Exposure To Trauma

Perry’s cases address issues in which traumatic experiences has on human development. In his first case, Tina, a seven-year-old girl, was molested by her babysitter’s son at the age of four and ended when she was six. Tina’s school had insisted that she be evaluated due to her aggressive and inappropriate behavior at school among her classmates. She had attacked her classmates, exposed herself, used sexual language as well as tried to engage her classmates in sexual play. Tina also failed to pay attention in class and refused to follow directions (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). As Dr. Perry continued to work with Tina, he came to believe that like the rats in his experiment, Tina’s stress response systems was being repeatedly activated due to the trauma in which she endured while her brain was still developing, which “caused a cascade of altered receptors, sensitivity and dysfunction in her brain, resulting in developmental trauma” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006, p.24). Dr. Perry felt that Tina’s attention and impulse problems were a result of the change in the organization of her stress response system. Tina’s overactive stress system caused her to pay more attention to people’s faces, thus, watching for threatening situations, therefore, paying less attention to the lessons being taught. Her alertness to potential threatening situations also made Tina more prone to fights. Over the course of three years, Tina learned how to control her impulsive behavior as well

When children experience a traumatic event, not only does it affect their emotions but it can affect many areas of development if not all of them. Equally, health and learning difficulties can also have a less desirable effect on holistic development. By looking at how such factors can affect child development, we can work towards finding a suitable learning method and helping children overcome and recover from their experiences.

Childhood and adolescence is a crucial time for humans- a time full of physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Upon observing the significant impact that trauma induced stress can have on adults following time in combat or an injury, when adults have fully matured in all areas, it raises the question of what influence post-traumatic stressors can have on development in children. This issue was so significant that in the DSM-5, the psychologists introduced a new, and separate, section of criteria for PTSD that specifically relates to the preschool subtype, or those individuals six years and younger. The first age specific sub-type for this disorder is important due to the rising number of studies and cases of PTSD in children.

The exposure of children to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and other forms of maltreatment is

Trauma is perceived as a physical or psychological threat or assault to a person’s physical integrity, sense of self, safety and/or survival or to the physical safety of a significant other; family member, friend, partner. (Kilpatrick, Saunders, and Smith, 2003). An adolescent may experience trauma from a variety of experiences, including but not limited to: abuse (sexual, physical, and/or emotional); neglect; abandonment; bullying; exposure to domestic violence and/ or community violence; natural disasters; medical procedures; loss/grief due to a death of a family member(s); surgery; accidents or serious illness; and war (Kilpatrick, Saunders, and Smith, 2003).

It impacts the maturation of specific brain areas at particular ages, the physiological and neuro-endocrinological responses as well as impacting the ability to coordinate cognitions, behaviours and emotional regulation. Therefore, the effect of trauma is different in different developmental stages. Ornitz (1996) has listed critical periods of major structural changes in brain development in accordance with Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. This includes the periods between early childhood (1.5-4 years), late childhood (6-10 years), puberty and mid-adolescence. This ensures that there are widespread implications of trauma in childhood especially in terms of the age at which exposure to trauma occurs as well as the areas of the brain affected. For example, the volume of the brain shows a rapid increase in first two years (Matsuzawa et al., 2001), a time when the development of attachment also takes place. Moreover, this growth is more experience- dependent (Schore, 2001). Children below the age of two also show a greater right brain than left brain

The purpose of this paper is to conduct library research on early childhood trauma and its effects on brain development. This paper will discuss the consequences of early childhood trauma, specifically the manner in which it impacts brain development. Included will be a discussion of What tends to happen to people who experience early childhood trauma. Within the paper will be a description of the consequences of this type of trauma for the urban individual, family, community, or culture. This paper will then identify two of the most effective, evidenced based practice treatment models utilized for survivors of this form of trauma.

Sixty percent of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.). This shocking statistic exemplifies the high prevalence of childhood trauma. Furthermore, twenty-six percent of children in the United States will witness or experience a traumatic event before the age of four. (Mental Health Connection, N.D.) Trauma is an extremely common and complex phenomenon. But what is trauma? According to Merriam Webster, trauma is defined as, “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury.” (Merriam Webster, 2017). Dr. Lenore C. Terr from the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of America further describes trauma as unique to each individual. It can be caused by a series of events or one severe incident. Unfortunately, childhood trauma is usually experienced repeatedly. For example, many children endure sexual abuse, bullying, and severe family problems over and over again. Children may experience a variety of traumas that have lasting consequences on their mental health. Those who experience childhood trauma are more likely to develop psychological disorders. This occurs because their brains lack neuroplasticity, which inhibits their ability to adapt to various stressful circumstances.

Once my client is stabilized from the initial concerns of severe depression and suicide attempts, TF-CBT could be introduced. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children Affected by Sexual Abuse or Trauma. (2012) suggests that the following areas be covered psychoeducation and parenting skills, relaxation techniques, affective expressions and regulation, cognitive coping and processing, trauma narrative and processing, in vivo exposure, conjoint parent/child sessions and enhancing personal safety and future

Recognizing a need for mental health professionals efficient in trauma-informed care for these children, Judy Cohen, MD, Ester Deblinger, PhD, and Anthony Manarino, PhD, developed Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), to serve as a specialized treatment approach to responding to the needs to these youth. TF-CBT helps children that have experienced traumatic events overcome the symptoms that may be left behind. According to the National Center for Child Traumatic stress, TF-CBT provides education and understanding of common reactions and symptoms that may result from sexual abuse and other forms of trauma. This type

& Li, 2001). With the brain developing at its fastest rate in childhood, it is especially

The effects of trauma can be looked at into two separate categories however, they both are interrelated: neurodevelopment and psychosocial development. From the onset of birth, we are born with 100 billion neurons, much more than we will ever need and much more than we will ever have. Between these neurons, trillions of synapses are created. Depending upon the early life experiences in relation to attachments with caregivers and our environment, some synapses will be strengthened whilst others will be discarded.

Poverty and how it can affect a child’s education and how attachment with a parental figure can affect a child’s education are two major claims made by Tough. Tough believes in general children who come from stressful environments and insecure attachments tend to do worse in school in comparison to others. Children who are surrounded by stressful situations in their home environment tend to be distracted emotionally, thus leading to their poor performance in school. In an attempt to explain this phenomenon, stress psychologists described how the part of the brain that is critical in self-regulatory, cognitive and emotional responses is the part that is mainly affected by early stress. Using this information, Burke Harris conducted a study where she assigned ACE scores to thousands of patients based on childhood trauma including growing up in an abusive home. Based upon these results, Burke Harris found a powerful correlation relating ACE scores and people’s performance in school (17). In order to make sense of this information, McEwen described

Across the nation there are children, both male and female, who suffer from symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) each day. These children are victims of a variety of trauma, such as “natural disasters, war, sexual abuse, witnessing violent behavior on another person, serious life-threatening illness, and community violence” (Sauter & Franklin, 1998). For years, “studies have been done to understand the relationship [of] the prevalence of PTSD in children who experience trauma” (Sauter & Franklin, 1998). Children who have experienced war-like conditions, natural disasters, or nuclear accidents have been found to experience symptoms of PTSD (Avery, Massat & Lundy, 2000). Approximately thirty percent of children who have “survived a major trauma” develop PTSD (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009). It has been found that “children exposed to traumatic events have much higher incidence and prevalence of PTSD than do children in the general population” (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009). Unfortunately, out of a sample of children who witnessed domestic violence, ninety-three percent were able to be diagnosed with PTSD (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009). Children who are in situations dealing with emigration or economic problems also are at risk for developing PTSD (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009).

PTSD is a form of dissociation and involves two distinct parts that effect the consciousness and behavior of an adolescent. “One is numb and avoidant of traumatic memories, but more or less functional in daily life, and another is enmeshed in traumatic memories” (Diseth 83). These elements of dissociation cause attachment and adaptive disorders that will perpetrate further harm to the adolescent. Trauma is related to other behaviors in adolescents, such s numbing, social withdrawal, separation anxiety and new fears.