The Orchid and the Dandelion
In Tom Boyce's extraordinary new book, he writes of his acclaimed and pathfinding work as a developmental pediatrician working with troubled children in child-development research for almost four decades, and explores his major discovery: that certain variant genes can increase a person's susceptibility to depression, anxiety, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, antisocial, sociopathic, or violent behaviors. Rather than seeing this "risk" gene as a liability, Boyce, through his daring research has recast the way we think of human frailty, and has shown that while these "bad" genes can create problems, they can also, in the right setting and the right environment, result in producing children who not only do better than before, but far exceed their peers.
His work has revealed there are two different kinds of children: the "dandelion" child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the "orchid" child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile) who, given the right support, can thrive as much, if not more, than other children.
Orchid children, Boyce makes clear, are not failed dandelions; they are a different category of child, with special sensitivities and strengths, and need to be nurtured and taught in special ways. In The Orchid and the Dandelion, Boyce shows us how to understand these children for their unique sensibilities, their considerable challenges, and their remarkable gifts.