Uplifting Stories- Research That Benefit Children and Families

My oldest niece, Jakyla, was born in December of 2000. From birth she was a happy, healthy newborn who was very alert. Around 2 months of age, my sister Constance, Jakyla's mom, noticed some unusual jerking movement that Jakyla would experience while she slept. Once Jakyla was taken to her pediatrician it was determined that she was having seizures. Over the next couple of months Jakyla's seizures began to intensify, causing her to be hospitalized many times. Right before her first birthday Jakyla's pediatrician's determined that not only was she experiencing seizures, but that she was physically and mentally delayed. After being taken to specialist in Durham, NC Jakyla was given only a year to live. On this December, Jakyla Amara Patrice Sams will be 12 years old. Although Jakyla was not the direct participant in any research, research that has been conducted on the medicine that she takes has helped her to live 10 years past what doctors predicated. In addition, Jakyla is enrolled in public school and research has been conducted in order to determine the best curriculum needed to aid children who have similar medical, physical, and mental conditions.

My Research Journey

For the purposes of this course, I identified the topic of developmental stages as an EC topic that interest me. I chose this topic for a particularly sweet 11 lb (as of 2 weeks ago) reason, my daughter Andrea. My daughter will be 2 months on Wednesday March 13, and for the past few weeks I have noticed that she has been doing things that are unusual to see in her developmental stage. As an undergraduate student, I was a B-K major before changing my  major to Sociology. Even as a Sociology major, I took several B-K courses as electives. Due to my educational background and work experience I am familiar with the developmental stages of children. However, now that I am a mother, I am further interested of in learning even more about this topic.

The simulation process has shown my how to properly gather my thoughts and concentrate on one idea at a time. Thus far this course has allowed me to truly identify the importance of a credible resource and the difference between what’s credible and what's not. I am interesting in knowing how my colleagues who work and have families balance home, work, and school. This course is going to allow me to get back to the root of conducting research and writing a research based paper.