As a child, I, Derek Clark, was “labeled and misdiagnosed” in almost every psychological evaluation in existence. As a helpless child, I was nearly institutionalized due to severe erratic behavioral problems and violent tendencies. Having suffered brutal child abuse and abandonment, I was prone to severe anxiety, distress and lashing out in anger. At 6 years old, I was diagnosed as mentally handicapped among many other labels. Experts said I had the IQ of a two and half year old, suffered erratic psychosis and withdrawn from reality. As I developed, it became clear to my wonderful foster parents that this diagnosis was without merit.
As a motivational child welfare speaker, I inspire youth and adults across this nation to never give up and to never let their past infect their future. I will share with you a message of courage, hope and perseverance to help you find the strength to Never Give Up.
In my presentations, I reveal how I overcame my adversities and how I triumphed in my personal life. I take you down my road of lessons that I have learned of hate, anger, resentment, mistrust in adults, violent tendencies, rejection, lack of love, child abuse and the memories that have haunted the early part of my life.
My keynotes are based on true-life trials and triumphs, and have inspired thousands of people to have the mental strength to overcome adversity and fear. I believe I have successfully thrived as a leader in life because of my painful past, compassion for others and living a “No Excuse” life. I turned my situation from a victim to a victor, equipping me with the Wisdom and the Will to Never Give Up.
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- Derek Clark in Foster Care at Age 6
- Below You Will Discover Incredible Details and the Challenges that Derek Clark, Foster Child (age 6) Was Going Through Per Derek’s Psychological Evaluation.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION
REPORT FOR THE COUNTY JUVENILE COURT
and
REPORT OF PSYCHODIAGNOSTIC EVALUATION
County Mental Health Services
Dates Examined: 7/8,1976, 11/08/1976, 11/26/1976, 12/09/1976, 1/26/1977
18 hours were spent in interviews and in preparation of the report.
The parent’s were referred to this agency by the Psychiatric Emergency Unit.
DEREK: Age 6½
Derek is described as a child with severe emotional and behavioral problems. Neurological, psychological and learning disability evaluations were done on Derek. Neurological tests indicate he is functioning on a normal 2 ½ to 4 year old level, they indicate “mild retardation”. The psychological examination done for the Learning Disability Evaluation diagnose Derek as having Erratic Psychosis. Both foster homes have reported problems with Derek’s encopretic and eneuretic behavior. Behavior was immature. Derek talked frequently about guns, knives and hurting others. Derek has confusion of word tense and does not differentiate between today, yesterday, tomorrow.
The child is “below average.” Derek cannot read, add, or identify some letters.
The uniformity of the delay suggests organic “Mild Retardation” rather than psychosocial problems, but time will tell.
Derek’s background includes extreme physical and economic impoverishment during infancy, and a father who brutalized the child.
Both foster homes have reported problems with Derek’s encopretic and eneuretic behavior. The mother describes Derek’s father as an ex-convict and an alcoholic, with severe emotional problems. The mother lost contact with Derek’s father soon after the child’s birth, but believes he returned to prison shortly thereafter for involvement in several armed robberies. Derek’s mother is the daughter of an abusive and alcoholic father. It has been discovered that Derek’s father is in prison for the criminally insane.
It is suspected that Derek never got that far in development. By the time he was a year old, Derek had probably pretty much withdrawn from reality.
PLACEMENT REVIEW:
Special placement problems are hyperactive, emotionally disturbed youngster. Neurological tests indicate “mild retardation”.
PSYCHOLOGICAL INFORMATION:
A verbal report from the doctor states that while the boy is not overtly psychotic, there is indication of this potential. The child laughs inappropriately and shows great anxiety. He is very suspicious of people.
He needs further testing to more accurately determine his I.Q. He does not recognize such words as “dog, boy, cat and has psycho-sexual confusion”
PARENTS STATEMENT:
The parents state that the boy is hyperactive. The parent’s further state that the minor must be physically restrained and that he frequently flies into rages and is completely unmanageable.
On more than one occasion in the past year, the minor has been observed to pound his head on the floor.
Derek’s father’s whereabouts are unknown. He has not seen Derek since Derek was nine months old. The last information the mother had on the father was that he was in an institution for the criminally insane.
CASE HISTORY:
Derek was a forceps delivery and his mother had to have labor induced. There was also an Rh incompatibility. During his first year, Derek had a case of anemia. . He has a history of temper tantrums, eneuresis and encopresis. Head banging was prevalent.
INTRA-TEST VARIATIONS:
On the WISC, Derek has a significant discrepancy between his verbal and performance scales. Derek’s verbal scale indicated below average general knowledge, logical thinking and language development
QUALITIES OF THOUGHT PROCESS:
Derek’s thought processes have a number of characteristics. The numerous incidents of bizarre and fragmented thoughts make it difficult to discern his developmental level. One interesting note is that Derek has no ability to reverse thinking processes.
LEARNING PROCESS AND PROBLEM-SOLVING MODES:
His major weaknesses lay in verbal concept formation and language development. However, all of Derek’s learning processes are interfered with by personality factors. He is highly anxious and is hyperactive as a result. He loses contact with reality frequently and perseverates, fantasizes and makes bizarre comments. This can happen without warning and in the middle of a task. The anxiety also manifests itself in sudden poor visual perception and in poor visual-motor coordination.
PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT
Identification of Nuclear Conflicts:
The source of Derek’s emotional disturbance lies within his first year of life. Even prenatally, Derek was in trouble because of the Rh factor. Then, labor had to be induced, and the baby was a forceps delivery. Also, sometime that first year, Derek was anemic and was abused by one or both parents. Therefore, the nature of his conflicts is a failure to develop any positive relationship with his mother, father or with the world.
The failure to allow Derek the chance of a positive relationship with reality resulted in two things. First, he started to view the world as hostile and dangerous. Second, his helplessness in the situation caused frustration and anxiety which probably led him to withdraw.
When Derek expresses his impulses, it is usually in terms of oral aggression, aggression in general, death or sex. All of these provoke anxiety, but the aggression provokes more anxiety than any other impulse. When he expresses an impulse fully, it is usually blunt, brief and uncensored.
Derek doesn’t appear to be experiencing guilt for his actions.
It is suspected that Derek never got that far in development. By the time he was a year old, Derek had probably pretty much withdrawn from reality.
Derek is a six year-old boy with “potentially” average cognitive abilities. However, his severe emotionally disturbed state of mind interferes with his overall functioning and prevents him from developing along a normal pattern.
Derek Clark is an inspiring motivational speaker, trainer and the author of the critically acclaimed I Will Never Give Up book series and Never Limit Your Life. Derek’s courageous story is one of resilience and redemption. As a child, Derek experienced severe child abuse before spending 13 years in the foster care system. He knows first-hand how to use the power of attitude to overcome adversity.
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