1) Children living in poverty experience significantly different brain development than children from higher socioeconomic statuses due to differences in emotional support, cognitive stimulation, stress levels, and health factors. 2) The developing brain is highly responsive to environmental influences, and poverty negatively impacts brain development through less language exposure and attachment relationships as well as higher stress levels. 3) However, the brain can change for the better with interventions like emotional support, skill-building, and accommodating their needs to reduce stress and promote learning.

1. Poverty
and
the
Brain
Barbara Toney 4/16/11
1

2. “Take Home Messages”
•Children of poverty
have significantly
different brains
• Their brains can
change for the better
You can help!
2

3. 4 Questions
1. What is Poverty?
2. Can and Do Brains Change
as a Result of Experience?
3. Do Children in Poverty Have Different
Experiences than
Higher SES Kids?
4. What can you do about the impact of
poverty in your classroom?
3

4. Number off 1-4 in your pod
Round Robin: Take turns addressing this
question in your group, starting with
person #3. Each person will make their
statement first 3,4,1,2. Then the
discussion is open.
4

5. Poverty is…
a chronic condition
characterized by the
1) synergistic effect of
multiple, adverse,
economic risk factors
(Atzaba-Poria et al. 2004)
2) lack of access to
basic human resources 5

6. B o in g !
Poverty is
actually NOT
about money..
If it was, that
would be
good news…
but it’s not.
6

7. • 20% (1 in 5) lives at or
below the poverty line.
Poverty (US Census 2000)
• The rate for poor children
Stats in single female
householder families
in 2001, is 39%.
(US Census 2002)
• Among children with
disabilities, 28% are poor
(vs. 16% non-poor).
(Fujiura Yamaki, 2000)
• Poverty is multicultural;
there are more poor
Anglos than Hispanics
or African Americans.
(US Census 2000)
7

8. Significant Risk Factors related to
Poverty
• Community violence
• Disabilities, chronic illness or delayed development
• Social isolation of families
• Parents’ lack of understanding of children’s needs
and child development
• Family disorganization, dissolution, and violence,
including partner abuse and substance abuse
• Parental stress and distress, including depression or
other mental health conditions
• Poor parent-child relationships and negative
interactions 8

9. Overview
1. What is Poverty?
2. Can and Do Brains Change as a
Result of Experience?
3. Do Children in Poverty Have
Different Experiences than
Higher SES Kids?
4. What can you do about the impact of
poverty in your classroom? 9

10. Kids “download”
the negatives of
chaos, disharmony,
poor relationships,
foul language,
poor manners, and
weak vocabulary
just as quickly
and just as
automatically
as they would
any positive or
enrichment input.
10

11. How Much Can Environments Affect
Gene Expression? Plenty!
11

12. Environmental influences can make
the difference.
There’s nearly a
2-1 advantage of
the potency of 66%
environmental
influences over
genetic ones. 34%
This suggests
hope for all
students! Genes - Environment
(Devlin, et al., 1997)
12

13. Overturning 100 years of Dogma:
Neurogenesis (birth of new brain cells)
• New labeling tools
allow researchers to
confirm the birth of
newly generated
neurons.
• Other studies showed
that many survive and
became functional
13

14. Neurogenesis
Enhanced by: Reduced by:
Exercise Distress
Complex Inactivity
Environments
Boredom
New Learning Depression
Nutrition Poor Nutrition
Low Stress
14

15. Overview
1. What is Poverty?
2. Can and Do Brains Change as a
Result of Experience?
3. Do Children in Poverty Have
Different Experiences than
Higher SES Kids?
4. What can you do about the impact
of poverty in your classroom?
15

16. ! !! !!
K !
E A
B R
16

17. Emotional Differences
Caregivers from poverty are less
likely to provide.
•Two stable relationships
•Attachment
•Attunement
•Quantity of time
•Quality of time
•Peaceful home life
17

18. Attachment is a critical process by which a
reliable emotional connection develops
between an infant and his/her primary
caregiver.
It’s the foundation for
development of basic trust or
mistrust, and it shapes how the
child will relate to the world,
learn and form relationships
throughout life.
18

19. Kids from poverty get less “Attunement”
time.
• Attunement is the
establishment of
a positive,
reciprocal,
harmonious
relationship with
the primary
caregiver.
19

20. The attunement process is Time-
Intensive
• Attunement requires loving caregivers with 100s of
interactions, emotional health and lots of patience.
• It’s also the ideal way that appropriate emotional
responses are learned.
• Attunement requires 30-90 min daily or from 3-10 hours a
week of quality time. Infants need far more than food,
water and diaper changes. Without attunement, they get
stressed.
20

21. Ho w d o e s o n e “d o ”
a t t u n e me n t ?
•Making f aces
•Word repeat s
•Mat ch gest ures
•Posit ive responses
•Hand puppet s
•Simple games ( pat - a- cake, hide ‘n
seek, et c. )
•30- 90 min daily f or 3- 10 hours/
week 21

22. Healthy Mirror Neurons Make
Humans Responsive to Others
In what ways can you positively influence your own state throughout the day?
22

23. We are “hard-wired” with only 6-8
emotions at birth.
• All other emotional states are learned. If
no one teaches us others, we end up with a
very narrow range of potential appropriate
emotional responses in a classroom. This
can create problems.
Fear Anger Sadness Joy
Disgust Surprise
23

24. T y p ic a l l y , k id s f r o m
p o v e r t y u s e f e we r
e mo t io n a l r e s p o n s e s
d a il y .
They may be missing:
• Humilit y
• Forgiveness
• Empat hy
• Compassion
• Sympat hy
• Pat ience
• Shame
• Cooperat ion
• Grat it ude. 24

25. • Being poor means less likelihood of Attunement
which means inappropriate emotional responses.
• This understanding is critical. Without quality
caregiving, a child may arrive at school with a
narrow and often inappropriate range of potential
emotional responses.
• Teachers may interpret the responses as “being
cold and callous” or “having an attitude’ when
that’s NOT what’s going on.
25

26. Misbehaviors and inappropriate emotional
displays are common
Teachers who discipline students often look
for emotional states that students simply
DON’T KNOW HOW to display. Some students
have not learned these at home:
Humility, Trust, Gratitude, Cooperation, Sorrow,
Affinity, Forgiveness
26

27. Stand up, Hand up, Pair up!
• Discuss with your partner:
What new insights does this information
about attachment, attunement and stunted
emotional development give you into the
behaviors of your students from poverty
27

28. Boing! Key Insight
• “The symptoms of poverty are not simply
states of mind; they actually change the
brain. Because neurons are designed to
reflect their circumstances, not to rise above
them, the monotonous stress of living in a
slum literally limits the brain.”
28

29. For those in poverty, nearly everything takes more
time
• Transportation
• Food gathering and prep
• Getting medical help
• Information gathering
• Locating and securing school help.
This creates a “poverty of time” that impacts children and
creates more stress!
29

30. Contrasting Experiences…
When compared to
their middle or
upper income
classmates,
what are children
of poverty more
likely to experience?
30

31. Areas of Contrast
Emotional Support
Cognitive Stimulation
Stress/Distress
Health Safety Issues
31

32. Emotional Support
Lower-income parents are less likely to:
• know their teachers by name
• know their child’s best worst subject
• know how their child is doing
(Benviste et al. 2003)
• be involved at school in multiple
activities (23% less)
(USDHHS 2000).
32

33. Emotional Support
Children of Poverty are More Likely to…
• Hear less responsive, fewer
supportive, less interactive
home conversations
(Hart and Risley 1995).
• Get less quality time
and less total time
from their parents or caregivers
(Fields and Casper 2001).
33

34. st do something”
“For all students ju
F ear Let’s p
r ractice
A n ge !
adn es s
S
J oy s t
gu
Dis i s e
Su rpr
34

35. Areas of Contrast
Emotional Support
Cognitive Stimulation
Stress/Distress
Health Safety Issues
35

36. Warning, Will Robinson!
Big Boing!!
Language influences
cognition
• The link between language
development and socioeconomic
status is strong. Higher SES toddlers
actually used more words in talking to
their parents than low SES mothers
used in talking to their own children.
36

37. Cognitive Stimulation
• Parents are less likely (3-4X) to begin conver-
sation just to maintain social contact or build
vocabulary (Hart Risley 1995).
• Kids watch far more hours of TV than their
above-poverty line peers; 20% watch 6+ hrs./day.
(Larson and Verma 1999)
• Children hear very different vocabulary; fewer
words and less of the complex ones. (Hoff 2003).
37

38. Vocabulary is Critical to Children
38

39. “Extras” for Learning
Poor families cannot afford:
• quality child care
• stimulating toys
• recreational books
• team uniform costs
• school supplies
• scouts or camp
• private music/dance lessons
(Posner Vandell, 1999; Sherman, 1994).
39

40. Areas of Contrast
Emotional Support
Cognitive Stimulation
Stress/Distress
Health Safety Issues
40

41. Cumulative Risk Factors:
• More stress= more impulsivity
41

42. Instability = Stressors
Children in poor families:
• move twice as often
• get evicted 5X as much
(Federman, et al. 1996)
• develop fewer social ties
• have greater chaos
and disruption
(Jensen et al. 1983)
• lose their jobs more
• worry about money more
(McLoyd, 1990)
42

43. Stress and Distress
• Chronic stress is known as distress
• Poor children are exposed to more
stressors, more intense stressors,
longer lasting stressors and have
fewer coping skills than their
higher SES counterparts
43

44. Distress/Threat Changes Blood
Flow in the Brain
Less blood flow to
places in the brain
(dorsal area of
frontal lobes)
that do future
planning… and
more blood flow to
areas that process
emotions, leaving
fewer options for
more thoughtful
decision-making.
44

45. Effects of Chronic Stress
Emotional problems
(Burgess et al., 1995)
Lowers IQ, reading scores
(Delaney-Black, et al. 2002)
Memory loss
(Lupien, et al. 2001)
Shortens dendrites
(Cook and Wellman, 2004), (Brown, et al. 2005)
Neuron death
(De Bellis, et al.,2001)
Inappropriate attachments 45

46. Effects of Environmental Distress
on the Birth of New Brain Cells
Greater Stress = Fewer Neurons
46

47. Leisure De-Stressing
Lower SES families are
less likely to have
opportunities to
de-stress such as:
1) longer vacations,
fun experiences
2) restaurant meals,
catering, splurges
3) massage, spa
therapy, Jacuzzi
47

48. Areas of Contrast
Emotional Support
Cognitive Stimulation
Stress/Distress
Health Safety Issues
48

49. • The brain is most Nutrition
susceptible to the effects of
poor nutrition during the a
and
early years of brain Poverty
development.
(Georgieff and Rao 2001)
• Elevated utility bills in a
cold winter are inversely
related to quality of
nutritional intake in low-
income infants and
toddlers.
(Frank et al. 1966)
49

50. Poor Nutrition Affects Critical
Brain Development
Hippocampus (shown
in red) is highly
vulnerable and loses 8%
in volume and 11% of its
neurons with early
exposure to malnutrition.
Studies show subsequent
learning and memory
lapses in later years.
(Pravosudov, 2005) 50

51. Overview
1. What is Poverty?
2. Can and Do Brains Change as a
Result of Experience?
4. Do Children in Poverty Have
Different Experiences than
Higher SES Kids?
4. What can you do about the impact
of poverty in your classroom? 51

52. Overwhelm or Hope?
Good News!
Many long-term
studies have shown
that we can make a
significant, lasting and
positive impact on
children of poverty.
Brains change!
52

53. What Works for
Children of Poverty
• Hope--it’s Priceless!
• Accommodations
• Skill-building
53

54. The Power of Hope
1) Affirmation
2) Prediction of positive outcomes
3) Vision of personalized,
compelling possibilities
by a believable authority figure
(parent, teacher, key other)
Enhanced brain chemistry supports
mood, attention, cognition, memory 54

55. The Power of
Accommodations
Communicate high expectations
and…
make simple accommodations for
• transportation (tardy, absent)
• behaviors (teach, not punish)
• supplies (materials, space)
• background knowledge 55

56. 56

57. Language
• Work on vocabulary, proper usage,
complete sentences and thoughts.
57

58. The Power of Skill-Building
Provide what others take for granted
1. How to behave around adults
2. Emotional affiliation skills
3. Knowledge of the “rules of the game”
4. Persistence, patience, hope and resiliency
5. Understanding how money works
6. Cognitive skills of survival
7. Support systems to navigate life better
58

59. Fortunately,
Brains Can
(and do)
Change
for the
Better!
59

60. Time for… Wake up the Brain
60

61. Directions
I’ll read off the numbers listed in black, in
sequence. After each number, the letter
below tells you what to do:
“H” = raise hands, say “Hooray!”
“S” = flash a “Hollywood smile”
to your neighbor
“C” = clap twice
61

62. 1 2 3 4 5
H C S H S
6 7 8 9 10
C S H S H
11 12 13 14
15
S C H S 62

63. More Directions
I’ll still read off the numbers listed in
black, in sequence. Under each number,
the letter is now in either CAPS or lower
case. If it’s in CAPS, respond while
standing up. If in lower case, respond
while seated. Remember…
“H” = raise hands, say “Hooray!”
“S” = flash a “Hollywood smile”
to your neighbor
63
“C” = clap twice

64. h c S H s
6 7 8 9 10
c S H s H
11 12 13 14
15
s c H S
64

65. Even MORE Directions
I’ll still read off the numbers. If there’s an
underline, do everything the same as in
the last slide. BUT, on the next slide, do
the opposite of what it would have been.
Here’s an example…
“H” (by itself) = stand and say “Hooray!”
BUT…
With a sequence of “s - C - H” … the
underscore on the “C” means the next
letter, “H” is now a be seated “Hooray!” 65

66. 1 2 3 4 5
h c S H s
6 7 8 9 10
c S H s H
11 12 13 14
15
s c H S 66