The Vulnerable Child

The potential for early intervention to prevent social problems later in life has become the focus of much debate in recent years and finds itself at the centre of contemporary social policy. The meaning of ‘vulnerability’ – one of the key concepts in this drive – is examined in this book, as well as the relationship between vulnerability and the individual, communities and society. This book introduces students to a broad debate around what constitutes vulnerability and related concepts such as risk and resilience, and examines how vulnerability has been conceptualised by policy makers with a clear focus on early intervention. Adopting a case study approach, it opens with chapters examining the concept of vulnerability from sociological, psychological and social policy perspectives before looking at examples around disability, homelessness, leaving care, victims of violence, sexual abuse, prison, the Internet and drug use. Supporting students in engaging with and evaluating the conceptualisation and application of vulnerability in professional practice, this book is suitable for anyone either preparing for or currently working within the children’s workforce, from social work and health care to education and youth work.

This report analyses the individual and environmental factors that contribute to child vulnerability. It calls on OECD countries to develop and implement cross-cutting well-being strategies that focus on empowering vulnerable families; strengthening children’s emotional and social skills; strengthening child protection; improving children’s health and educational outcomes; and reducing child poverty and material deprivation.

How do disturbed children see the world? How can we understand their difficulties? Most children have secret worlds but for some these worlds contain secrets that are both permanent and damaging. Originally published in 1992, this moving account of the secret lives of such vulnerable and disturbed children will enable professionals working with these children to find out what is going on in their minds – what they are thinking, what they are feeling, why they behave as they do. The contributors, all experts in their field at the time, show how vulnerable children can be assessed and how they can be helped most effectively.

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1. Basic perspectives: biases and format / S. D. Dixon and M. T. Stein. 2. Setting the stage: theories and concepts of child development / S. D. Dixon. 3. Interviewing in a pediatric setting / M. T. Stein. 4. Designing an office with a developmental perspective / M. T. Stein. 5. The prenatal visit: making an alliance with the family / S. D. Dixon. 6. The newborn examination: innate readiness for interaction with the environment / S. D. Dixon. 7. The hospital discharge examination: getting to know the individual child / M. T. Stein. 8. The special care nursery: unlocking the behavior of the vulnerable neonate / S. D. Dixon and P. Gorski. 9. Five days to four weeks: making a place in the family / P. Kaiser and S. D. Dixon. 10. Five weeks to two months: getting on track / M. T. Stein. 11. Three to four months: having fun with the picture book baby / S. D. Dixon. 12. Five to Six months: reaching out to play / S. D. Dixon, M. J. Hennessy, and P. Kaiser. 13. Seven to eight months: separation and strangers / P. Kaiser and S. D. Dixon. 14. Nine to ten months: active exploration in a safe environment / P. Kaiser and S. D. Dixon. 15. One year: one giant step forward / S. D. Dixon and M. J. Hennessy. 16. Eighteen months: asserting oneself, a push-pull process / M. T. Stein. 17. Two years: learning the rules language and cognition / S. D. Dixon, H. Feldman, and E. Bates. 18. Two and one-half to Three years: emergence of magic / S. D. Dixon. 19. Four years: clearer sense of self / N. Putnam and S. D. Dixon. 20. Five years: entering school / P. Nader. 21. Six years: Learning to use symbols / N. Putnam and M. T. Stein. 22. Seven to ten years: growth and competency / N. Putnam. 23. Seven to Ten years: the world of the elementary school child / R. D. Wells and M. T. Stein. 24. Overview of adolescence / M. E. Felice. 25. Eleven to thirteen years: early adolescence - age of rapid changes / M. E. Felice. 26. Fourteen to sixteen years: mid-adolescence the dating game / M. E. Felice. 27. Seventeen to twenty-one years: late adolescence / L. I. Rice and M. E. Felice. 28. Special Families / R. D. Wells, N. Putnam, and M. T. Stein. 29. Childrens encounters with illness: hospitalization and procedures / M. T. Stein. 30. Child advocacy: a pediatric perspective / M. T. Stein, S. D. Dixon, and J. E. Schanberger. 31. The use of drawings by children in the pediatric office / J. B. Welsh. 32. Books for parents, videos for kids: an annotated bibliography / P. Kaiser, M. Caffery, H. J. Brehm, S. D. Dixon, M. T. Stein, and M. E. Felice.

Monographs in this series are derived from the Vulnerable Child Discussion Group, a crucible for ideas on child development. Intrapsychic issues as well as environmental ones of poverty, family breakup, and poor health care are tackled head on as essential considerations for child analysts. The third volume in the series discusses young children and violence, psychopathy, narcissism, prenatal cocaine exposure, and foster and day care.

The ability to build a trusting relationship is essential when working with vulnerable children. Through the use of numerous engaging games and activities developed over 20 years of working with abused and neglected children, this book shows how these lines of communication can be opened up through effective engagement with the child's world.

How can medical law and ethics take forward the issue of children's empowerment and protection? What are the key factors in considering the balance between protecting the welfare of the young and allowing them rights to autonomy? The Child as Vulnerable Patient investigates the role that a human rights approach can play in establishing the parameters of autonomy and discusses the opportunities presented in the Human Rights Act, the European Convention on the Rights of the Child and new policy initiatives in the NHS. A valuable addition to existing literature in this area, this volume will be of interest to lawyers, health professionals and students of medical law.