My Dream Study

For my research project, I would focus on the effects of diet on AD/HD.  Having no restrains in reality, I would work with a hospital that has a developmental clinic.  My research would get an initial baseline of behavior at home and at school.  I would interview parents during the intake process.  The parents and the research team would then complete a food journal during the home visit.  Taking note of processed, artificial and other notable ingredients in foods that may aggravate the child’s condition.  Then my research team and I would put the children who qualified for an AD/HD diagnosis would put the family on a strict food plan.  The plan would give explicate instructions on what the family can eat.  No processed food, limited sugar intake, and no dyed foods will be available.  A blood test would be taken to see reactions to dairy and gluten as well.  The study will last 6 months, noting weekly behavioral changes and studying the food journal in case tweaks to the food plan need to be made.    

This study could have an extraordinary impact on the well-being of children.  It could revolutionize the way AD/HD is treated; families would have definitive choices placed before them.  There could be another option besides pharmaceutical treatments. 

My Research Journey

The topic I choose for the research simulation is the effects of poverty on early childhood education.  I choose this topic because I see poverty in my classroom every day.  One day a student comes to school hungry.  The next day I had a student evicted from his house.  The students I teach all have autism; nearly all of them are nonverbal. The upheaval in their lives would affect a typical child negatively.  I can only imagine the turmoil that my students are going through. 

I have only just begun researching this topic for my chart.  One resource I have found is the Harvard University (2011) Global Children’s Initiative: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative

This site has many interesting articles on the effects of stressful situations such as poverty on young children.  I would love to have any input that you my colleagues could share with me!