All Cranked Up

One blissful, unforgettable moment- the birth of a baby! We imagine all mothers praying for a healthy, normal, physically perfect baby. Most of us cannot imagine any mother not doing everything possible to ensure her baby is as healthy as possible.

This is a real world where problems and poverty exist. I have worked most of my professional life in the very
real world of developmental disabilities. I worked for years in the New York City public school system at a program for autistic students from the ages of four years of age to twenty-one. The special challenge of working with autistic students was communication their inability to relate to people or their environment.

Most were non-verbal and had a tendency to be compulsive with specific tasks. I remember one conversation with the principal of this program. The principal said that she was very concerned about the crack babies that would eventually enter the school system. Crack babies- the result of mothers not doing everything possible to ensure a healthy baby. The real world again. At this time, "crack babies" were a relatively new tragedy and with no other reference points, we all wondered that day how a 'crack baby' could be taught? What disabilities would they have when they reached school age and how could tools possibly be developed in preparation for this new type of student?

Fast forward to now, some twenty years later. How did 'crack babies' do? Problems that afflict a crack baby may be a greater risk of premature birth, placental separation from the uterus while the baby is inutero, low birth weight, shorter birth length and smaller heads. There is also the possibility of some brain damage determined only by ultrasound. Strangely enough, this is where crack related conclusions seem to end.

Frankly, there are any number of situations, including other addictions such as alcohol, that can cause the same
problems. The truth is cocaine exposed babies do not have as serious withdrawal as heroin addicted babies. There can be disorders such as light sensitivity, sleepiness, noise sensitivity, compulsive eating, behavioral and learning problems. But, recent research is rapidly coming to the conclusion that the problems these children have do not result form their crack addition so much as the environment in which they grow up.

Dr. Ira Chasnoff, a researcher for the University of Illinois, who was an original identifier of fetal cocaine
damage later discovered after a two-year study that these early conclusions may not have been accurate at all.
Dr. Claire Coles, also an original identifier, later re-evaluated her early conclusions as well. In 1999, Dr.
Hallam Hurt of the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia concluded that whereas crack may have some effect, the overall effects are overshadowed by the conditions of poverty that follow these children Research funded by the Albert Einstein Medical Center In Philadelphia confirmed that there is no difference in the verbal or Full Scale IQ performances of these children at 4 years of age. This research was done with children born addicted to crack with 'normal' children as a control. Dr. Chasnoff University of Illinois School of Medicine) concludes "Their cognitive development is normal when you control environmental and other factors."

Dr. Rizwan Shah of Iowa has been studying the effects of methamphetamines on children. Commonly called 'speed' it is also known by the street name is 'crank'. Dr. Shah's clinic opened in 1989. At that time, most of her patients were addicted to crack cocaine. Now, ninety percent are "meth" or crank users. Crank has become the popular choice for poor, white women as it helps users lose weight and, according to Dr. Shah, also reprograms the brain into feeling intense pleasure. Pregnant users give birth to addicted babies and many of these babies are born with a sensitivity to light (similar to crack babies) and an intolerance to touch (similar to many autistic children). They can also be born with tremors and coordination problems. At school age, they
are most prone to hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and unprovoked fits of rage. Many are calling crank the worst drugs yet and is associated with causing four times more birth defects than cocaine. Yet, Dr. Michael Sherman a neonatolgist at the University of California Davis Medical Center has gone as far as to equate crank with increasing the odds of birth defects six times!
When Methamphetamines flood the brain with dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that creates a sensation of
pleasure. This can cause memory loss, psychoses, brain damage, heart damage, high blood pressure, insomnia
and paranoia. Other possible effects of crank on babies can be damage to the brain and spinal cord causing spinal bifida. The heart can be compromised and kidneys can be malformed. Intestinal development can be severely impaired. Other abnormalities such as club foot and missing limbs can be attributed to a pregnant mother's use of crank during pregnancy.

As with crack babies the environment is a big factor in positive development. Such an environment requires
organization, early identification, intervention and a plan developed by a team of professionals.

Nurture versus nature again in the real world. In my years of experience nurturing through appropriate education and parent training (in conjunction with professional supervision) does indeed yield the best result but is rarely achieved. Whereas one would think special education teachers are able to work with crank children, they are really ill equipped to manage behaviors of these students. Regular education teachers have even less insight regarding the problem child unless the behaviors are truly disruptive and potentially injurious to others or property.

In most of these cases, however, the greatest challenge to teaching crank children as I see it is that schools
cannot be a part of this essential team. These children can not be identified because of confidentiality laws. The principal does not know, nor do the teachers. This is a real world and this 'real' world, has no ideal learning situation. In addition to this, there can be no tracking to monitor progress. In this real world, the environment so pivotal to possible success is overlooked.