By Joan
Lessen-Firestone, Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health
The brain's wiring occurs in direct response to the environmental input
the child receives after he/she is born. The brain of a child who has
happily spent his/her first five years hearing and speaking English,
playing the violin, and swimming in a lake will wire itself differently
from that of a child who contentedly spends those years learning Japanese
and Russian, exploring the computer, and playing on swings and
teeter-totters. More significant is the fact that these two children's
brains will both look and perform very differently from that of a child
who spent his/her first years in a stress-filled environment without much
language, stimulation or nurturing.
Brain Development - Joan Lessen-Firestone
http://www.mi-aimh.msu.edu/publications/JoanFirestone.pdf
Director of Early Childhood at Oakland Schools, Dr. Joan Lessen-Firestone
received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Wayne State University
and has extensive training and experience in the assessment of infants and
young children. She is a national expert on children's brain development.
Audio CD - "Building Children's Brains" by Joan Lessen-Firestone, Ph.D.
