The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog By Bruce Perry

In his book titled The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, Bruce Perry, a child psychologist, explores the impact of stress and violence on children's physical and mental development in their early years. Through several case studies, Dr. Perry sheds light on the traumatic experiences that children may face from birth to adolescence and offers methods to approach trauma patients and redefine the path to recovery from PTSD. This book provides a glimpse into the harsh realities that children worldwide face every day, including violence, neglect, abuse, and malnutrition. Reading Dr. Perry's accounts has taught me a great deal about the crucial needs of developing infants, toddlers, and children. For instance, physical touch is essential for a baby's

One of them being Amber engaged in self-harm by cutting herself. According to Perry, cutting may have been a way for her to cope with anxiety triggered by revisiting traumatic memories or simply dealing with the stresses of daily life (180).The traumatic events were intensified by several factors, including the fact that the perpetrator was a person who was relied on heavily by Amber's mother as a financial supporter and partner. This made Amber too scared to disclose the ongoing abuse by Duane, who even threatened her with worse consequences if she told her mother. Additionally, Duane's remorseful behavior towards Amber, such as showering her with gifts to make up for his actions, created conflicting emotions in her. In order to fully understand and diagnose Amber's PTSD, it is important to consider various risk factors that contributed to her condition. One key risk factor was her age, as the sexual abuse she experienced began when she was just seven years old and continued for several years until her mother discovered it. Another risk factor was alcohol, as the perpetrator, Duane, only abused Amber when he was under the influence of alcohol, which happened approximately once every ten days according to Perry. This constant fear and anticipation of when the abuse would occur again caused Amber to live in a state of anxiety and terror. The third risk factor was the instability of her mother's job, which required them to frequently move from state to state. If I were to diagnose Amber, I would diagnose her with PTSD. She meets nearly all the criteria as she was directly involved in the incident, displays invasive symptoms such as dissociation, endured the consequences for an extended period of time, and has adopted physical self-harm as a way of coping with the