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Essay about the effect of mental health on children
Essay about the effect of mental health on children
Essay about the effect of mental health on children
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Christopher Boone - A Journey with His Father
Any parent that has a child with a learning disability has a lot to face. Parents deal with ongoing struggles on a daily basis. Having a child with a learning disability can be traumatizing. It’s like learning that a family member suddenly passed away. the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, by Mark Haddon introduces a child named Christopher Boone who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. This disability affects Christopher with his daily life. Although Christopher is faced with many problems, he learns to overcome these obstacles with the help of others. Ed Boone, Christopher’s father is a horrible father who makes unforgivable decisions that adds to Christopher’s suffering; fortunately
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with the help of others, Christopher finds the strength and courage to overcome his experiences with his father to succeed. Unfortunately, being angry and bitter can take a negative toll on an individual. It is tragic that people turn to blaming when faced with a family issue. Ed Boone’s anger and bad temper consequently made his actions towards Christopher unforgivable. Ed Boone kept letters from Christopher and lied to Christopher saying that his mother is dead. However, Christopher soon found out that his mother is alive. Christopher found letters hidden in his father’s room and the letters were addressed to him from his mother. At first Christopher was confused, but saw the date of when the letter was written and found out his father was lying to him the whole time. Keeping a big secret from someone can affect the person in a negative way. Communication is what keeps families together, whereas Ed lied to Christopher leaving him to suffer and consequently lost his trust. In addition, Christopher’s father said words that emotionally damage Christopher. Though the words he speaks aren’t necessarily terrible, it’s the fact that Christopher has autism and at times cannot tell between right from wrong. People who have autism at times cannot cope with change or negative behaviour. Children with autism need positive feedback. For instances, Ed Boone was mad at Christopher, when he continued questioning his neighbours about who murdered Wellington: Look at me, you are not to go asking anyone about who killed the bloody dog. You are not to go asking anyone about who killed the bloody dog. You are not to go trespassing in other people’s gardens. You are not to go trespassing in other people’s gardens. You are to stop this ridiculous bloody detective game right now. (50) Ed Boone could have come across in a more calm manner, instead of yelling at Christopher. Unfortunately, children with learning disabilities need guidance and support and Ed Boone made multiple mistakes that left Christopher confused. Christopher's disability makes it more difficult for him to understand things more clearly.
Children suffer terribly when families go through trauma. Pain and suffering is a form of physical pain. Saying rude remarks constantly can leave a negative impact on an individual. In this case, Christopher is already dealing with issues on his own, but there's more problems from his father. Ed Boone never supported Christopher, instead he would lower his self esteem saying, “Holy f*cking Jesus, Christopher. How stupid are you (81)?” Ed was angry at the moment, so Ed let out his anger on Christopher. It’s hard being a single parent, especially if they have a learning disability, but that means that Ed should have went at a slower pace, so Christopher can learn. However, Ed Boone kept on yelling at Christopher. Christopher developed a fear for his father, “But I was frightened in two different ways. And one being frightened of being far away from a place I was use to, and the other was being frightened of being where father lived (136).” Making Christopher feel scared and alone. Christopher had no one to go to for support. Until he realized that his mother is alive. Ed Boone was never there when Christopher was going through rough times. Christopher was left alone, so he had to learn to deal with things on his own. Children are vulnerable at this age, they need support and someone to go to when they’re going through a rough time. Ed Boone was not there to support his child, instead …show more content…
he put all his anger towards Christopher. It is difficult being a parent. However, Boone’s approach had Christopher go to London to get away from his father. In London, he found his mother who took Christopher in and helped him find peace with his relationship with his dad. Every family has issues that need to be resolved.
There is no perfect family. Coming together and listening to each other can make the transition more simple. Christopher’s mother was there to ease the inner pain that Christopher was feeling. Christopher was able to be resilient and live a better life with his mother. Christopher suffered a lot back in Swindon, but when he moved in with his mother, he had less problems to deal with. When Christopher went to London to meet his mother, his mother provided him with the care that he longed for. When Ed came to London to pick up Christopher, he was scared. Christopher was afraid, so his mother said, “It’s OK, Christoper. I won’t let him do anything. You’re all right (197).” Christopher’s mother, Judy showed care towards her child, even after not seeing him for years. Christopher was able to find peace when he moved in with his mother. He did his level A math, got a dog and overcame all this challenges. Christopher realized with the support of all the people in London, he could do anything he wanted. He knew that he could do anything because he came a long way and figured the mystery on who killed
Wellington. Although Christopher had to face many obstacles throughout his teen years he slowly found peace with the help of his mother. His dad did cause heartache with his lies and deception but Christopher did find peace to forgive him. Ed Boone caused many problems for this child who is already struggles with his disability. Being honest and truthful always is the right thing to do.
The last thing Christopher’s father would have wanted is for Christopher to have felt pain, anger or abandoned. Christopher’s mother, Judy, decided to leave them both for various reasons which lead to the father’s lie. Ed told Christopher, that his mother was hospitalized and later on that she had died all to spare his feelings of the truth regarding the mother’s absence in their lives for two years. One of Christopher’s mother’s reasons was due to her not being
Because he never backs down from anything he starts, Christopher’s pursuit to solve Wellington’s murder remains his primary focus, although Christopher experiences problems throughout the book that affect his resolve. His father affects Christopher negatively from his lies; as a result, the dishonesties turn out to be the central focus in the story. His father made him leave the house to go find Christopher’s mother who he did not know existed. His mom tried to hug Christopher when he got there and he blatantly describes how he hates being touched by his own family members. Christopher’s mom goes in for a hug but he shoves her away so hard that he falls over. Christopher states, “And I pushed her away because she was grabbing me and I didn’t like it, and I pushed really hard and I fell over” (Haddon 191). Christopher feels awful about the incident with his mother and ends up getting along exceedingly sound. Family disputes led to most of the problems in the novel, however, the issues made the book more interesting. Every time Christopher’s dad would mess up with him, his father would come running back to Christopher apologizing for what he did or the way he acted. Christopher’s father was good at taking care of him most of the time but then again was not an straightforward family member all the time. Christopher did not consider his
“The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal” by Jonathan Mooney is the story of his journey around the U.S. in short bus nonetheless to meet with different children and their families who have faced challenges in school due to ADD, ADHD, Autism, and other learning disabilities. Jonathan Mooney himself faced the disability of Dyslexia and often had to deal with many challenges in school himself, but he appears to be one of the more fortunate ones, who was able to grow from his disability and ultimately get a degree in English. Needless to say, his book and journey lead the reader to question what really is “normal”, and how the views of this have caused the odds to be stacked against those who don’t fit the mold. Throughout, this story, for me personally however, this story gave several events that I found moving, and had the potential to influence my further work in education.
Unfortunately, a lot of parents may have a difficult time accepting their child, and coping with their needs and the responsibilities. From the book “The Elephant in the Playroom,” some families dealt with depression and physical and mental deterioration of their health. These struggles were shown in the story by Laura Cichoracki. Laura’s son’s name was Patrick. Patrick was a 6-years-old boy with autism. “I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t showering regularly, I wasn’t sleeping well” (Brodey, p. 64). I also read the story told by Susan Marrash-Minnerly, which highlighted emotions that parents face. Susan also shed light on how wonderful children with special needs can be to a family, such as her ten-year-old third grader who had autism. Susan talked about how it was normal to feel angry at times, especially with the ups and downs a child’s disability may come with. “When I look back, I want to tell other parents that a child’s future is worth grieving over – but it’s not the end of the world” (Brodey, p. 75). After reading these stories, it became apparent to me that families who are raising kids with special needs, need support, kindness, and available resources. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by other moms who understood my pain…who could be supportive and emphatic.” (Brodey, p. 67). Overall, educators can use this kind of information that was shared in “The Elephant in the Playroom” about family systems and risk/resiliency by creating lines of open communication between families. This is to connect parents together that share similar struggles. By creating open communication is can allows for the teacher and parents to be on the same page when it comes to the issues affecting special needs students and
This book was a great read. The heartwarming tale of two young children who manage to overcome the disability under the category of autism. The author, the mother of these two children, uses her language to make the reader feel connected with the struggles of the family and the elated feeling when the children are deemed functioning within normal levels. This book gives insight on several different therapies, some that seemed helpful and others that seemed silly. It touches on the subject of inclusion as well. This book allows individuals to relate to those who have children with autism and gives parents of children with autism hope that their child's disability is not a permanent one.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time exhibits real life situations experienced by an autistic, 15-year-old boy, from his own panorama. Christopher’s use of first person perspective ensures that his view on events are explained with accurate, detailed description, enhancing the responders understanding of how the mind of one with Asperger’s syndrome functions. This concept is elaborated on in Christopher’s struggle to become independent as the responder is able to grasp Christopher’s defensive mechanisms to dealing with stressful situations. Christopher narration “so I groaned to make the time pass quicker and not think” during a fit where his tendency to shut down and curl himself into a ball is essentially revealed substantiates his struggle to become independent as his
Nothing hurts more than being betrayed by a loved one, Christopher’s father has no trust in Christopher and tells him that his “Mother died 2 years ago”(22) and Christopher thinks his mother died of a heart attack. When Christopher finds out his father lied, he runs away to live with his mother and his father despritally looks for him and while looking for him realizes the importance of telling the truth. When someone betrays one’s trust, they can feel morally violated. Once Christopher finds his mother, she begins to realize how unfit her living conditions are for Christopher and brings him back to his father, bring him “[..] home in Swindon”(207) Christopher feels incredibly hurt and distressed he does not want to see his father. Whether a relationship can be repaired depends entirely on whether trust can or cannot be restored. Christopher’s father works very hard to regain his trust, he tells his son “[..] I don’t know about you, but this...this just hurts too much”, Christopher’s father is dealing with the result of being dishonest with his son and himself.
Ed Boone lovingly cares for his son Christopher, yet he also struggles with frustration. Frustration of not being able to understand is son. Not being able to understand what Christopher means. Overall Christopher loves his son, which is why he wants to protect from his mother who left him.
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” is a combination of many styles of story including elements of a detective story, fiction, some comedy moments and a large portion of drama, it also touches on many different themes mainly on family, belonging disability, overcoming adversity, marital stress and the pressures of modern living. The story is told from the perspective of a young boy named Christopher John Francis Boone who has the psychological condition Asperger’s syndrome. The novel follows Christopher’s exploration into the murder of his neighbour’s dog, which uncovers inconvenient truths about his family including the death of his mother and the real identity of the dog’s killer. Through Christopher’s investigation we see
How different would your life be if your child was differently abled? How different would your life be if your child was differently abled, and your wife left you? This inspiring novel, the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, by Mark Haddon, includes a young 15 year old who faces numerous obstacles in his life. Christopher Boone, the protagonist has a hard time fitting in because of his autism, and his mother left the family without Christopher's notice. Mr. Boone is definitely the better parent; his failings are completely understandable and there is never a doubt about his love and commitment to his son. All of this ultimately allows Christopher to overcome his disability to achieve his goals.
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” begins when Christopher John Francis Boone, the fifteen-year-old narrator of the novel, discovers the perished body of his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, one evening on his neighbor’s lawn. Bewildered and crushed, Christopher sets out on a journey to uncover the murderer. Throughout the story you discover that Christopher possesses a mild form of autism. Living with this, he tends to sub consciously neglect the murder mystery and express his inner thought to us readers. Children who are born with any disability, especially ones who suffer from autism or Asperger’s have a difficult time concentrating and forming complete thoughts. In the novel Christopher’s goal resembles that of many children
Boone loves his son dearly, yet he will show his love the way Christopher needs. His mother, on the other hand, doesn’t always do things that Christopher prefers. When she first saw him“[she] put her arms around [him]… And [he]pushed her away because she was grabbing [him]… ‘I’m so sorry Christopher I forgot’” she forgets about her own son’s needs and cares more about hugging Christopher(191).
The main character decides to run away in the middle of the night when his dad was asleep. He lays out the options and he comes to the conclusion that the only safe and best option is to go to London where he can live with his mother. Before Christopher learns the truth about his mother’s absence, he expresses through indirect characterization that he feels responsible for his mother’s death even though he may not put it that way directly. He mentions in chapter 73 that his parents used to get into a lot of fights because of him. It is hard to have an autistic child whom you have to constantly take care of.
Christopher grew up with things that were told to him that he thought he believed only because people who he trusted told him these facts and behind closed doors it was all lies. Many people in their daily lives struggle with the issue of trust and you must remember that things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes people lie about things for a greater purpose and believe they are helping or protecting you much like Christopher’s father. There is also a self accomplishment aspect of how things appear to be. Christopher ventures to visit his mom and encounters many things that he gets over.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon is about a teenaged boy named Christopher with autism who lives with his father. One morning Christopher wakes up to find his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, dead in their yard. The neighbor, Mrs.Shears, runs outside and finds Wellington with Christopher and accuses him of killing her dog. Christopher is taken to jail where his dad soon picks him up. At school Christopher is assigned to write a book. Christopher decides to write his story about the mystery of Wellington’s death.