Author: Alexis Kiesewetter

My baby brother is obsessed with my dad

The day my baby brother was born he was attached to my dad at the hip. No matter what my mom did, offered, proposed, anything he would never want to go to her. This is called attachment. Babies form an intense bond with their caregiver shortly after they are born. But since my dad has a full time job and works 40+ hours of overtime a week, he is barely home. My brother will scream and throw a fit whenever my dad leaves for work. It has gotten to the point where there is nothing that can be said or done to get him to stop crying. My brother displays secure attachment whenever my father is not present. Secure attachment is classified by children who show some distress when their caregiver leaves but are able to compose themselves knowing that their caregiver will return. Children with secure attachment feel protected by their caregivers, and they know that they can depend on them to return. Secure attachment is when a baby will play comfortably when caregiver is present but will become distressed when a caregiver leaves. Usually the baby will then seek contact when the caregiver returns.

Sometimes, my brother also shows insecure attachment. In basic terms, insecure attachment is a relationship style where the bond is contaminated by fear. This is expressed mainly as reluctance in the relationship and other mixed emotions, such as dependence and rejection. Most psychologists believe that insecure attachment is formed in early childhood. Insecure attached children are avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized. They are less likely to explore their surroundings, cry loudly when the caregiver leaves, and continue to be distressed or indifferent when they return. My brother can sometimes be indifferent when my father leaves and he will not stop crying until he returns. Usually he stops crying when he returns, but recently he has continued to cry.

The 4 Styles of Attachment

sources:

http://www.bbbgeorgia.org/attachSecure.php

https://www.verywellmind.com/attachment-styles-2795344

Strabismus and The Eye

The course concept I have selected is the eye and to tell the story of my best friend Sydney. When Sydney was born, she only weighed 2 pounds and was very premature. She was born 4 months early and shocked the hospital with how hard she fought to stay alive. Her father was able to hold her in the palm of his hand and completely enclose it when she was in the hospital the few days after being introduced to the world. Finally, after a few months, she was able to go to her home and start her brand-new life. At a few months old, her father realized her eyes were different. Her eye would move and completely face the other direction randomly throughout the day. Being a new father and having your baby’s eye completely turn into the other direction was very scary, as one could imagine. It happened numerous times when he would play with her, so they decided to take her to the hospital to see what was wrong. She was diagnosed with a disease called Strabismus. Strabismus is usually called cross-eyed or wall-eyed. It is a vision condition in which a person cannot align both eyes simultaneously under normal conditions. One or both of the eyes may turn in, out, up or down. An eye turn may be consistent, which means the eye will turn at all times. Or it will be intermittent, which means it will only turn some of the time. Strabismus in children does not go away on its own and needs to be treated with surgery most of the time, or some other type of treated recommended by your doctor. But, strabismus in adults can go away on its own and normally doesn’t need to be treated, under certain conditions. When she was a year old, they decided to send her to surgery. During surgery, the doctor will make an opening through the conjunctiva, which is the thin layer of clear tissue covering the eye. Then, they will take the eye muscle and adjust the length or position of it. Changing the position or length of the muscle will make the eye work how it should normally work. Currently in class we are learning about vision and the parts of the eye and how they connect to one another. In strabismus your muscles no longer work together with the other parts of the eye, and it starts to “drift off”.

Image result for strabismus

 

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYjIW3KB35U

Citations:

Strabismus.org. (2019). Strabismus Treatment for Children and Adults | Exotropia. [online] Available at: https://www.strabismus.org [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].

American Academy of Ophthalmology. (2019). What Is Strabismus?. [online] Available at: https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-strabismus [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].

YouTube. (2019). How is strabismus surgery done?. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYjIW3KB35U [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].

Allaboutvision.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/strabismus.htm [Accessed 19 Sep. 2019].