We sometime have no real clue how lonely a person can be until something unexpected happens and we are forced with the question why? It's extremely important to take the time out for such loved ones in nursing homes, foster care or in your own home, to show them that they are loved and cared about. In this article, I will be addressing some of the major concerns of neglect associated with FTT (Failure to Thrive Syndrome) and how to cope with this issue.
When I became pregnant for the first time, I dove right into research and studied the whole process of being pregnant, infant care and beyond. I took a course about infant care, what it means to be a parent and how to have a healthy pregnancy. One of the topics within that infant care and being a better parent unit is something we don't normally hear or even talk much about, Failure to Thrive Syndrome (FTT). Everyday we are among children and/or elderly people who suffer greatly from it.
What is FTT and How Do I Recognize It?
FTT is a condition that usually occurs mainly in children between the ages of 6 to 12 months, young children and in some cases even the elderly. It is due to emotional and physical neglect from a parent/family members or care giver. According to Dorota Iwaniec, who is a Professor of Social Work and Director of the Institute of Child Care Research at Queen's University of Belfast, in infants and children, the determination is based on a series of assessments before determining certain physical and emotional changes such as slow weight gain and height. These assessments range from a multi-disciplinary approach that includes medical, nutritional and psychological factors in the assessment content. This assessment will then follow a meeting with the parent or guardian for more evaluation and determining factors.
How do I cope with someone who is suffering from FTT?
In Dorota's book Children Who Fail To Thrive: A Practice Guide, she discusses the levels of intervention in order to properly care for a failure to thrive individual. The care is determined by the assessment and varies from person to person. A combination of approaches and the use of different therapeutic methods and services, by attending parent-training sessions and learning from other parents' experience. Parents can also be helped by socializing with others, thus reducing social isolation and feelings of helplessness. In severe cases, more analyzing must take place to further the healing process and take the necessary steps in healthy growth within the child. These severe cases take more time and several different approaches such as parent training, including developmental counseling, discussing why this is going on and what would be the cause with a counselor.
References
Children Who Fail To Thrive: A Practice Guide by Dorota Iwaniec, John Wiley & Ltd 2004
Serina Ruggeri - My love for writing (shorts, poetry and articles) began when I was 12 years old and picked up my first journal. While I am still very new ...
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