The book is Born for Love – Why Empathy is Essential by Bruce Perry. You can find it on audiobook.
In Chapter 3 of Born for Love, the authors recount the story of Eugenia and her families. Although in many ways Eugenia has been remarkably successful, she still suffers in many ways. Why? Explain her case by addressing followings:
1) Provide a very brief summary. What caught your attention about this chapter? Provide specific examples (with page numbers- I know the audio version might not have page numbers) and use the newly acquired vocabulary. (Write so that someone who did not read the chapter would follow your thoughts.)
2) Do you feel like you understand the mechanisms that make the orphanage experience so toxic over prisons? Were you surprised about Spitz’ findings? Explain what he did and how his findings changed the institutionalization of young children.
3) After reading this chapter, what other toxic environments come to your mind? Why? Explain what may help children to cope with the ongoing stress of living through e.g., war, ethnic conflict, pandemic, etc. Always be specific of the context (age, environment) when you talk about children, who are minors below the age of 18- but this is a broad age range. Accordingly, focus on a particular age and describe possible coping mechanisms for a specific situations.
The chapter 4 of Born for Love, “Intense World,” takes a new look at the relationship between empathy and autism, and cites some lessons we can learn from children with autism that can be applied to neurotypical development. While the authors don’t attempt to explain why children with autism possibly develop more “processing units” or experience accelerated brain growth, they do discuss how these phenomena may contribute to some of the most debilitating common behaviors. For me the take-home message of this chapter is that we all need to spend quality time for social communication and interaction. Not getting enough has profound consequences for humanity.
4) Briefly summarize the chapter’s highlights. What are your thoughts on this chapter? Please provide specific examples from the text (with page numbers if possible) and relate to theories of child development.
5) How much did you know about autism before reading the chapter? Do you know of any myths about autism? E.g., How have you widened your perspective on the discussion topics? Be specific and go beyond just liking and describing. Evaluate, analyze, and share your insights with us. What kind of questions would you ask an expert on autism?
6) Conclusion & Critical Question: What are your concluding thoughts about this week’s readings? What do you expect to learn further or would like to do more independent research on? Raise a critical question based on the readings for further discussion. Respond to at least two different peer-posts and go beyond liking their posts. Rehearse your learning using various perspectives and the language of psychology in your peer-responses.
