely intact, but the tree that will now grow again from that root is going to be somehow a completely different Tree of Knowledge.  How different is something I expect to uncover-discover in the writing of this post.

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An infant’s pathway of physiological development on all levels and in every way is directed by the nature and quality of the human caregiving environment (the attachment environment) that an infant is born into (and includes the prenatal environment, as well).

If an infant is born into an environment of severe attachment-related abuse, neglect, trauma and maltreatment its physiological development WILL CHANGE in response to the stress present in that environment.

My previous Tree of Personal Knowledge has included an understanding based on the newest neuroscientific and attachment-related scientific research for quite a long time.  But there was something entirely new and different about what I encountered yesterday as I wrote my post Part Two.

I presented research in that post that states AT THAT POINT IN TIME researchers did not believe that insecure attachment within an infant’s malevolent early caregiving environment had the power to change the TIMELINE of required physiological development that every infant needs to reach in order to recognize its SELF (you DO have to go back and read this post and watch the videos there to understand what I am going to say next:  +THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART TWO): FIRST, SELF-RECOGNITION).

HOWEVER, the next piece of research I encountered NEGATES that statement!  I am going to transcribe into this post what I found yesterday (see below), but before I do I am going to try to describe what happened inside of me when I read it.

Thinking about THINKING as it relates to each of us having a SELF as researchers describe in Part Two MEANS that this SELF is already operational by this stage.  Self-recognition is an identifiable developmental milestone that is reached somewhere between 15 months and 2 years of age.

ALL aspects of the development of this emerging SELF have already been directly and profoundly influenced by the nature and quality of the infant-caregiver attachment (safe and secure versus not safe and secure) that this developing little human being has experienced since it took its first breath (and before).

NOW – what we severe infant abuse survivors MOST share in common is that there was NO human being available to us that we could rely upon to protect us.  This protection INCLUDES the need not only for the physical needs of the body of the infant to be taken care of, but ALSO includes the necessary CARE of the individual SELF that resides in/with the body.

In essence – WE WERE ALL ALONE in an extremely dangerous, traumatic, chaotic, threatening universe WITHOUT ANYONE ELSE.

Human beings can describe and discuss all they want to the variety of worldviews (tied to societies and cultures).  But NONE of them describe one of these different worldviews:  The worldview of a human being who was born into a completely hostile world that they were left to endure in and survive ALONE with no human safe and secure attachment person available to them.

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The research I encountered yesterday (copied below) hit a ‘nerve’ in me so profoundly that, as I say, it shattered the Tree of My Personal Knowledge.  There is a TRUTH in the description of this piece of research that literally TOLD me how uniquely different my own (and other severe infant abuse survivors’) pathway of development actually was.  Our pathway, determined for us by both the horror we experienced AND our adaptive responses in our development that allowed us to survive these horrors, means to me that we were ALWAYS citizens of a different kind of world – and will be that different world’s citizens for the rest of our life – compete with our own distinct and unique corresponding worldview that is unlike any other on earth.  We simply share it with one another as survivors.

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OK.  Without taking the time and effort to ‘scientifically’ back up what I am going to say next (all this backup is already on this blog), I am going to say what I know.  WHAT I know, based on the background research I have already done, is that STRESS causes CHANGES in human development.  Research clearly shows that even babies born to mothers who were in their third trimester of pregnancy and near the epicenter of the 9/11 disaster transmitted their OWN stress response to their unborn child so that their baby was BORN with PTSD physiology.

A mother’s stress level affects the development of her unborn so that her infant’s own DNA machinery is already adapting in the womb to the stressful conditions of a world the baby’s body is preparing itself to be born into.  These changes alter important ‘temperament-personality’ parameters at the same time they change how the developing fetus will react to stress over the course of its lifetime.

Now, enter the baby into the world and these same processes continue to happen directly in response to the amount and kind of stress that exists in the baby’s universe – as communicated to it DIRECTLY by the quality and nature of the interactions it has with its earliest caregivers – ESPECIALLY and often PREDOMINANTLY with its mother.

So, when I read the research I copy here below I already knew the IMPLICATIONS of what these words were saying.  NOBODY can know what a human infant’s ‘innate-OWN’ temperament or anxiety-stress-response patterns were ever POTENTIALLY capable of being because the influences of the infant’s environment POWERFULLY change these factors at every single stage of the infant’s development –in womb and out of

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Before I continue I want to pause here and say, “I know this post will be a long one, but it has to be.  I cannot break apart into parts what I need to say here.”

I will also say a word about the supreme GIFT I think results from the patterns I present here for severe infant abuse survivors.  WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AND WILL ALWAYS BE – THE OUTSIDERS.  Because our earliest experiences happened to us in a malevolent environment that placed us completely (except for basic food, warmth and shelter such as we received to keep our body alive) we have ALWAYS BEEN ALONE.

This means to me that I possess as a direct consequence a UNIQUE GIFT OF FREEDOM unknown to all others except survivors of the kind of abuse I endured from birth.

While obviously our families DID exist embedded within a society that shared a mutual worldview, because our earliest body-brain formed while we were forced to be ALONE, WE WERE NOT INFLUENCED BY THAT OUTSIDE WORLDVIEW in the same way that non-severe infant abuse survivors were.

OUR universe was a malevolent trauma-filled world such as few others can begin to imagine.  While we were at our most vulnerable, helpless, dependent, precarious and VITALLY IMPORTANT stages of body-brain development our malevolent universe of trauma changed us!

That means to me that NOW, because I was formed ALONE in an extremely UNIQUE environment, I am free to basically do this:  I can stand alone within myself, turn around in a full circle and view every other social worldview objectively BECAUSE I AM A PART OF NONE OF THEM.  Not in my essence.  Not where it matters most.

This means to me that I — along with all other severe infant abuse survivors who did NOT do some version of what my own mother did in reaction to her earliest malevolent environment (form such an altered body-brain that her mind was locked into a destructive pattern that could NOT be changed) — can NOW experience a freedom in our thinking that allows us to contemplate both problems and their solutions without being burdened by or trapped in a constrictive worldview such as non-survivors are bound by.

Of course this means (as I so well and deeply know) that the price we pay for the benefit of our unique position of being outside of ALL social circles of worldview-thought is that we are deeply and painfully ALONE without the ability to form ‘normal’ human attachments because our body-brain formed in an environment that excluded the safe and secure attachment relationships that would have built our body-brain to INCLUDE them.

(This is not to say that there aren’t ways to begin to heal this fundamental (physiological) aloneness that build our body-brain.  It is possible in very special circumstances for healing to happen on these deepest levels – but in today’s world and in this culture those opportunities are so rare as to hardly exist at all.)

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Now, to say what next needs to be said as simply as possible:  Those infants who display heightened sensitivity (temperament) along with those infants who display heightened anxiety (stress response) are FAR MORE LIKELY TO REACH THE DEVELOPMENTAL MILESONE OF BEING ABLE TO SELF-RECOGNIZE AT AN EARLIER AGE THAN ‘NORMAL’.

IN ADDITION, THE INFANTS WHO DO REACH THIS STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT ‘AHEAD OF THE PACK’ EXPERIENCE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT EMOTIONAL REACTION TO THEIR SELF-RECOGNITION than their less-advanced peers do – A SAD ONE!

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Now the most fascinating point for me here is that I CANNOT THINK ABOUT  THIS SITUATION objectively!

THIS INFORMATION is INCLUDED in MY PERSONAL WORLDVIEW and is NOT OUTSIDE my own worldview.

In fact, it was at the instant I read this information that my Tree of Personal Knowledge was shattered because at the same time I read it, my body profoundly and deeply told me, “THIS IS YOUR REALITY!”  At that instant I recognized myself at the same time I recognized myself as being INSIDE this reality, not outside of it.  This reality IS IN ME.  It formed itself into me at the same time it influenced ALL of my physiological development – and did so VERY EARLY IN MY INFANT LIFE.

I am fascinated by the fact that it was in my investigation of the ‘stage of infant self-recognition’ that I so fundamentally FINALLY recognized my SELF!

I am going to use two very specific words here:  Trajectory and bifurcation point.

For nearly all infants except for those of us who were born into malevolent non-attachment environments that nearly defy description, the earliest developmental TRAJECTORY happens along ordinary human lines.  The infant is connected within a social environment of attachment (even when those attachments are not perfect) that DO NOT REQUIRE that the infant take that developmental quantum leap that happens when the infant is ready to identify ITS OWN SELF as being ‘separate from the social group’.

When these attached infants DO reach the milestone step of self-recognition, this step IS NOT A BIFURCATION point, but is rather an ongoing linked-together stage of development that happens WITHIN THE SOCIAL GROUP and in interaction with it.

From my outside point of view I would say it’s like this:  An attached infant is learning about itself in a ‘both/and’ reality.  There are BOTH other people AND (when the stage is reached) an individual self.

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Now, for myself (and for other severely abused infant abuse survivors who did not have any early attachments) we experience this entire process differently.

Bifurcation points are CHOICE POINTS.  A bifurcation happens at a BRANCHING point at which point, of all possible and available options (like in chaos theory) ONE particular branch is followed that means all other possible options cease to exist.

Those of us who were born into malevolent non-attachment environments of abuse reached a bifurcation point VERY EARLY in our development (I believe very closely to the time of our very birth) when our BODY (if not also our ‘soul’) knew we were in very, very, very BIG trouble!  We KNEW we were in danger, that our lives were at risk, AND THAT WE WERE ABSOLUTELY ALONE.

This knowledge, gained by us in a very real way from information our environment gave us, forced our body to take a different BRANCH in our development that forced us into an entirely different developmental TRAJECTORY.

All of this – the forced bifurcation away from ‘optimal normal development’ into a different trajectory of Trauma Altered Development – happened for us a LONG TIME BEFORE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO REACH THE DEVELOPMENTAL STATE OF SELF-RECOGNITION.

For us, there never was an option for the ‘both/and’ pathway of development.  There really was no ‘human other’ in our universe.  Those that were supposed to protect us, those to whom we were supposed to be connected to and able to form a safe and secure attachment with were absent and did not exist in our world.

We therefore existed as a SELF WAY BEFORE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO, at the same time we existed as a SELF ALONE in a dangerous and hostile universe without anyone else in it (‘anyone else’ being someone we could form a safe and secure attachment with).  These factors AUTOMATICALLY forced our physiological development to change its pathway in every possible way so that we could endure and survive.

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For all the ‘talk’ I have ever encountered about ‘recovery’ from child abuse, I have never seen a reference to how massive an effort this so-called ‘recovery’ has to be for those of us who were completely engaged in our very SELF survival from the time we were born.

I feel like a floodgate was opened inside of me yesterday as I naively traveled back in time to look at the stage called infant ‘self-recognition’.  I had no idea that my travels would take me back to such a profound level of FELT recognition of my own SELF as I recognized my SELF as being completely alone well before I was two years old.

That I recognize my SELF as being a ‘completely-alone-self’ within the physiology of my entire body to this day (I’m 59) is a staggering realization.  My THINKING has made a direct and powerful connection to my FEELING about my own reality that has always exited within a worldview that only other severe infant abuse survivors can understand.

I suspect that we recognize our SELF in a precocious way primarily because of our aloneness:  In the universe of our experience we were the ONLY ONE THERE.  In that world, Monster Abusers were NOT PEOPLE to us!

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There is a direct developmental connection between the onset of the stage of self-recognition in infancy-toddlerhood and the onset of the ability to form and access ‘autobiographical memory’.

THE RESEARCH

As presented in a section of Chapter 3, “Early Memory, Early Self, Emergence of Autobiographical Memory,” (pages 45-72) in the book  The Self and Memory (Studies in Self and Identity) by Denise R. Beike, James M. Lampinen, and Douglas A. Behrend (Aug 2, 2004)

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

“As already mentioned, when adults are asked to recall their earliest experiences there is considerable individual variability in the age from which they can date their first autobiographical memory (e.g. Eacott & Crawley, 1998; Usher & Neisser, 1993).  One reason for this may simply be that there are individual differences in forgetting rates.  A more attractive possibility from my perspective is that these differences are related to individual differences in the age of onset of the cognitive self or perhaps individual differences in the propensity to encode self-relevant features into memory traces for early events.  Although this second possibility has already been discussed [previously in the chapter] it is also important to note that there are substantial individual differences in the age of onset of mark-directed behaviors in the second year of life (Bertenthal & Fisher, 1978; Lewis & Brooks-Gunn, 1979; Lewis, Brooks-Gunn, & Jaskir, 1985; Schneider-Rosen & Cicchetti, 1984, 1991).  For example, research on mirror self-recognition has show that whereas about 25% of 15- to 18-month-old infants showed mark-directed behavior to the red spots [put] on their noses, others did not show self-recognition until the end of the second year, at which time about 75% showed mark-directed behavior.

These individual differences in the age of onset of visual self-recognition have not been fully explored, although the weight of the available evidence to date indicates that they may have their origins in maturational rather than social or experiential factors. {my note:  This is a perspective I view as ridiculous because EVERY experience an infant has within its social environment is affecting EVERY physiological developmental activity the infant’s body-brain is accomplishing every step of the way.] For example, Lewis and Brooks-Gunn (1979) reported that neither the child’s sex, maternal education, family socioeconomic status, birth order, or number of siblings were related to onset of self-recognition.  Likewise, Ciccetti and his colleagues (Ciccetti & Beeghly, 1987; Ciccetti & Carlson, 1989; Kaufman & Cicchetti, 1989; Schneider-Rosen & Ciccehetti, 1984, 1991) have found that maltreated infants whose abnormal caretaking environments are associated with delays or deviations in their emotional development as it relates to the self are also not delayed in the onset of visual self-recognition.  In contrast, infants who have delayed maturation (e.g., Down syndrome, familial mental retardation, autism) do show delays in visual self-recognition (Cicchetti, 1991; Hill & Tomllin, 1981; Loveland, 1987, 1993; Mans, Cicchetti, & Stroufe, 1978; Schneider-Rosen & Ciccetti, 1991; Spiker & Ricks, 1984), although they usually succeed at the self-recognition task if and when they reach a mental age comparable to that of nondelayed infants who succeed at the task.  Thus, the near universal appearance of visual self-recognition among infants who have attained the maturational prerequisites supports the hypothesis that its emergence is not influenced by variations in social or childcare experiences in any obvious way (but see Lewis, Brooks-Gunn, & Jaskir, 1985).  Consistent with Kagan’s (1981, 1994) work and the evidence just reviewed, more recent data demonstrate a link between the onset of the self and constitutional factors such as stress reactivity and temperament (DiBiase & Lewis, 1997; Lewis & Ramsay, 1997).  For example, DiBiase and Lewis (1997) found that differences in temperament were related to variation in the age at which self-recognition emerged and that these same differences were predictive of when self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment begin to be expressed (see also Lewis, Sullivan, Stanger, & Weiss, 1989).  Thus, infants with a difficult temperament at 5 months were more likely to show earlier self-recognition and embarrassment than were infants with an easy temperament.  Using a longitudinal design, Lewis and Ramsay (1997) found that children with higher stress reactivity (measured both in terms of cortisol levels and behavioral responses to inoculations at 2, 4, 6, and 18 months) also had an earlier age of onset of self-recognition.  Thus, self-recognition and self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment seem to be linked to a variety of constitutional factors, including temperament and stress reactivity. Specifically, a cognitive sense of self seems to emerge earlier for children who are classified as having a more difficult temperament or whose reactivity to stress is relatively high. [bold type is mine] Given this evidence, then, it is perhaps logical to assume that individual differences in the onset of early autobiographical memories are related to these maturational, not social or experiential, factors associated with the emergence of the cognitive self. [my note:  It is important to note that this writing does not take into account information gained through the newest developmental neuroscientific information.]

I have argued here that differences in the onset of autobiographical memory in atypical populations may well be directly related to delays in the establishment of the cognitive self rather than to the child’s chronological age.  Importantly however, there is evidence that the mirror behavior of children with atypical cognitive development or those with adverse social environments is different from that of normally developing children. For example, normally developing children as well as those with maturational delays are generally quite positive in their response to their self-images, even when a spot of rouge has been applied to their noses (Cicchetti, 1991; Lewis et al., 1989).  However, children who have been maltreated show more neutral and negative behavior in response to their mirror images (Cicchetti, Beeghly, Carlson, & Toth, 1990), which raises the intriguing possibility that although social and experiential factors may not determine the onset of early autobiographical memory, they may contribute to the contents of these early memories. [bold type is mine] (pages 58-60)

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WHEN SELF AND LANGUAGE MEET:  SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT IN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY

I believe that the research being described here has missed the fullest meaning of the variables being described.  Those of us who were severely maltreated infants would have fallen right through the cracks of this research.  That fact would NOT mean that we – and our condition – did not exist.  This chapter continues its discussion of onset of autobiographical memory abilities and includes the following:

Only recently has there been any empirical research that examined the role of the onset of the cognitive self and early language conjointly.  In the first such study, Harely and Reese (1999) examined 58 mother-child dyads first when children were 19 months old, then at 25 months old, and finally at 32 months of age.  Mother-child dyads were tested on a number of dimensions including language, self-recognition, deferred imitation, and memory conversation styles.  For this latter measure, children’s verbal memory and maternal reminiscing style (low or high elaboration [of details]) concerning real, one-time events in the past were evaluated at each interview.  In order to evalutate the roles of self-recognition and maternal reminiscing styles in the development of children’s talk about the past independent of children’s language and nonverbal memory abilities, analyses were conducted on data in which variability in the language measure and nonverbal memory (deferred imitation measure) were removed using an analysis of covariance.  The results showed that both self-recognition and maternal reminiscing style contributed independently to verbal memory with self-recognition emerging as a stronger predictor.  In fact, memory appeared to be developing faster in early than in late self-recognizers.  That is, self-recognition was a better predictor of later verbal memory especially for those children who were early self-recognizers.  The authors concluded that their data provide the first direct empirical support for the argument that it is the advent of self-recognition that spells the end of infantile amnesia. [bold type mine]

In an ongoing series of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies (see Howe et al., 2003), the conjoint development of the cognitive self, early memory, and early language are being examined in infants from 15 to 24 months of age.  Infants’ self-recognition, mirror knowledge, mirror experience, event memory, and language development were assessed with a series of standard tests and procedures.  Preliminary findings indicate that children’s memory performance on a toy-finding event when retention was tested at 3, 6, or 12 months after acquisitions was best predicted by their success on the mirror self-recognition task, with recognizers performing significantly better than the non-recognizers.  This work supports the view espoused here that self-recognition, not language, is critical to very early memory for events.  Consistent with this, preliminary findings from the longitudinal work indicates that all infants who achieved self-recognition were successful on the event memory task, independent of age.  Among nonrecognizers, none recalled the location of the toy or were using self-referent pronouns.  Clearly, there is a need for more research of this kind and there will be additional reports of data of this kind in the near future.”  (pages 62-63)

CONCLUSION

In summary, the data accumulated to date are consistent with the position that the emergence and subsequent development of autobiographical memory are governed by the discovery of the cognitive self and increases in the ability to maintain information in memory storage, respectively.  Consistent with the function and development of other knowledge structures in memory, once infants acquire a cognitive sense of self, they possess a new organizer around which event memories can be personalized and “preserved” as autobiographical.  Like other structures, categories, and concepts in memory, the cognitive sense of self first emerges and is represented and expressed nonverbally, only later to be articulated (but not determined), using language.  Subsequent achievements in language can serve to strengthen (or possibly distort) personal memories through mechanisms such as rehearsal, reinstatement, or interference that also affect memory more generally.  Verbally expressed memories related in conversation with others also serve a social function of creating a personal “life story” that defines for others who we are.  Thus, it is my contention that the offset of infantile amnesia and the onset of autobiographical memory does not require the appearance of a separate memory system per se nor must it await the developments in language, autonoetic awareness, or metacognition that occur late in the preschool years.  Rather, it is the natural consequence of young toddlers’ more general tendency to develop nonverbal representational structures that describe the world around them (e.g., Karmiloff-Smith, 1992; Mandler, 1992).

Because this cognitive sense of self does not emerge until around 24 months, it is unlikely that personalized memories for experiences would be available before  this age.  Although this sets the lower limit for the formation of autobiographical memories, it does not guarantee that such memories will be formed at that age.  Indeed, personalized memories may not be formed until sometime much later with the timing dependent on factors such as the number of features available for encoding and the distribution of sampling probabilities during encoding.  The subsequent ability to retain more autobiographical information with age in childhood develops largely as a natural consequence of global improvements in children’s general memory abilities, namely, the capacity to maintain information in storage over longer and longer intervals.  Although a number of skills may be involved in, or at least correlated with, this improvement, including developments in language, strategies, knowledge, and gist extraction, the one common denominator to changes in children’s retention over time is the basic ability of keeping information intact in storage.”  [bold type is mine]

– This point is, I believe, connected to where patterns of dissociation in maltreated infant-toddlers probably begins to come into play when we are overwhelmed with experience that we cannot POSSIBLY keep “intact in storage.”  Severely abuse infants and toddlers experience more intense overwhelming trauma in their first months of life than ordinary people could possibly experience in several lifetimes.

The impact and flood of their trauma experience, I believe, overwhelms all physiological possibilities of being able to retain an ongoing ‘coherent memory of life experience’ from the beginning of life.

The final paragraph of this chapter states:

So, what happens to event memories that are formed prior to the cognitive self?  Although a discussion of the role of consciousness in memory is beyond the scope of this chapter, given our current understanding and the data gathered to date, it seems unlikely that these very early memories persist for a lifetime. [my note:  They are, however, stored and kept in the body itself as implicit (never consciously recalled) memories.] One reason for this expectation is the fact that even under optimal conditions memories appear fragmentary and poorly organized when recalled. [bold type is mine]  Few, if any, of these early memories become verbalizable (e.g., see Bauer, Kroupina, Schwade, Dropik, & Wewerka, 1998), even when based on traumatic events at the time they were encoded (Howe et al., 1994).  Although the number of investigations is admittedly small and the evidence usually anecdotal, it is unlikely that without an organizer like the (cognitive) self, such events will persist unchanged in memory.  Indeed, unless they have been recoded and reorganized within the framework of the cognitive self, making them distinctive and meaningful against the background of our other memories, it seems unlikely that they will remain intact in storage or to affect us even at the behavioral level.  [my note:  Developmental neuroscientists now know that this statement is blatantly false.  ALL of our earliest experiences are remembered in our body as these experiences interact with our genetic material to form our developing body-brain from before we are born.] Just as our earlier concepts and categories become transformed and even supplanted by more mature forms of understanding, so too do our memories of early events.  Because storage is dynamic and malleable in response to new experiences, it is extremely unlikely that what we remember of very early events, especially those not encoded with respect to the self, remains unaltered by the cumulative experiences of a lifetime.”  (pages 63-64)

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It is my opinion that the perpetuation of the myth presented here that suggests that earliest experiences 0-3 don’t really matter because nobody remembers them anyway is the single most powerful deterrent to getting the public to comprehend the vital importance of improving 0-3 well-being in any way possible.  These earliest experiences are forming the body-brain that a person will live in and with for the rest of their life – and malevolent early interactions with the environment during these developmental stages ESPECIALLY contribute to lifelong problems of all kinds that could have been prevented.

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+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART ONE): WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT?

+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART TWO): FIRST, SELF-RECOGNITION

+THINKING ABOUT THINKING (PART THREE): ‘GROUPTHINK’ and ‘GROUPFEEL’

These posts follow along my line of thinking presented in the posts at this link:

WE the U.S. and the WORLD

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