I've always wondered if dad wasn't exposed to something at work, and perhaps
that may have caused the PD. He used to work with glass rope, which was
highly experimental at that point, and his hands were terribly raw and
peeling when he worked with that. It's probably something we'll never know
for sure, unless all of his family has genetic testing done to determine the
cause.
As for the rest, keep in mind that I'm a teacher. I have seen proof that
children do better in school when their home environment is good. A case in
point is of two sisters who were in my class (my students). Their home
environment was deplorable, with no adult supervision, due to the fact that
the parents were low intelligence and had no idea how to take care of the
things in their home that were not good for the children to be exposed to.
The girls often came in having had little or no sleep, and nothing to eat
since the school lunch the day before. Needless to say, we saw to their
eating and sleeping needs before we could even begin to see to their academic
needs! Eventually, the parents lost custody of them, and they are now in
foster care. I have seen the children once since their placement and have
heard many reports from one of our teachers who lives right down the street
from them. They are clean, eat well (and are growing accordingly), they have
some rules to follow at home, and they have parents who love them (not to say
that their biological parents didn't love them-they just didn't know how to
care for them). The girls are thriving!
Sorry if I've depressed anyone, it's just that there are arguments about
nature vs. nurture in education, and this is just a prime example! Trish
