leveraging science to strengthen the foundations of lifelong learning, behavior, and health
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Leveraging Science to Strengthen the Foundations of Lifelong Learning, Behavior, and Health. JACK P. SHONKOFF, M.D. Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development Professor of Pediatrics and Director, Center on the Developing Child Harvard University. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Leveraging Science to Strengthen the Foundations of Lifelong Learning,
Behavior, and Health
JACK P. SHONKOFF, M.D. Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and DevelopmentProfessor of Pediatrics and Director, Center on the Developing ChildHarvard University
São Paulo Early Childhood Development ConferenceSão Paulo, Brazil | May 6, 2014
The Foundation of a Successful Society is Built in Early Childhood
Healthy development in the early years provides the building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation.
Advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, epigenetics, and the behavioral and social sciences could be leveraged to catalyze more effective policies and practices across multiple sectors.
Genes and Experiences Interact to Build Brain Architecture
Brains and Skills are Shaped by “Serve and Return” Human Interaction
Barriers to Educational Achievement Emerge Before School Begins
36
Language Skills
(Median TVIP Score)
Poorest 25%
Richest 25%
50-75%
Child’s Age (Months)
60
90
Source: Schady and Paxton (2005)
80
100
110
42 48 54 60 66 72
70 25-50%
The Cumulative Pile Up of Adversity Impairs Development in the First Three Years
Number of Risk Factors Source: Barth, et al. (2008)
Ch
ild
ren
wit
h
Develo
pm
en
tal D
ela
ys
1-2 3 54 6 7
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Biological “Memories” Link Maltreatment in Childhood to Greater Risk of Adult Heart
Disease
Percent of adults with biological
marker for greater risk of heart disease
Source: Danese, et al. (2008)
Control
10%
20%
40%
30%
50%
Depression(age 32)
Depression(age 32) +Maltreated (as a child)
Maltreated (as a child)
Toxic Stress Derails Healthy Development
Early Life Experiences Are Built Into Our Bodies (For Better or For Worse)
Stable and supportive relationships, language-rich environments, and mutually responsive, “serve and return” interactions with adults promote healthy brain architecture and adaptive regulatory systems.
Excessive or prolonged activation of stress response systems and reduced availability of the buffering protection of supportive relationships can weaken brain architecture and disrupt the development of other organ systems.
The Ability to Change Brains Decreases Over Time
Source: Levitt (2009)
Birth 10 20 30
Physiological “Effort” Required to Enhance Neural Connections
Normal Brain Plasticity Influenced by Experience
Age (Years)
40 50 60 70
Enhance quality and take effective models to scale
Build strong systems for coordinated service delivery and data management
Formulate enhanced theories of change, test new ideas, and learn from interventions that don’t achieve sufficiently larger impacts
Increasing the Returns on Current Investments Requires Three Strategies
Using 21st Century Science to Change the Narrative for Policy and Practice Across Sectors
Healthy development requires both protection and enrichment
Early experiences affect both lifelong health and learning
1
Generating Hypotheses to Guide the Design and Testing of New Intervention Strategies
Protection and enrichment for young children require capacity-building for their caregivers
Improved parenting skills also enhance employability and economic stability
2
Strong communities reduce sources of toxic stress
3
Healthy development requires protection and enrichment
Early experiences affect lifelong health and learning
EmotionsEmotions
Skill Building for Parenting and Economic Self-Sufficiency Points to the Foundational Role of Executive Function and Self-Regulation Skills
These core dimensions of adult competence include the ability to focus and sustain attention; set goals, make plans, and monitor actions; make decisions and solve problems; follow rules, control impulses, and defer gratification.
Error Error ProcessingProcessing
Reaction Reaction and and ResponsesResponses
Use of Use of RulesRules
Risk/Reward Risk/Reward DecisionsDecisions
Behavioral Behavioral ControlControl
Working Working MemoryMemory
The Development of Executive Function Skills Begins in Early Childhood and
Extends into the Early Adult Years
Source: Weintraub, et al. (2011)
Birth
Age (Years)
50 70 80
Skill p
rofi
cie
ncy
3 5 15 25 3010
ECE only: no parent involvement
Analysis of Parent Involvement in Early Childhood Programs Illustrates Challenges and Opportunities
Source: Grindal, et al. (under review)
Eff
ect
Siz
e
Cognitive Skills
.2
.4
.6
Pre-Academic Skills
.1
.3
.5
Average Impacts of 88 Early Childhood Education Programs (1960-2007)
ECE + modeling/practice for parents
ECE + passive parent education
Crafting a New Framework for Intergenerational Investment
If we really want to achieve breakthrough outcomes for children facing significant adversity, then we have to transform the lives of the adults who care for them.
www.developingchild.harvard.edu