Ear Infections and Giftedness
This is a somewhat controversial topic, in part because it involves preliminary data on a fairly small population sampling. Below is my argument as to why it is relevant information for the gifted population. I am presenting it here because I get asked about this connection from time to time and also to explain part of my reasoning for including non-drug treatments for sinus problems and the like on my homeschooling website: if you have a gifted child, there is a good chance that you really need such information.
For some supporting data, here is a link to something on the Hoagies website. I think it is the best data available so far. What We Have Learned About Gifted Children 1979 - 2002 by Linda Silverman, Ph.D., Director of the Gifted Development Center.
One of my hypotheses is that there may be a connection between the high incidence of allergies in the gifted population and ear infection. I know that my history of having many ear infections is due to my chronic sinus problem. Sinus problem can drain into the ears and lead to infections there. I don't know if that is being looked at in the on-going research.
Although, in America today, ear infections are the most common reason for taking a child to see a doctor, preliminary data suggest that gifted kids may be prone to a higher incidence of ear infections than average. Or it might be more accurate to say that 'Preliminary data show that a high incidence of ear infection is associated with giftedness.'
Risk factors that promote the incidence of ear infections in children include bottle-feeding (instead of breast-feeding), day care, and living with smokers. However, these risk factors may not be as prevalent for gifted kids. As a rule of thumb, general statistics of that sort may not say anything about a specific population. As I understand it, most of the identified gifted kids come from well-educated parents. It is a statistical fact that the more education people have, the less likely they are to smoke. This is a stronger correlation than the fact that people who make more money are less likely to smoke. So, the incidence of ear infections in the gifted population may not be strongly influenced by smoking.
In my home, no one smokes - not the residents nor any guests. We have one ashtray and, when a smoker comes over, I place it on the back porch for their use. I have always been a stay-at-home mom and my kids were extremely difficult to place in daycare, so I mostly kept them with me. And Tigger was breast fed until he was 22 months old. My other child has generally been ridiculously healthy - yet, he, too, has a history of a lot of ear infections. So, my personal experience is consistent with the preliminary data suggesting an association between giftedness and ear infections - but is not consistent with the data that environmental factors are the primary cause of ear infections.
Tigger has a form of Cystic Fibrosis and it was his health problems that 'broke the camel's back' and sent us home to educate our kids ourselves. Because I pulled him out of school, I have been able to keep him off of antibiotics for more than 5 years - in spite of the fact that the first 3 of those years, he was still undiagnosed and, therefore, not getting adequate care from the medical community for his disorder. I could give you plenty of other anecdotal evidence that Tigger has been a lot healthier than you
would expect for a kid with undiagnosed (variant) CF and that most of his unexpectedly good health is directly attributable to my devotion and best guestimate methodologies. I could also give you other anecdotes of other moms who clearly are 'beating the odds' with their medically impaired gifted kids. But I won't, for reasons of length.
So, until I see reliable statistics showing no difference in the incidence of ear infection between the gifted population and 'average' statistics, as well as additional hard data ruling out the possibility that the incidence of ear infections in the gifted population may actually be artificially lowered by the generally excellent care they seem to receive from their typically non-smoking, well-educated parents, I will continue to assert - based on reliable sources, anecdotal evidence, and sound rubrics -- that there is an association between a lot of ear infections and giftedness.
As for the scientific method, that is not the only valid methodology in
existence -- nor is it always the best method to use. The U.S. government's extremely conservative insistence on using the scientific method to prove the value and reliability of new medicines before making them available is actually killing people, even though it is intended to protect people. They say 'We don't want to treat people with this drug because 5 years down the road it will cause serious side-effects.' However, the people who need it and want it may only have 3 to 6 months to live. They would be thrilled to get the drug and live 5 more years to face those serious side effects - and cross that bridge when they come to it.
Similarly, I am raising children, who have a limited 'shelf life.' I am not writing a Thesis. So, for my purposes, using the best data presently available - while knowing full well that it is incomplete and not 100% certain - beats the heck out of waiting another 20 or 30 years for them to be able to say such things with certainty. I tend to assume that those who come here are also in search of information in order to do their best by a child (rather than to write a thesis). Our best is not perfect. But it is usually 'good enough' - and often 'excellent'. Similarly, my methodologies are not perfect. But they are sound and I will stick with them - unless I find something better.
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Asperger's Syndrome: A Working Hypothesis
- Giftedness
- Personality Type
- Sensory Issues
- Compounding (Biomedical) Factors
- Eccentric Geniuses
- The Big Disconnect
- Socially Deaf
- Time Blind
- Rapid Brain Growth and Vitamin Deficiencies
- Different Minds
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