News from the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual meeting.
(as reported by Medscape)
"Dr. Berry Brazelton, age 89, noted that during the 1950s, society "blamed the victim," and, for example, if a child had autistic spectrum disorder it was believed to be the mother's fault. "We really thought babies were lumps of clay and it was up to the parents to shape them. This was the dominant thinking at that point."
"Reaching out to new parents and capturing their passion is magical," said Dr. Brazelton, who illustrated his talk with several video clips that captured "magical" moments as he or a parent interacted with an infant. "It is very important to get the family involved," he said. ....
He recommends a paradigm shift from a deficit model taught in medical school to a positive model. "If we give the mother understanding that regression is a time for reorganization, you're reinforcing her success rather than failure."
Touch points is the term Dr. Brazelton uses to describe a temporary regression in conduct of a child before a major landmark occurs in development.
