The Power of Words


     I have been asked to write about an incident from childhood that influenced my life. I have two that I

remember vividly and that still impact my thoughts, decisions and choices. The first account happened

when I was 6 years old. We had family visiting and most of us were in the kitchen, the adults cooking and

visiting. My dad wanted to show off that I could tell time (this was with the old fashioned oven clock) when

he stopped me walking past him and ask me to tell him the time. I was caught off guard and nervous and

read the time wrong. My father yelled at me calling me stupid and made the comment that I couldn't possibly

be his (he was a wiz at math and numbers). I remember being hurt, embarrassed and just plain mortified! I am

56 years old and still have the same physical reaction when I recall the event. My second event occurred

when I was 19 and had just received my first semester grades for college. My father wouldn't help with

collage because he saw no need for a girl to have an education so I worked, saved and took care of getting

 my education on my own. When I announced that I had earned all A's (I really felt I had shown him) his

comment (while looking another direction) was "Anyone can get A's in home-ec." I completed earning my

A.S. without another word to anyone. I was 48 years old when my husband (at the time) lost his temper,

tried to break my neck and left me for dead. He had followed my father's reasoning that there was no need

for me to go to school or feel that I had worth outside of the home. With my children's encouragement

I got a divorce and took myself back to college. I graduated with a second A.S. at the age of 50 and have

continued with my education. I completed my B.S. just this last June and am currently just starting on my

Masters. It took me almost loosing my life literally, before I was able to stand up and see that I had

worth. I had always been an unmovable advocate for infants and children but unable to fight for myself.

I realized that my children had reached an age where they didn't need me to protect them from the world as

much as they needed me to set an example of what they should not take as an adult. Please don't think me

a weak individual, it was much more than two comments from my father that culminated it my low self-

esteem. My example is that these two particular times are still embedded in my memory. Adults need to

know the impact they have on young children with lasting results. Whether intentional or not the effects and

"deficits are lifelong." (Berger, 2012).

     I took some time and read about the AIDS epidemic that has been going on South Africa and it's affects

on the children. As of 2007, "AIDES disease has killed 2.3 million in South Africa leaving roughly 1 million

children without one or both of their parents." (Moore, 2013). This article goes on to explain how most of

the children are being taken care of by other surviving relatives, but that in itself brings in a whole other level

of stress. The article talks about one women that they followed that was raising not only her own children

but those of both of her sisters and a cousin who had all passed from AIDS. The most common

repercussions for these children have been depression, truancy, sexual vulnerability, hunger and abuse."

(Moore, 2013). It appears the country have been so busy and focused on getting the epidemic of the disease

 under control that they have not been able to address the fall out ramifications on the children. Clearly what

is initially being done to lower the risk of harm to the children is getting the epidemic under control, however

the life long and generational repercussions of this event are huge.

Berger, K.S., (2012), The Developing Person Through Childhood (6th, Edition), New York, NY:

     Worth Publishers.

Moore, J., (2013). AIDS: How South Africa is Beating the Epidemic, Retrieved from: 

     www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/worldafrica/2013/0623/AIDS-How-South-Africa-is-beating-

     the-epidemic

Jennifer Pore`

 Mental Health of Families

     I work with children and their families every day. The state tells us that we are under servicing the Latino 

population of our county and I thought this might be a good opportunity to try and identify barriers. In

"Counseling in Mexico" (Portal, 2010) it was stated that "Religion and spirituality are sources of great 

strength for much of the population in Mexico." "Mexican psychological counselors will need to integrate 

spiritual aspects into the counseling process." This article also refers to the fact that changes in society and 

the amount of poverty has much to do with the increased needs of the people for mental health 

professionals. With money getting harder to come by the family dynamics are changing as mothers and 

children are needing to join the work force. 

    It is clear to me that we as an agency need to be aware of multiple cultural interactions with our county. 

Not only do we need to be educated and aware of historical cultural differences that need to be respected 

but we need to be aware of additional barriers and concerns that have been created simply by logistics. One 

of the biggest barriers for agency and the public is the language barrier. It is estimated that 25 % of the adult 

Latino population in our county speaks English. We always are looking for a therapist that has dual language 

but as of yet we have not had anyone apply. We are a frontier county and it is hard to draw new families. 

One action that we have implemented is that we see children and their families at the school where they 

already are comfortable with staff and the building. It is one less obstacle for the family to overcome.

Portal, E., Suck, A.T., & Hinkle, J. S. (2010). "Counseling in Mexico: History, Current Identity, and Future 

     Trends" Journal of Counseling & Development Association, Winter 2010. Volume 88.

Part Two of Birth Experience

     Wow! Still learning to maneuver Walden's classroom and realized that I had missed the part about birth experiences in other countries. I looked up birthing practices in the Netherlands and was I surprised! Over half of the births are home births with a midwife attending. All expecting mothers have to pick up a birthing kit which has medical supplies needed for delivery,whether or not they are planning a home or hospital birth doesn't matter ! Even if the birth takes place at the hospital and given there are no complications, most mothers go home with the baby within two hours of delivery! Boy, talk about your no-nonsense attitude, it makes me curious to know what the general attitude towards child raising is.

Netherlands Birth Customs. Retrieved from:
     www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birthcustoms-around-the-world/?page=2
     on 09.08.2013

Jennifer Pore` Assignment 2 Week 1

Birth Experience Week 1

     All  four of my births were traumatic. Clearly the hardest was my second birth which my son did not survive. I had gestational diabetes during all of my pregnancies which led to many visits to the hospital and many months on bed rest during each pregnancy. With Ezra I had the extra complication of placenta separation and at three months premature (30 years ago) and 1.5 pounds he was not able to survive the delivery. I remember pain, heartache, and disbelief. The experience was made even more traumatic by the fact that I was kept in the maternity wing which was one open wing with eight beds. All of the other women in the wing had their babies with them. My first son Elijah was born healthy at one month early (after two months bed rest) and was an absolute joy! Had I not had the experience of having a healthy child I can tell you I would have never had the heart to try again after loosing Ezra. I did go on to have two more children (both girls) Eleanor was two months premature and Alexis was one month premature.
     I choose to write about my own experience because I know it and I wanted my first post to be genuine. My story also leads into the question posed in class about our thoughts on the impact of the birth on child development. Speaking from my own experience, having lost a child, changed my life and guided my thoughts and behaviors in raising my other children. I had always been a child advocate and had dreamed of being a Kindergarten teacher and mother. From that day forward I have never wished away a day in my life and I consciously appreciate each moment I have with my children. To this day whenever I leave or my child leaves (or before ending a phone conversation) I always tell them how much they are loved. I am also a believer that such hard traumatic entries into this world causes repercussions for the child, both positive and negative. Depending on their inherent personality, resiliency, the ability of the medical team, and how the parents react to the situation I believe sets a real tone for the rest of the child's life.