Human Trafficking-Research Paper x
McKinley PAGE 10
Rochelle McKinley
Professor Stallbird
ENG 1207.227
April 19, 2020
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a serious crime and a violation of human right. Every year, thousands of women, children and men are taken by traffickers instantly. According to heatwatch.org,The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally. Human sex trafficking is a social and complex issue that effects the global community. Programs like the Law Enforcement Responder, Trauma Recovery for Trafficking, Mount Sinai Adolescent Center need more funding and expansion of current services.
Aaron Miller states in his article, “ Featured Counter Trafficking Program: The Law Enforcement First Responder Protocol,” “ The Law Enforcement First Responder Protocol, which trained law enforcement to recognize youth engaged in sex work as survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, rather than as “prostitutes”, and to connect these survivors immediately with social services, advocates, timely medical care and ongoing follow-up.” Human Trafficking is kind of a touchy topic for me, but it is a social issue in our community that needs to be addressed and fixed. The reason why I chose this topic is because
I have close friends, neighbors, and school friends who was involved in human sex trafficking. I’m from Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta, Georgia is one of the top states and cities that has the worst/high human sex trafficking. It happens everywhere. Until this day, I have not yet seen or heard from one of my close friend who was involve in sex trafficking. It has been about 2 ½ years ever since she was taken. After reading and researching the Law Enforcement Protocol Program, I wish there were more of these programs that could help victims and could’ve helped my friend returned home.
The law enforcement first responder protocol is led by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. This protocol collaborated with the Sheriff’s Department, Department of Child and Family Services, Department of Health Services, Department of Mental Health, etc. By expanding and featuring this program, it does not only save victims, this program is also intended to raise awareness of innovative counter-trafficking strategies emerging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and outcomes research.
In addition to Law Enforcement Responder Protocol, health care workers also plays an important role to decrease human trafficking through decriminalization. Albert Erin and Kate D’Adamo states, “healthcare workers should help prevent trafficking in the sex trade that requires addressing the different forms of marginalization(treatment of a person, group, or concept as insignificant) that create vulnerable communities”. In their article, “Decreasing Human Trafficking through Sex Work Decriminalization,”In this article, they are telling the intended audience that by removing laws that prevent reporting of exploitation and abuse decriminalization allows sex workers to work more safely by reducing marginalization and vulnerability. In addition, decriminalization can also help destigmatize (to remove associations of shame or disgrace) sex work and help resist political, social, and cultural marginalization of sex workers. Those who are being trafficked may not identify themselves as victims, therefore nurses and other health care professionals should be aware of the signs and symptoms of trafficking.
Secondly, Trauma for Recovery programs needs to be expanding throughout the global community. Roney, Linda Nancy, and Caitlin Elizabeth Villano discusses in their article, “Human Trafficking Victims in Your Pediatric Trauma Bay,” how we should be recognize victims; “Human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the United States and almost half of the victims are children.
This crime against children is referred to as domestic minor human sex trafficking (DMHST).” The significance of this problem is that child victims of trafficking, meaning they do not the ability to fully understand and consent to what is happening to them. These offenders try to manipulate children by making them believe they will provide a better life for them and use manipulation to get victims to do what they want. They contact innocent children or even teenagers by “recruiting” them through direct contact, social networking, internet, clubs, schools, malls, and public transit stations. This was a very similar situation that happened to my best friend. In this sick corrupt world we live in, we need to pay attention of our surroundings and the type of area we are in. It’s always best to stay within a group or bring a couple of friends with you wherever you go to an unfamiliar place. Do you ever wonder if you could be that next victim?
So how can nurses identify potential victims of DMHST? Trauma nurses who care for children or anyone else have the potential to interact with victims of human sex trafficking in the health care. There is not one screening tool to use to identify a victim of sex trafficking in hospitals, but the health care/clinicals by utilizing outside resources such as National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s method of screening (3). These methods includes the following: recognize the emotional, behavioral, and physical signs of trafficking (“red flags”), respond appropriately and sensitively through screening to asses the particular needs of your client or patient, and make appropriate referrals for services (acf.hs.gov.com). By doing this, the victims can access the critical help they need when they need it the most.
Just like the Law Enforcement Protocol program, programs like Trauma Recovery for Trafficking should be expanding for people who have hard times. Author Becca Johnson discuses in her article “Featured Counter-Trafficking Program: Trauma Recovery for Victims of Sex Trafficking,” states, “The ARC program was developed to provide holistic aftercare to female, minor survivors of sex trafficking, to address their social, emotional, physical, mental and spiritual needs.” This program is a mental health program within Agape Restoration Center, a treatment center located in Cambodia. The ARC program was developed to provide aftercare to female, minor survivors of sex trafficking, to address their social, emotional, physical, mental and spiritual needs. It also includes medical care and educational opportunities, ongoing supervision as well as trauma-focused counseling for each individual.
In addition to helping the victims/surviors, Micah Hartmann discusses the causes & effects of human trafficking in his article called “Causes & Effects of Human Trafficking.”
“If we want to effectively contribute to the eradication of modern slavery, we must first understand what causes it and how it affects those involved. Only then can we start making strategic moves to stop human trafficking and truly help those in need.”
In this article, it gives us details on the causes and effects of human trafficking. The causes of human trafficking include the following: (1) the root cause of human trafficking is traffickers; (2) vulnerability creates opportunity for traffickers (conditions such as poverty, unemployment, displacement, lack of knowledge or experience, broken families and cultural practices.) In addition to the causes the effects for trafficking of the victims involved includes mental trauma, physical trauma, ostracism, lack of independent living skills, whereas for the traffickers; money cheap labor and escape from victimization. The effects is that human trafficking can have physical, emotional, psychological effects on anyone involved. These effects has the power to impact someone’s life forever which causes trauma, mental issue, and other complications.
Lastly, the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center should also be funded and expanded when it comes to Human Trafficking. Angela Diaz addresses the importance of the health center in her article, “Featured Counter Trafficking Program: Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center.” She states “the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, a US-based health system dedicated to serving adolescents, some of whom are survivors of sex trafficking or at risk for sexual exploitation.” In addition to this, the article states that this is one of several compromising part of a special issue of Child Abuse and Neglect focused on sex trafficking and health and describes a specific program severing trafficked children such as adolescent health and youth-friendly services. Just like the first responder protocol, the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center is intended to raise awareness of innovative counter-trafficking strategies emerging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and outcomes research. For more than four decades, the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center has worked to help thousands of victims who surveyed abuse. They provide survivors with: a warm welcome; a licensed Master’s Level social worker who is reachable and able to give service; trauma focused individual counseling psychotherapy; victim support groups; family therapy; legal help.
Not only do they provide the following above, the also provide health care that addresses all other health needs of survivors of abuse and neglect including: comprehensive primary health care; risk reduction counseling; Gynecological and complete reproductive health examinations; family planning and contraception services, sexually transmitted infection screening, diagnosis and treatment, etc.
Manian, Sabita, and Kimberly A. McCabe discuss in their article, Sex Trafficking : A Global Perspective, informationon the subject of human sex trafficking and the legislative responses to human trafficking. I believe this is important to the research to view other perspectives rather than just one. In this article it states, “In response to the problem of sex trafficking, many nations have either misunderstood the definition or failed to comprehend the magnitude that have occurs within their borders.” This article is very unique because it serves people who are studying human trafficking from a global perspective by targeting the issue within different geographic region and the political conditions as well.
But what is the main reason for all trafficking? John Richmond discusses in his article, “The Root Cause of Trafficking Is Traffickers” that trafficking is caused by the traffickers. “When we seek to aid people dealing with prolonged drought, we are working against the natural elements. People can affect or exacerbate environmental problems, but the drought itself was not caused by human decision.”
John Richmond came up with very interesting statements on how Traffickers are the root causes of human trafficking: “the trafficker’s willful decision to profit by compelling people to work or prostitute; There is a trafficker scheming to exploit the vulnerable and conceal the crime; human trafficking is not a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is a choice; any serious effort to combat human trafficking must include striking at its root cause; the traffickers” (Richmond). Some of these statement that Richmond made, I would have to disagree on How is human trafficking a choice? A child or anyone else does not make a choice to become a victim or involve in human trafficking. Nobody wants to be force into something that makes them feel uncomfortable or degraded. In my opinion, I believe that the root cause of the human trafficking people who think wickedly and have a very bad mind.
All in all, programs like the Law Enforcement Responder, Trauma Recovery for Trafficking, Mount Sinai Adolescent Center need more funding and expansion of current services. These programs are to help victims, survivors, and people who are still in trafficking from recovery or any sort of trauma they are dealing with. These programs are also intended to raise awareness of counter-trafficking strategies merging worldwide and facilitate collaboration on program development and treatment centers as well. But in order to fund these programs, we would need the government or any sort of donation/charity to help keep these program up nd be able to expand these global in our community.
Works Cited
Albright, Erin, and Kate D’Adamo. “Decreasing Human Trafficking through Sex Work Decriminalization.” AMA Journal of Ethics, vol. 19, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 122–126. Academic Search Complete, doi:10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.1.sect2-1701. February 20, 2020
Diaz, Angela, et al. “Featured Counter Trafficking Program: Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center.” Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 100, Feb. 2020.ScienceDirect doi:10.1016/j.chiabu. 2019.104129.v February 18, 2020
Fuller, Joyce. Sex Trafficking : Issues from a Gender-Based Discrimination Perspective and Federal Legal Proposals. Nova Publishers, 2015. search.Sinclair library.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=cat01128a&AN=scc.b1859148&site=eds-live. February 18, 2020
Hartmann, Micah. “Causes & Effects of Human Trafficking.” Causes & Effects of Human Trafficking, 9 Nov. 2018, blog.theexodusroad.com/causes-effects-of-human-trafficking. February 18, 2020
Johnson, Becca C. “Featured Counter-Trafficking Program: Trauma Recovery for Victims of Sex Trafficking.” Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 100, Feb. 2020. ScienceDirect, doi:10.1016/ j.chiabu.2019.104153. February 25, 2020
Manian, Sabita, and Kimberly A. McCabe. Sex Trafficking : A Global Perspective. Lexington Books, 2010. SinclairLibrary search.SinclairLibrary.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=cat01128a&AN=scc.b1770406&site=eds-live. February 24, 2020
Miller, Aaron J., et al. “Featured Counter Trafficking Program: The Law Enforcement First Responder Protocol.” Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 100, Feb. 2020. ScienceDirect.doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104173. February 28, 2020
Richmond, John. “The Root Cause of Trafficking Is Traffickers.” Human Trafficking Institute, 19 Dec. 2017, www.traffickinginstitute.org/the-root-cause-of-trafficking-is-traffickers/. February 18, 2020
Roney, Linda Nancy, and Caitlin Elizabeth Villano. “Recognizing Victims of a Hidden Crime: Human Trafficking Victims in Your Pediatric Trauma Bay.” Journal of Trauma Nursing, vol. 27, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 37–41. CINAHL Complete February 18, 2020.
R, Staff. “Victims of Abuse & Neglect – The Mount Sinai Hospital.” Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai Today, 2020, www.mountsinai.org/locations/adolescent-health- center/services/violence-prevention-and-treatment/victims-of-abuse-and-neglect.
Javel Floyd reaserch essay x
Research essay 2
Javel Floyd
Vicki Stalbird
Eng. 1201.227
April 19th, 2020
Research essay
Music therapy: Pros and Cons
Music is one of the most powerful tools in our world today. It can be a tool to destroy, or a tool to build, can form bonds of friendship or conflict with one another. But most often than not music can be a tool to help those in need with social issues such as anxiety, depression, suicide, and many more issues. Now, many doctors would prescribe patients with pharmaceutical drugs to deal with the pain but requires patients to spend a very excessive amount of money to afford the medical and therapeutic treatment many patients need. Now playing the devils advocate, music can open doorways depending on how the audience interprets the lyrics, in fact many people believe that the music today is causing more problems than before, but nevertheless music has been source for many of those in need. So today I will be addressing the connection between music and mental illness, how it can be beneficial to people dealing with psychological issues.
Now I love music, I have come from environments where I have seen many things at a young age, things that I shouldn’t have seen at a young age, I have seen violence, people getting arrested and I have even seen death that have made me so afraid to go outside. And it never got better as time moved on, but once I learned the true purpose of music through my mother, I was able to find sense a peace and tranquility as I was able to navigate my life. I found that music helped me a lot more than any prescription drugs given to me to help cope with my depression and anxiety. I have also seen people very close to me battle depression and mental illnesses such as suicide, and every single person that I have come across that have all told me that listening to music by the artists they love helps them reduce the stress because they are somehow connected with the artist emotions that they pour into the song, they get a sense of understanding and a sense of comfort to know that you are not alone in the fight of whatever you are going through. It is said that listening to more uplifting and cheerful songs give the intended listener a more positive self-esteem and energy. In fact, according to Abbey Dvorak of the article “Music Therapy in Mental Health for Illness Management and Recovery.” The author addresses that the use of our technological advancements combined with music can help more patients in the future with music for those who struggle with mental illness. The author also addresses the adaptation of therapy and the use of music through his experience and that he implies that the adaptation will continue as things progress.
This journal article discusses the evolution of therapy from the perspective of the author and in certain universities and colleges, all of which discuss the change and comparison of regular therapy sessions and adding music to their therapy sessions, all of which say that the change of approach, and adding music to their sessions has been an improvement on how the students and patients are dealing with social and mental issues.
Music has been the vocal point for discussing issues going on about mental illness, for example the 2017 song “1-800-273-8255” by logic is a song about mental illness, in fact the title of the song is actually the suicide prevention hotline used to help those in need of comfort and guidance. But some doctors still distribute prescription drugs because most doctors and therapist still haven’t practice music in their therapy sessions, knowing the it can improve the results of more patients feeling better mentally and emotionally. With music being such a large tool to discuss the issues that we as a nation face today it is hard to combat the issue of music not being a benefit to civilians battling with mental illness and social issues, but there are some who still prefer the use of prescription drugs from doctors and regularly routine therapy sessions.
To continue forth, as some prescription drugs proved to be useless against certain patients and civilians with mental illnesses and depression, it is safe to say that the power of music has proved to be more beneficial and provide better results in reducing stress and anxiety as well as other mental illnesses. Therefore, it safe to say that the use of music in therapy sessions should be pushed as the more effective way of reducing anxiety, depression, and many other issues conflicting the mind and emotions of the average human being. It Is proven that the use of music brings about a sense of purpose and self-creativity according to Kristin Berre Ørjasæter from food source science, saying; “We found that having access to an illness-free zone where the emphasis was on the creative processes created a sense of belonging, skills-development and self-discovery.” I think that this quote is very significant because this portion of the text from Ms. Ørjasæter’s passage discusses the importance of building a strong character and providing students, children, etc. the ability to carve their own identity and purpose into the world and from the author passage from food source science, the author explains how important it is to have music installed to the students and children.
I for one am an example of that statement above, being a musician, the use if music has opened doorways to my creativity just as much if not more than it has helped me deal with social issues such as depression and anxiety. The use of music has helped me with school as well such as studying, it made me study with far more results than the conventional methods of studying originally. I think that the author provides a great understanding to her statement above because her statement is regarding her experience from universities in Australia But with the use of music helping in a more social environment, what is it about the use of music that can help in the therapeutic field?
Now medical drugs may be beneficial for some of the population but think of the problems over the years starting with the opioid crisis. Doctors who distributed opioids are now coming to the news and finally claiming responsibility for the addictions of opioids for those that aren’t even in need of medical assistance. Think back to Kanye west, although some may see him as a bit eccentric and a little unorthodox, he is a candidate to speak on the issues with the opioid crisis. If you look back to his infamous TMZ interview, he openly admits to being addicted to opioids after his confession to him getting liposuction.
So, with all that being said, what can we do as a nation to push the use of music into therapy and more in our social environment to help with social issues and mental illnesses? The fact is many of the therapist and doctors haven’t practice the art of music in their field of study, so how can we as a collective group help these issues come to pass?
Well for one, what we should do is invest in programs around creative arts such as music to our schools and students. There are some schools that have cut the programs of choirs and after school activities that gave student a sense of relaxation and improves a student’s self-esteem. I understand that some schools have to cut budgets to keep schools available and that most of the results vary depending on the people and intended audiences, but that would result in most jobs being laid off and many more problems being caused than solved. I say that this is one of the many ways we can invest music into therapy because according to the researchers from the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection after conducting a series of experiments have determined that the self-esteem of those involved have changed dramatically and was recommended to other therapists. The instructions of the experiment are much similar to a focus group ranging from people who were from Australia and New Zealand, where a gathering of selected people was to listen to a selection of music and analyze the lyrics of the songs of various genres. By the end of the experiments, the volunteers involved experienced joy and an improvement of their self-esteem by the end of it. The significance of this experiment, and the purpose of this is to determine if the persons emotion change based on the genre of the music, and the style of the song. By that I mean the lyrics of the songs that were given to the people involved in the experiment. I think that the experiment further explains how the different style of music can improve your behavior more than prescription drugs that are given to patients by doctors.
So in conclusion, I believe that music should be invested into therapy more than prescriptions given by doctors and that it can cause less stress and mental issues depending on the genre of the music based on the experiment from the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection by a series of conductors to determine this outcome. I have witness people battle with mental illnesses and battle things such as depression, anxiety, etc. and they have all used the power of music to relieve them of their negative and pessimistic energies and vibes inside. I hope that by the end of this you get a better understanding of how much music can be beneficial to the public more than prescriptions and medication.
Work Cited
Dvorak, Abbey L., et al. “Music Therapy in Mental Health for Illness Management and Recovery.” Journal of Music Therapy, vol. 54, no. 3, Fall 2017, pp. 362–367. Cinahl Complete. DOI 10.1093/jmt/thx008. Accessed 18. February 2020.
Grocke, D., et al. “Group Music Therapy for Severe Mental Illness: A Randomized Embedded-Experimental Mixed Methods Study.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, vol. 130, no. 2, Aug. 2014, pp. 144–153. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. DOI:10.1111/acps.12224. Accessed 18. February 2020.
Hense, Cherry, and Katrina Skewes McFerran. “Promoting Young People’s Musical Identities to Facilitate Recovery from Mental Illness.” Journal of Youth Studies, vol. 20, no. 8, Oct. 2017, pp. 997–1012. SocINDEX with Full Text. DOI: 10.1080/13676261.2017.1287888. Accessed 18. February 2020.
Hirsch, Lily E. ..author. Segregating Sound : Robert Schumann in the Third Reich. Oxford University Press, 2011. Oxford Scholarship Online DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393859.003.0004. accessed 18. February 2020.
Hourigan, Ryan M., and Alice M. Hammel. “Understanding the Mind of a Student with Autism in Music Class.” Music Educators Journal, vol. 104, no. 2, Dec. 2017, pp. 21–26. ERIC. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0027432117732386 Accessed 18. February 2020.
McCord, Kimberly A. ..author. Psychiatric Disorders. Oxford University Press, 2017. Oxford Scholarship Online DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467760.003.0007.. Accessed 18. February 2020.
.
Mcferran, Katrina Skewes, author, and Cherry, author Hense. “I Would Die Without My Music” : Relying on Musical Identities to Cope with Difficult Times. Oxford University Press, 2017. Oxford Scholarship Online DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199679485.003.0036.. Accessed 18. February 2020
JACKSON, NANCY A. “Music Therapy and Chronic Mental Illness: Overcoming the Silent Symptoms.” Music Therapy Perspectives, vol. 33, no. 2, July 2015, pp. 90–96. CINAHL Complete. http://dx.doi.org.sinclair.ohionet.org/10.1093/mtp/miv017. Data accessed 18. February 2020
Ørjasæter, Kristin Berre, et al. “‘I Now Have a Life!’ Lived Experiences of Participation in Music and Theater in a Mental Health Hospital.” PLoS ONE, vol. 13, no. 12, Dec. 2018, pp. 1–15. Food Science Source. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209242. accessed 27th February 2020.
Standley, Jayne M., and Ciele Gutierrez. “Benefits of a Comprehensive Evidence-Based NICU-MT Program: Family-Centered, Neurodevelopmental Music Therapy for Premature Infants.” Pediatric Nursing, vol. 46, no. 1, Jan. 2020, pp. 40–46. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. 141665031. Accessed 18. February 2020.
Straus, Joseph N. ..author. Madness. Oxford University Press, 2018. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190871208.003.0004. Accessed 18. February 2020.
Silverman, Michael J. “Staff and Administrators’ Perceptions of Music Therapy with Acute Care Mental Health Inpatients: A Qualitative Investigation.” Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, vol. 13, no. 2, Apr. 2018, pp. 206–219. SocINDEX DOI: 10.1080/15401383.2017.1360815.. Accessed 18. February 2020
Silverman, Michael J. “Implementing a Music Therapy Program at a New 72-Hour Acute Psychiatric Admissions Unit: A Case Study of a Patient Who Was Malingering.” Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, vol. 4, no. 1, Jan. 2009, pp. 17–31. SocINDEX. DOI: 10.1080/15401380802672518. Accessed 18. February 2020.
Staff, TMZ. “TMZ Live: The Full Kanye West Episode.” TMZ, TMZ, 17 June 2019, www.tmz.com/2018/05/02/tmz-live-kanye/. Accessed 18 February. 2020
NEP Research Paper x
Choi 2
Danial Choi
Vicki Stalbird
English 1201.227
27 March 2020
The Benefits of a NEP in America
The needle exchange program (NEP) has been an effective program that has helped people who inject drugs (PWID) and the community. Even though the program has been getting positive results, there is still states in America that does not have a NEP available due to exposure of drugs and morals. Despite the negative feedbacks, the NEP has proven studies and results that has either helped or change the lives of PWID. The NEP needs to be provided throughout the United States because of the reduction of blood transmitted diseases, provided facilities that offer a safe place for injection and other services, and financial benefits
The NEP is a community-based organization which prioritize safer injection methods for PWID. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they define the NEP as a program that provides access to clean needles and syringes for PWID. By providing clean needles, the risk of getting a blood transmitted disease is lowered. An article titled Politics Are Tricky but Science Is Clear: Needle Exchanges Work written by Austin Frankt quotes, “Evidence abounds that they work. A study of the first American program — started in the Tacoma, Wash., area in 1988 — found that use of the exchange was associated with a greater than 60 percent reduction in the risk of contracting hepatitis B or C.” Results for having a NEP has been positive and their services are growing.
A statistical quote from Avert.org, article titled People Who Inject Drugs, HIV and AID states that, “…there are approximately 11.8 million people who inject drugs worldwide, and 13.1% of them are thought to be living with HIV. Three countries account for nearly half of all people who inject drugs globally – China, Russia and the United States.” Though addiction to drugs is an underlying problem, the bigger problem is the use of unsterile needles. PWID are probably unaware about injecting a used needle that could give them a blood transmitted disease (BTD). It is after they inject, they will start to feel ill or even unaware they have HIV until they get a screening.
One of the NEP’s mission is to reduce BTD like HIV, Hepatitis B and C. For PWID, the easiest way to get infected is the use of a used needle. Raynald Joseph states that through the shared use of needles and other injecting equipment, HCV is transmitted with ease with just a minuscule amount of blood from infected to uninfected person (Joseph et al. 31). Though the NEP cannot stop PWID from injecting, they still want injectors to inject more safely. To reduce the spread of BTD, NEP’s are providing sterile needles to give to PWID’s. To gain access for new needles, PWID is ordered to hand in old used needles and in exchange for brand new needles.
Since the start of NEP’s, BTD has been reduced significantly. An article in cdc.gov titled Access to Clean Syringe quotes, “An evaluation examining the District of Columbia’s lift of the Congressional ban on syringe exchange programs, which allowed the D.C. Department of Health to initiate an exchange program, showed a 70 percent decrease in new HIV cases among IDU and a total of 120 HIV cases averted in two years.” This study states that in 2 years, HIV has decreased by 70%. Another study done by George Washington University titled Syringe exchange programs prevented of new HIV cases in Philadelphia, Baltimore in eurekalert.org quotes, The researchers found that policies to allow syringe exchange programs to operate averted 10,592 new cases of HIV in Philadelphia and 1,891 new cases of HIV in Baltimore over a ten-year period.” Even though the NEP is unable to stop the injecting, they are still reducing the spread of BTD at an efficient rate.
Despite the success rate for NEP’s, there are still other states and that does/will not provide an NEP. Even though they have access to results and studies, it is not convincing enough to establish one. The risk of not having a NEP can cause injectors to be at risk for BTD, even the suspension of an operable NEP can raise the risk. Sean T. Allen states there is a new era of higher change for BTD and even overdose dues to the suspension of a NEP, basically changing the public health scape for PWID in Charleston, West Virginia (Allen et al. 9). There can also be risk if the NEP were to be more restrictive in giving out sterile needle. A study in Baltimore revealed that the risk of HIV and HCV will rise if the population does not have access or gaining less syringes (Sherman et al. 641-642). NEP needs to be available in order to help PWID but also to reduce BTD.
Reducing BTD and exchanging used needles for sterile, the NEP has a lot more benefits provided for PWID. Most NEP’s provide their own facility for PWID to inject their drugs, referring users to substance use disorder treatment programs, screening and treatments for blood transmitted diseases, educating about overdose prevention and safer injection practice, vaccinations, and referrals to social and mental health, along with other medical services. Some PWID comes to NEP’s for their other services besides exchanging needles. To quote Joan MacNeil, “Such connections assisted clients to dealing with the many uncertainties in their lives (MacNeil at al. 30).”
One benefit the NEP provides for PWID is the use of their facilities to inject. Instead of PWID injecting somewhere dangerous, the NEP prefers they inject in their own facilities, so they can monitor the injections. The use of injecting in a facility has made PWID feel safer and feel as if they are not getting judged by the community. In fact, an article that was published in Canada explains that PWID are beginning to get stigmatized for the use of illegal drugs due to a moral issue rather a health issue, which is viewing them as an undeserving and unworthy citizen (Macneil et al. 26-27). This kind of attack or pressure will make any PWID feel depressed, anxious, and probably scared, but the NEP has provided their own facilities for this issue.
The use of NEP facilitates for PWID has been helpful and feeling safe from the negative thoughts of society. Macneil states, “All of the clients accessing the needle exchange services unanimously described the needle exchange as a safe haven in an often-unsafe world characterized by stigma and other harms associated with street drug use (Macneil et al. 29).” Another study has shown that the consistency of visiting a NEP has made PWID were less likely to share or reuse needles and have a personal connection with the staff (Clarke et al. 399). It is the NEP that is helping PWID feel comfortable in their battle with drug addiction.
Besides gaining needles, the PWID goes to the NEP for their other services. Other services that NEP provides, according to the CDC, are referring to disorder treatment programs, education about overdoes prevention and safer injection practices, and referral to social, mental health, and other medical services. In fact, Macneil quotes, “Supportive counselling and access to HIV, hepatitis C and sexually transmitted infection testing, and information were also available at all the sites. (Macneil et al. 30).” These services are provided to help PWID and to reduces BTD.
Though the NEP is providing a service for PWID, they are also doing what they can to help the community. Used needles are getting littered and not getting thrown away, which can be a danger for the community. Raynald explains that HCV can be dormant and can be highly contagious for as long as 6 weeks (Raynald et al. 31). Used needles can be a threat, even when one is seen randomly and not discarded properly, which is why the NEP is providing services. Joshua Sabatini, writer or The San Francisco Examiner, published an article on April 2019, titled City increases efforts to collect used needles as part of needle exchange program, explains that the AIDS Foundation and The City, launched a team to pick up needles, collecting 90,879 needles in the first six months. With needle collecting, the NEP are trying to help the community along with PWID.
With all the benefits and success rate for the NEP, it is also proven to be able to save money. The price of buying a needle can outweigh the price of BTD treatment. Joel Sjever, writer for The St. Louis American, published an article on January 2020, titled Needle exchange programs save money and lives, quotes, “Preventing HIV through needle exchange programs can cost between $4,000 to $12,000 but treating a patient with HIV can cost as much as $190,000.” The NEP’s prevention of BTD is also being financially beneficial. The same article by Joel Sjever also quotes, “A 10-year overview of Philadelphia found that their NEP Prevention Point prevented 10,592 cases of HIV. The savings were calculated using $230,000 per lifetime HIV costs and found to save Philadelphia $2.4 billion over ten years.” Having the NEP can save money for the long term.
Being able to save money for the taxpayers is beneficial, but the NEP is still not able to gain federal funding because the NEP is not eliminating the stop of drug use. Weinmeyer explains, “The federal ban on NEPs began in 1988, after North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms equated NEPS with a federal endorsement of drug abuse and led Congress to enact a prohibition on the use of federal funds for such programs (Weinmeyer 253).” Though times has changed, there has still been dramatical proof, that though the use of drugs is still vivid, the reduction of BTD has risen.
Federal funding has been a major issue for NEP, not being able to gain full beneficial standards that may help them gain better services for PWID. The government still has the issue of the morality of the NEP, even though BTD has been reduced and PWID are learning about harm reduction and getting tested for BTD. A study in 2018 states that, “In the case of syringe exchange, researchers have argued that science has clashed for decades with morality and ideology, leading to a stalemate between two sides talking past one another. (Showalter 95).” Scientific research and morality have been in the way for federal funding. Along with that, social worker who want to be part of the NEP, is unable to, due to lack of funding. A study by Clarke states, “This may be due to the ban on federal funding, lack of social workers at community-based programs, and prevailing view that needle exchange promotes drug use (Clarke et al. 401).”
Though the NEP is having its battle with gaining federal funding, it is not illegal to have a NEP. In fact, despites the continuous battle on the ban of federal funds from 1988 to 2015, there is over two hundred operable NEP’s in the United States (Showalter 95). Though there are many NEP’s available, there are still states in the US that still does not have a NEP. Weinmeyer states that, “33 states in this country have banned the practice (including Indiana) as of June 2014 and federal law has long prohibited the US government from funding NEPs (Weinmeyer 252).” Of those 33 states, most of them are leaning or fully Republican, however, because of proven research and epidemic events, they have resorted to do NEP.
Many years has passed for the battle of federal funding for NEP’s. Republicans has been pressing hard on the ban but has been slowly accepting the fact that the NEP works. Victoria Knight published an article in USA Today on May 2019 titled Needle exchanges find new champions among Republicans, quoted Republican Houston Gaines, stating about the NEP, “But the medical and science community has shown that this works. My hope is as Republicans, we can always be willing to embrace programs and ideas if they’re proven to work.” This statement has proven that the NEP does work and has opened the eyes of Republicans.
Another reason why the NEP is slowly gaining favor for Republicans is the epidemics like BTD being on the rise. An example of an epidemic rise was published by the same article in USA Today by Victoria Knight, stating a 2015 outbreak of HIV that was connected to PWID in Scotts County, Indiana, which is a strong republican state, having 150 people diagnosed with HIV in a 24,000 rural population. This epidemic led to a state of emergency and allowed temporal acceptance for and NEP.
The proven studies of the effectiveness of a NEP during BTD epidemics has led Republicans to accept the fact that NEP works. Victoria Knight also adds in the article in USA Today, that “Following President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he wants to end the HIV epidemic, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar expressed his support for needle exchanges.” Also including from the article that, “Other Republican-leaning states also passed legislation allowing needle exchanges — Kentucky and Ohio in 2015, North Carolina in 2016 and Louisiana, North Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia in 2017.”
The results show for themselves, now that the NEP is gaining favor amongst both political parties in the United States. Showalter explains that, “…politicians who had argued for years to keep the ban in place were persuaded to change their position because of evidence of new injection-related HIV outbreaks among their own constituencies (Showalter 96).” Federal funding for NEP’s has slightly changed but is not getting as much. Weinmeyer states that, “The use of federal money to pay for sterile syringes is still prohibited, but funds can now be used to pay for other aspects of NEPs, including personnel, vehicles, gas, rent, and other expenditures needed to keep NEPs operational (Weinmeyer 255).” Though it is not much, but this small change has shown that the works of the NEP is gaining the needed attention it deserves.
The NEP is fighting hard to do their job in reducing BTD in the United States, but they are also battling issues raised by those who do not think the NEP is a necessity. Though there are issues like morality, the rising of drugs being sold to PWID, enforcing law upon the drugs, drug abuse because of provided needles, and an influence upon children using drugs, they also have services to either prevent, assist, and cope with a PWID. Despite the actuality of advocating the use of drugs, their main concern is to reduce BTD and has proven to do so. The NEP should be provided throughout the United States because of the positive results for reducing BTD, a safe haven for PWID and also providing other services, and the saving of taxpayer’s money.
Work Cited
Allen, Sean T., et al. “Understanding the Public Health Consequences of Suspending a Rural Syringe Services Program: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of People Who Inject Drugs.” Harm Reduction Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, May 2019, pp. 1–10. Directory of Open Access Journals, doi:10.1186/s12954-019-0305-7. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Clarke, Kris, et al. “The Significance of Harm Reduction as a Social and Health Care Intervention for Injecting Drug Users: An Exploratory Study of a Needle Exchange Program in Fresno, California.” Social Work in Public Health, vol. 31, no. 5, Aug. 2016, pp. 398–407. MEDLINE with Full Text, doi:10.1080/19371918.2015.1137522. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Frakt, Austin. “Politics Are Tricky but Science Is Clear: Needle Exchanges Work.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/upshot/politics-are-tricky-but-science-is-clear-needle-exchanges-work.html. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
GWtweets. “Syringe Exchange Programs Prevented Thousands of New HIV Cases in Philadelphia, Baltimore.” EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/gwu-sep102919.php. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Joseph, Raynald, et al. “Hepatitis C Prevention and Needle Exchange Programs in Rhode Island: ENCORE.” Rhode Island Medical Journal, vol. 97, no. 7, July 2014, pp. 31–34.
Academic Search Complete, doi:10.1080/19371918.2015.1137522. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Knight, Victoria. “Needle Exchanges Find New Champions among Republicans.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 8 May 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/08/needle-exchange-programs-more-accepted-republican-states/1139672001/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Macneil, Joan and Bernadette, Pauly. “Needle Exchange as a Safe Haven in an Unsafe World.” Drug & Alcohol Review, vol. 30, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 26–32. SPORTDiscus with Full Text, doi:10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00188.x. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Syringe-Exchange Programs Are Part of Effective HIV Prevention.” NIDA, 1 Dec. 2016, www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2016/12/syringe-exchange-programs-are-part-effective-hiv-prevention. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Sabatini, Joshua. “City Increases Efforts to Collect Used Needles as Part of Needle Exchange Program.” The San Francisco Examiner, The San Francisco Examiner, 8 Apr. 2019, www.sfexaminer.com/the-city/city-increases-efforts-to-collect-used-needles-as-part-of-needle-exchange-program/. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Sherman, Susan G., et al. “Consequences of a Restrictive Syringe Exchange Policy on Utilisation Patterns of a Syringe Exchange Program in Baltimore, Maryland: Implications for HIV Risk.” Drug & Alcohol Review, vol. 34, no. 6, Nov. 2015, pp. 637–644.
SPORTDiscus with Full Text, doi:10.1111/dar.12276. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Showalter, David. “Federal Funding for Syringe Exchange in the US: Explaining a Long-Term Policy Failure.” International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 55, May 2018, pp. 95–104. ScienceDirect, doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.02.006. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Sjerven, Joel. “Needle Exchange Programs Save Money and Lives.” St. Louis American, 1 Jan. 2020, www.stlamerican.com/your_health_matters/health_opinion/needle-exchange-programs-save-money-and-lives/article_9553096c-2b62-11ea-a322-53fc6dc66c61.html. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
Weinmeyer, Richard. “Needle Exchange Programs’ Status in US Politics.” Journal of Ethics | American Medical Association, American Medical Association, 1 Mar. 2016, journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/needle-exchange-programs-status-us-politics/2016-03. MEDLINE with Full Text, doi: 10.1001/journalofethics.2017.18.3.hlaw1-1603. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.
question.rtf
Then respond to four of your classmates. Try to choose drafts that need responses to help balance them out. Answer the following questions for each draft:
Does the paper meet requirements? Are there eight sources quoted in the paper with a minimum of three scholarly sources? Does it meet the minimum page requirements? (The paper should be a minimum of eight pages of text before the graphic is added and without the works cited pages.) If the essay is short the required length, what does the writer needs to add? Don’t just say add detail. Give some examples of the kinds of detail.
Is the MLA formatting correct? What needs changed/worked?
Are the sources cited correctly? What need to be changed?
Does the paper open smoothly (i.e. with a series of rhetorical questions, a compelling short story, shocking statistic) and in a way that makes you want to read more? If yes, what do you find especially effective? If not, suggest a way this author could start the paper.
Is there a clear thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph? Do you find this claim to be clear? Interesting? Innovative? What do you especially find compelling about the thesis? What needs work?
Do all the points in the paper relate to the thesis statement? If not, explain where the writer loses focus or gets off track.
Is the paper well organized? Can you follow it easily? Does the organization make sense in light of the overall argument?
Is the argument situated/analyzed within appropriate socio-economic, political, cultural and historical contexts? What do you need to know more about in order to appreciate the paper’s thesis? Where do you need more background information? Be specific.
Are sources appropriately integrated, introduced, and cited? What needs to be changed?
Does the writer acknowledge and address various viewpoints?
Suggest at least two specific ways this person could improve the paper.
How about grammar and mechanics? What needs work?
Research Paper Rough Draft x
Spaeth 1
Spaeth 2
Adam Spaeth
Professor Stalbird
ENG 1201.227
31 March 2020
Working Memory: How to Make it Work for You
Learning disabilities in the United States cause one in five college students to struggle in school (The State of LD: Understanding the 1 in 5). To put that number into perspective, in 2018 there were 14.53 million total college students enrolled in public and private colleges (Statista.com). College can be stressful and for the students with learning disabilities that stress is multiplied and often presents itself as test anxiety. Memory capacity seems to be a factor in test anxiety, specifically working memory or short-term memory. Recent research suggests that working memory therapy can be an effective tool for college students that struggle with learning disabilities and test anxiety.
Have you ever wondered why you can remember something that happened a decade ago, but cannot remember where you placed your car keys last night? I think we can all relate to this scenario, or something very similar. What is happening here is that our brain stores memories in different places. Long-term memory has a much larger capacity than short-term, or working, memory and if something from the working memory is rehearsed often enough, it becomes a long-term memory (Burmester). Think of learning how to ride a bike, for instance. Taking those training wheels off is terrifying, but you kept trying every time you fell off the bike and when you finally got the hang of it, you never forgot how. Hence the saying, “it’s like riding a bike.” Learning to ride a bike exemplifies the process of transitioning working memory tasks into the much larger long-term memory storage.
Neuroscience is constantly developing new theories and models of how memories are stored in our brain. Back in 1968 researchers theorized the “multi-store model” memory function. According to Saul Mcleod, in his article titled “Working Memory,” the multi-store model, “short-term memory holds limited amounts of information for short periods of time with relatively little processing.” This “multi-store” model was eventually rejected when researchers learned that the short-term memory is more than just one unitary system of limited memory. Now, instead of calling it “short-term” memory, it is referred to as “working memory” and is considered to have three sub-systems within itself such as the central executive function that drives the whole system, the visuospatial sketchpad that stores information in visual or spatial form, and the phonological loop which deals with written and spoken material, as shown in figure 1 (Mcleod).
Figure 1. (Mcleod)
Hopefully memory no longer seems to be a simple process that the brain does on its own after looking at the chart above. The point that matters in the context of learning disabilities and test anxiety is that there are many different systems working together in the brain and any deficit to one or more systems will cause the overall performance of memory functions to decline. According to an article titled “How does Working Memory Work in the Classroom?”, written by Tracy Packiam Alloway, “impairments of working memory are closely associated with learning deficits, as well as daily classroom activities.” Learning disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder affect one in five students in the United States and can lead to severe test anxiety (The State of LD: Understanding the 1 in 5). Working memory training is becoming a more mainstream therapy for students that suffer from learning disabilities and can even improve a student’s overall intelligence. The intelligence quotient, or “IQ,” is the commonly known measure of one’s overall intelligence. In an article published in Psychology Today, titled “Training Working Memory: Why and How,” William Klemm claims that improved working memory skills corelates with a higher IQ by stating that “the more you can hold in working memory, the more information the brain has to think with, that is, the smarter it can be.” Working memory has never been more exciting and heavily studied. Neuroscience has also hinted that the working memory may be the key to understanding human consciousness itself (Burmester).
Medications for learning disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder can be addictive and cause other health problems such as weight loss and nervousness. Yes, in the short-term they can be effective and seem to have positive results. What about the long-term though? Chemicals can damage the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is where the memory functions happen (Mcleod). Keeping the brain active through brain games and puzzles is a good way to improve the function of the working memory, especially in children and people with age-related dementia. Emily Williams claims that “individuals who engaged in word puzzles had consistently better short-term memory, reasoning, and attentiveness than those who did not engage in such activities” in her article titled “Can You Improve Your Memory with Brain Games?” Working memory training can simply consist of games and puzzles and if a student is consistent with their brain workout the benefits can be long lasting and prevent memory impairments such as age-related dementia later in life (Williams). Working memory training, if formally conducted with a speech therapist, involves various memory tasks such as executive function skills like planning a mock event, listening to a story and memorizing it while the patient is instructed on a different memory task such as reciting spoken numbers up to 15 digits and then going back to the initial story and trying to recall the important information. This may sound easy in theory, but it really gives the brain a workout and studies have shown that this type of memory workout can benefit other areas that the typical person with my suffer with such as test anxiety and impulsive decision making to name a few.
Working memory training was initially thought to only impact a patient’s working memory skills. In her article titled “Working Memory Training Improves Visual Short-Term Memory,” Hillary Schwarb explains that people’s individual differences in cognition can be predictors of how they will perform different memory tasks. She explains this reason as important factor in future research of working memory. Theses predictors allow researcher to understand how people differ cognitively and use those markers to provide a more precisely targeted regimen of therapy to the individual patient. According to the article, “researchers have promoted the enticing possibility that simple behavioral training can expand the limits of working memory which indeed may also lead to improvements on other cognitive processes as well” (Schwarb). This is an exciting statement and provides hope for students that suffer with not only declined working memory tasks, but anxiety symptoms associated with testing at school, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and the depression that comes with declining grades and poor performance in school.
I was introduced to working memory training by my case manager at the Dayton Veterans Affairs hospital when I made the decision to go back to school after a ten-year hiatus. As a student with a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, I was quite nervous about going back to school and have experienced the debilitating anxiety that comes with test taking. When I met the speech therapist and started the initial process of memory tests and executive function task exercises, I felt even more freaked out about school because I did not do well at all on the tasks at first. The speech therapist ensured me that everyone walks out of the office feeling humiliated with embarrassment after the first few sessions and promised me that if I stuck to it that I would see improvements very soon. After a year of meeting with my speech therapist once every two weeks and using a phone app that she suggested with puzzles and mind games, I am amazed by the results. My confidence level alone has substantially reduced my test anxiety and reduced worry about my performance. The improvements in my working memory were only the root benefits and over time they transferred to positively impact the other areas of my school experience that had previously been a thorn in my side such as the anxiety, depression, and sometimes panic over a full-time college course load.
Some students are born with certain learning disabilities and unfortunately some disabilities are created by life choices such as drug use. It is commonly known that illicit drug use has a negative impact on the short-term or working memory. In a study conducted by Samantha Brooks titled “The Impact of Cognitive Training in Substance Use Disorder: The Effect of Working Memory Training on Impulse Control in Methamphetamine Users,” published in Psychopharmacology journal, Brooks states that “Working memory training improves impulsivity and self-regulation in psychiatric disorders.” Typical therapies alone, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, have been effective tools to target the unhealthy thoughts that lead to unacceptable behavior and learn how to slow the process of thoughts down in order to create enough time to challenge the thought and change it before an action. Working memory training is a potentiator for this type of therapy and benefits the patient in a positive way.
Test anxiety is something that everyone in school faces very often to some extent. However, students that struggle with learning disabilities tend to feel this anxiety no matter how well they know the subject. Test anxiety can be debilitating for some students and have an extreme impact on their test scores and overall learning experience. This type of anxiety at school can lead to the student losing self-confidence and spread like an infection to negatively impact the overall school experience. Without getting help, this lack of self-confidence and fear of test taking can be enough to make a student give up and withdraw from school. In the findings of a research study, Julie Hadwin and Helen Richards suggest that “working memory training has similar benefits to a more traditional cognitive behavioral therapy intervention on reduced anxiety and attentional biases for threat,” in their article titled “Working Memory Training and CBT Reduces Anxiety Symptoms and Attentional Biases to Threat: A Preliminary Study.” There are multitudes of research currently being conducted in the area of the working memory, especially in students with attention deficit disorder.
Impulsivity is one of the common symptoms of attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Attention Deficit Hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a common learning disability that often goes un-diagnosed. Along with the negative effects on attention span in students with ADHD, they also tend to be more likely to make risky decisions on impulse. In a research study titled “Early Attentional Modulation by Working Memory Training in Young Adult ADHD Patients during a Risky Decision-Making Task” published by Jaquerod E. Manon in the Brain Sciences journal, Manon states that “the simple main effects on training level and working memory training were truly significant” (38), in the context of decision making. In this study, the researchers analyzed brain scan results through functional magnetic resonant imaging (FMRI) scans while the patient being studied is faced with risky gambling related tasks. The study concluded that the patients in the test group that received working memory training made less impulsive, or risky, decisions in their gambling compared to the control group that did not receive working memory training (Manon). This research proves that working memory training physically effects the brain in a positive way. The brain is a miraculous organ and with the right workout it can be a muscular force in our learning experience, but the catch is that the student must defy the stigmas surrounding learning disabilities.
Stigmas are a social construct that surround any type of personal disability. Sometimes people let pride blind them from speaking out or disclosing their personal deficiencies. In her article titled “Risk and Stigma: Students’ Perceptions and Disclosure of Disability in Higher Education, Sue Eccles states that “fear of disclosure is linked to issues of risk and stigma – that students will be negatively impacted on and/or that they will carry a ‘label’ which differentiates them from other students.” However, failure to disclose disabilities in college can exclude the student from the multiple resources available to students with disabilities. In our society it seems that people would rather save face than save their grades and ask for help. The negative attitude or stigmas about disabilities can “extend to other realms of an individual’s personality” (Gulgoona). In his article titled “Stereotypes about Adults with Learning Disabilities: Are Professionals a Cut Above the Rest?”, Jamal Gulgoona explains that “ignorance is not always bliss,” especially when considering learning disabilities. Awareness of the disability allows the person to isolate the issue and figure out how best to treat it. These stereotypes and stigmas unfortunately create blind spots for people that buy in to them.
For the students that are brave enough to speak out about their learning disability and ask for help at school, there are services available at most colleges that provide various types of accommodations and counseling to help set the student up for success regardless of their disability. The Disability Rights Movement helped lobby for certain laws about the inclusion of students with learning disabilities in regular classrooms and response to intervention (Kirby). These laws are intended to reduce the stigmas surrounding learning disabilities and special education, but because of the socially constructed views on disabilities it is still a challenge to make the choice to ask for help. Colleges typically offer four types of interventions for students with disabilities: Assistive technology, direct assistance, study strategy instruction, and comprehensive support (Zeng). In his article titled “A literature Review of Academic Interventions for College Students with Learning Disabilities,” Wen Zeng states that “in addition to offering direct assistance (e.g., content-based tutoring) disability services providers should also include instructions on functional skills (e.g., problem-solving, organizational skills) in their services.” These functional skills happen to be some of the key skillsets that rely on the working memory and can be improved through working memory training. Instead of only focusing on accommodating and working around students’ disabilities, colleges should also provide therapies that treat the actual conditions that the students are experiencing. The addition of a therapy such as working memory training in colleges could result in higher graduation rates.
Only 21.2% of students with learning disabilities decide to pursue a degree at a four-year college compared to 40% of students without any type of learning disability (DuPaul). The possibility of success for this 21.2% of students with learning disabilities is much different from the 40% of students without any type of learning disability. 24% of the students that have a learning disability and pursue a four-year degree do not even make it through the first year and 50.6% give up and drop out by the third year (Showers). In her article titled “Factors That Contribute to College Success for Students with Learning Disabilities,” Anne Showers states that “academic preparation was found to be important in predicting college success.” This academic preparation and guidance seem less prevalent in families with a lower socio-economic status and the addition of lower higher education expectations for these families results in a declination of success among students with learning disabilities (Showers). For these reasons, services such as working memory training should be available on site at college institutions for students with learning disabilities to narrow the gap between the rich and poor students. Not all students have health insurance that offers services such as speech therapy. More services available on site at colleges would open opportunities for disabled students and build confidence that they might not have previously had. The socio-economic variable in college success should not be part of any equation regarding educational success in such a great country like the United States where equality is among the values that founded our nation.
The future of research in the subject of memory and brain functions looks very bright. Improvements in the understanding of how the brain works are being made every day as the technology boom blazes the path for intelligent neuroscientists to find new ways to analyze the brain. Technology along with a reduction in stigmas surrounding learning disabilities will continue to level the playing field for those of us that fall into the 1 of 5 people with learning disabilities. Virtual reality has been an exciting addition to the possibilities of video gaming, but now there is exciting new research on the efficacy of using virtual reality in the classroom. In the subject of learning geometry via virtual reality, Hasan Altun states that “the learning process is more active, interesting and entertaining, especially for students with hyperactivity associated with learning disabilities, supporting their focusing and attention-sustaining behaviors, and as a natural consequence of this behavior, participants’ motivations can be increased dramatically,” in his article titled “The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Teaching Material on Geometry Related Problem Solving in Students with Learning Disabilities.” The growing technological advances in assistive learning technology seem to show that society is slowly becoming less stereotypical about people with learning disabilities which is a glimmer of hope for us 1 in 5 that struggle with not only our defects in learning, but the stigmas surrounding the brave feat of asking for help.
Works Cited:
Alloway, Tracy Packiam. “How Does Working Memory Work in the Classroom?” Educational Research and Reviews, vol. 1, no. 4, July 2006, pp. 134–139. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ903186&site=eds-live.
Altun, Hasan, and Gül KAHVECİ. “The Effectiveness OfVirtual Reality-Based Teaching Material on Geometry Related Problem Solving in Students with Learning Disabilities.” Necatibey Faculty of Education Electronic Journal of Science & Mathematics Education, vol. 13, no. 1, June 2019, pp. 460–482. Education Research Complete, doi:10.17522/balikesirnef.562047.
Brooks, Samantha, et al. “The Impact of Cognitive Training in Substance Use Disorder: The Effect of Working Memory Training on Impulse Control in Methamphetamine Users.” Psychopharmacology, vol. 234, no. 12, June 2017, pp. 1911–1921. Sport Discuss, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=123293924&site=eds-live. Accessed: 27 February 2020.
Burmester, Alex. “Working Memory: How You Keep Things in Mind Over the Short Term.” Scientific American, 5 June 2017. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/working-memory-how-you-keep-things-ldquo-in-mind-rdquo-over-the-short-term/. Accessed: 27 February 2020.
“College enrollment in the United States from 1965 to 2018 and projections up to 2029 for public and private colleges.” Statista, December 2019. https://www.statista.com/statistics/183995/us-college-enrollment-and-projections-in-public-and-private-institutions/. Accessed: 29 March 2020.
DuPaul, George J., et al. “College Students with ADHD and LD: Effects of Support Services on Academic Performance.” Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, vol. 32, no. 4, Nov. 2017, pp. 246–256. ERIC, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1159500&site=eds-live.
Eccles, Sue, et al. “Risk and Stigma: Students’ Perceptions and Disclosure of ‘Disability’ in Higher Education.” Widening Participation & Lifelong Learning, vol. 20, no. 4, Nov. 2018, pp. 191–208. Education Research Complete, doi:10.5456/NVPLL.20A.191.
Hadwin, Julie A., and Helen J. Richards. “Working Memory Training and CBT Reduces Anxiety Symptoms and Attentional Biases to Threat: A Preliminary Study.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 7 February 2016. APA Psych Info, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2016-19401-001&site=eds-live. Accessed 18 February 2020.
Jamal, Gulgoona. “Stereotypes about Adults with Learning Disabilities: Are Professionals a Cut Above the Rest?” Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, vol. 30, no. 2, Summer 2019, pp. 7–36. CINAHL Complete, doi:10.5463/dcid.v30i2.811.
Kirby, Moira. “Implicit Assumptions in Special Education Policy: Promoting Full Inclusion for Students with Learning Disabilities.” Child & Youth Care Forum, vol. 46, no. 2, Apr. 2017, pp. 175–191. Small Business Reference Center, doi:10.1007/s10566-016-9382-x.
Klemm, William R., “Training Working Memory: Why and How.” Psychology Today, 26 March 2012. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/memory-medic/201203/training-working-memory-why-and-how. Accessed: 18 February 2020.
Manon E. Jaquerod, et al. “Early Attentional Modulation by Working Memory Training in Young Adult ADHD Patients during a Risky Decision-Making Task.” Brain Sciences, no. 1, 2020, p. 38. Directory of Open Access Journals, doi:10.3390/brainsci10010038. Accessed: 27 February 2020.
Mcleod, Saul. “Working Memory.” Simply Psychology, 2012. https://www.simplypsychology.org/working%20memory.html. Accessed: 18 February 2020.
Schwarb, Hillary, et al. “Working Memory Training Improves Visual Short-Term Memory Capacity.” Psychological Research, vol. 80, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 128–148. Business Source Complete, doi:10.1007/s00426-015-0648-y. Accessed: 26 February 2020.
Showers, Anne H., and Jeremy W. Kinsman. “Factors That Contribute to College Success for Students with Learning Disabilities.” Learning Disability Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 2, May 2017, pp. 81–90. ERIC, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1139517&site=eds-live.
“The State of LD: Understanding the 1 in 5.” National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2 May 2017. https://www.ncld.org/news/newsroom/the-state-of-ld-understanding-the-1-in-5/. Accessed: 26 February 2020
Williams, Emily. “Can You Improve Your Memory with Brain Games?” Dignity Health, 21 February 2018. https://www.dignityhealth.org/articles/can-you-improve-your-memory-with-brain-games. Accessed: 20 February 2020.
Zeng, Wen, et al. “A Literature Review of Academic Interventions for College Students with Learning Disabilities.” Learning Disability Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 3, Aug. 2018, pp. 159–169. Learning Disability Quarterly, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1185340&site=eds-live. Accessed: 26 February 2020.