Getting the Lead Out
Oct. 9th, 2012 11:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blairmacgFrom the Washington Post comes yet another article about the negative aspects of lead, and the positive results of its removal.
The study on crime, in particular, (linked within the article), is one I've been sharing with clients and friends for years--especially those who don't understand how what the body takes in affects what the brain will do. (On the other hand, I've had many folks dismiss the study because they simply can't believe crime rates have declined so much in recent decades.)
Also of importance is the consistent findings that many behavioral issues for which we medicate children can be correlated with higher levels of lead in the system. Oddly enough, I've yet to hear of a child who was tested for lead exposure prior to being given medications to control behavior. (Kinda like I've yet to hear of a person tested for proper adrenal function before being given thyroid medications.)
Anyway.
More and more I'm convinced education reform--in the form of developing new teaching methods, tests, and information delivery systems--is pretty much a waste of resources until we decide to cease actively harming a child's nervous system while simultaneously depriving the child of the nutrients needed to counter that harm.
And I admit to being a little frustrated by knowing it will never change because the current system isn't designed for prevention and is, in some ways, actively hostile toward prevention and cause-correction.
The study on crime, in particular, (linked within the article), is one I've been sharing with clients and friends for years--especially those who don't understand how what the body takes in affects what the brain will do. (On the other hand, I've had many folks dismiss the study because they simply can't believe crime rates have declined so much in recent decades.)
Also of importance is the consistent findings that many behavioral issues for which we medicate children can be correlated with higher levels of lead in the system. Oddly enough, I've yet to hear of a child who was tested for lead exposure prior to being given medications to control behavior. (Kinda like I've yet to hear of a person tested for proper adrenal function before being given thyroid medications.)
Anyway.
More and more I'm convinced education reform--in the form of developing new teaching methods, tests, and information delivery systems--is pretty much a waste of resources until we decide to cease actively harming a child's nervous system while simultaneously depriving the child of the nutrients needed to counter that harm.
And I admit to being a little frustrated by knowing it will never change because the current system isn't designed for prevention and is, in some ways, actively hostile toward prevention and cause-correction.
