ELDON: What science says

In response to the editorial “We All Owe Eldon this Much” I would like to share some of the science that supports why Eldon should be given the opportunity for treatment.

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, notes that child maltreatment roughly doubles the probability that an individual engages in many types of crime. This is true even if there is comparison between twins. The one who was maltreated is more likely to commit a crime when the other one was not. This information should certainly give us pause for more prevention of childhood abuse.

There is also significant evidence that child abuse changes the brain and those changes can lead to mental illness. Researchers from Harvard in 2014 have found that specific changes in key regions of the brain such as in and around the hippocampus may leave victims of abuse more vulnerable to depression, addictions and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

For those who have experienced physical abuse, neglect, and verbal abuse, the odds are 53 percent higher that they will experience a severe mental illness. In general, childhood abuse, neglect and trauma changes brain structure and chemical function. Maltreatment can also affect the way children behave, regulate emotion and function socially. Treatment cannot make the abuse go away, but it can help the ensuing mental illness that often occurs.

Adults failed Eldon many times during his young life. I hope we will not fail him again, by not giving him an opportunity for treatment in a mental health facility.

CARLY McFADDEN

Coeur d’Alene