Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

As I mentioned in my discussion board post this week my first thought on including children in research studies would be No!  After reading all the rules and regulations that are in place to protect children and learning about the benefits my thoughts turned around.  The more I thought about the situation it reminded of a child that I know personally who has participated in research studies for a condition that he has that he was diagnosed with at a very young age.  The child appeared to be a normal 5 year old who played with other children, however, he didn’t do a lot of running and climbing as did his peers.  His parents went to many appointments until he was diagnosed with a condition known as Friedreich's ataxia.  Friedreich’s Ataxia is a rare inherited disease that causes nervous system damage and movement problems.  It generally begins in childhood and causes impaired muscle coordination, degeneration of the spinal cord and peripheral nerves and the part of the brain that coordinates movement degenerates (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2014).  Unfortunately, at this time there is no cure for this degenerative disease of the nervous system (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2014).  This family has elected to have their child participate in research studies over the years.  When I last talked with them they were satisfied with the results that they have gained from the studies that they have participated in.  The family and their son find it rewarding to be a part of working to find a cure for Friedreichs’s Ataxia. 

Reference:

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2014). Friedreich's Ataxia Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/friedreichs_ataxia/detail_friedreichs_

ataxia.htm#260083070

My Personal Research Journey

Hello and welcome to my blog, 

I would like to share with you a little about my personal research journey, however, before you begin reading about the topic that is of interest to me I am asking that you will share any ideas, thoughts or information that you may have on my chosen topic that will be helpful for me as I move forward in the personal research journey.  Again I will admit that the idea of researching a topic made me nervous at first, however, through readings since the class began I am confident that this is going to be a terrific learning experience and I look forward to this journey. 

The topic that I chose was family involvement.  I believe that family involvement plays a huge role in the success of all children.  It always breaks my heart when the children are so excited to share with their families about the events that they have experienced throughout the day at pick up time (such as their artwork or any other exciting activity) and many families are too busy on their cell phone to stop and look or to just engage in conversation with their children.  Further, I think it is important that all families be provided the opportunity to be able to participate in their child’s education.  Unfortunately, it can be hard for families to participate in their child’s classroom events due to their job requirements, therefore, I think it is important for educators to find ways for all families to have the opportunity to be involved in their child’s education.  From my main topic of family involvement I came up with the following three sub topics

a.      The benefits for children when families are actively involved in their child’s education.

b.     The benefits that families will experience when they are actively involved in their child’s education.

c.      How early childhood programs can support and encourage family Involvement.  

The sub topic that I have chosen to use for my research journey would be the benefits for children when families are actively involved in their child’s education. 

Once again I look forward to any thoughts or ideas that you may have to share with me.  Also as I began constructing my research chart, I have realized that are text book “ Doing Early Childhood Research” has a lot of good information that is going to help me to be successful in my research journey.  

Reference

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research:International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.