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Helping Traumatized Children A Brief Overview for Caregivers
Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. Pre-final DRAFT
This booklet is one in a series developed by the
ChildTrauma Academy to assist parents, caregivers, teachers and various professionals
working with maltreated and traumatized children. Edited by B. D. Perry
Traumatic events in childhood increase risk for a host of social (e.g., teenage pregnancy, adolescent drug abuse, school failure, victimization, anti-social behavior), neuropsychiatric (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorders, conduct disorders) and other medical problems (e.g., heart disease, asthma). The deterioration of public education, urban violence and the alarming social disintegration seen in some of our urban and rural communities can be traced back to the escalating cycles of abuse and neglect of our children. For most children, thankfully, severe trauma is a new experience. And like all new experiences, the unknown will add to the confusing and frightening circumstances surrounding the traumatic event. The trauma may significantly challenge the child’s sense of the world. A flood, tornado, car accident, shooting or abuse by a caregiver - all challenge the child’s beliefs about the stability and safety of their world. Very young children may not understand what happened and will be confused or even frightened by the reactions of their siblings or caregivers. The acute post-traumatic period is characterized by an attempt by the child to reorganize, reevaluate and restore their pre-traumatic world. Many of the emotional, behavioral and cognitive signs and symptoms of the acute post-traumatic period are due to these efforts. Unfortunately, children often do not have the same capacity to understanding or explaining most traumatic experiences. Young children may make many false assumptions about the event – "the tornado came because God was mad." As with most situations, children seek answers and comfort from adults around them, yet we often feel helpless in this role. Indeed, most traumatic experiences challenge the most mature and experienced adult. While adults do not have all the answers, they can help children better understand the traumatic event and the ways we respond following trauma. This booklet addresses some of the key issues related to the child's complex set of reactions that often follow traumatic events. While focused on caregivers, this information may be helpful to caseworkers, teachers, other family and other adults working and living with traumatized children. This simple guide is intended to inform and provide general principles -- it is not intended to be comprehensive or to exclude other observations or approaches to helping traumatized children. The more we understand these children and the impact of traumatic experiences, the more compassionate and wise we can be as we try to help these children.
Listen to the child, answer questions, provide comfort and support. We often have no adequate explanations about senseless death or traumatic events. It is just fine to tell children that you do not know why something happened or that you get confused and upset by it, too. In the end, listening and comforting a child without avoiding or over-reacting will have long-lasting positive effects on the child’s ability to cope with trauma. 2. How should I talk about the event? Use age-appropriate language and explanations. The timing and language used are important. Immediately following the trauma, the child will not be very capable of processing complex or abstract information (see Table). As the child gets further away from the event, she will be able to focus longer, digest more and make more sense of what has happened. Sometimes young children act as if they have not ‘heard’ anything you have said. It takes many individual many moments of sad clarity or the reality of the trauma to actually sink in for young children. Between these moments of harsh reality, children use a variety of coping techniques – some of which can be confusing or upsetting for adults. During this long process, the child continues to ‘re-experience’ the traumatic event. In play, drawing and words, the child may repeat, re-enact and re-live some elements of the traumatic loss. Surviving adults will hear children ask the same questions again and again. They may be asked to describe ‘what happened’ again and again. The child may develop profound ‘empathic’ concerns for others experiencing trauma, including cartoon characters and animals. "Is Mickey Mouse scared?" Or as they put their stuffed animals under the bed, they may explain "They have to go hide because the bad guy is coming with a gun." The child will experience and process the very same material differently at different times following the trauma. In the long run, the opportunity to process and re-process many times will facilitate healthy coping. This re-processing may take place throughout the development of a given child. Even years after the original trauma, a child may ‘revisit’ the loss and struggle to understand it from their current developmental perspective. An intensity of emotional feelings will often be seen on various anniversary dates following the trauma (e.g., one week, one month and one year). Children may develop unusual fears of specific days – "Bad things happen on Fridays." One of the most important elements in this process is that children of different ages have different styles of adapting and different abilities to understand abstract concepts often associated with trauma such as death, hate or the randomness of a tornado’s path or a drunk driver hitting their car. 3. Should I talk to others about the traumatic event? Yes. Inform adults and children in the child's world what has happened. Let teachers, counselors, parents of the child's friends and, if appropriate, the child's peers know some of the pain that this child is living with. Sometimes this can allow the people in the child's life to give them the small amount of tolerance, understanding or nurturing that will smooth the way. People can often be intolerant or insensitive when dealing with the traumatized child "Isn't it about time they got over this?" When you see that this is occurring don't be shy about taking this person aside and educating them about the long-lasting effects of traumatic events and the long process of recovery. 4. How long do these reactions last? An acute post-traumatic change in feeling, thinking and behaving is normal – persistence or extreme symptoms are not. Many clinicians working with traumatized have noted that the persistence of symptoms beyond three months is associated with increased risk for problems. If symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance, fearfulness, sleep problems, nightmares, sadness or poor school or social functioning persist beyond three months, they need to be addressed. If they persist for six months or if the symptoms interfere with any aspect of functioning, you should have the child see a professional. If the child is in therapy, communicate this with the therapist. Find out if school performance has been affected. Watch for changes in patterns of play and loss of interest in activities. Be observant. Be patient. Be tolerant. Be sympathetic. These children have been terrified and hurt. In many cases, some form of post-traumatic symptom can last for many years. Indeed, more than thirty percent of children living through traumatic stress develop some form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is a chronic disorder requiring the attention of mental health professionals. 5. Do children understand events accurately? Young children often make false assumptions about the causes of major events. Unfortunately these assumptions may include some sense that they were at fault for the event -- including the death of a loved one. Adults often assume that causality is clear -- dying in a car accident, being shot in a drive-by shooting, dying in a fire. The child may very easily distort an event and make the wrong conclusions about causality. Mom died in the car accident because she was coming to get me at school. The other driver was mad at her. My brother is dead because he was helping me with my homework. The person that shot my brother was shooting at me and hit my brother because he was in my room. The tornado was God's way of punishing my family. In many of these distorted explanations, children assume some degree of responsibility for some element of the traumatic event. This can lead to very destructive and inappropriate feelings of guilt. Be clear. Explore the child's evolving sense of causality. Correct and clarify as you see false reasoning develop. Over time, the ability of the child to cope is related to the ability of the child to understand. While some elements of trauma seem beyond understanding, this can be explained to a child -- some things we don't know. Don't let the child develop a sense that there is a secret about the event -- this can be very destructive. Let the child know that adults can not and will not understand some things either. 6. Do all children have problems after traumatic events? The majority of children experiencing trauma will have some change in their behaviors and their emotional functioning. In addition to the symptoms listed above, these children will often be more irritable, tired and regressed. Fortunately, however, for the majority of these children these symptoms are short-lived. Some children may exhibit no easily observable changes in their thinking, feeling or behaving. In general, the more threatened a child felt, the closer they were to injury or death, the more the event disrupted or traumatized their family or community, the more likely there will be symptoms. In some cases, children’s symptoms do not show up for many weeks or even months after the traumatic event, confusing many caregivers. Indeed, in these cases, caregivers or teachers may not even make a connection between the symptoms and the traumatic event.
2. Provide a consistent, predictable pattern for the day. Make sure the child has a structure to the day and knows the pattern. Try to have consistent times for meals, school, homework, quiet time, playtime, dinner and chores. When the day includes new or different activities, tell the child beforehand and explain why this day's pattern is different. Don't underestimate how important it is for children to know that their caretakers are 'in control.' It is frightening for traumatized children (who are sensitive to control) to sense that the people caring for them are, themselves, disorganized, confused and anxious. There is no expectation of perfection; caretakers themselves have often been effected by the trauma and may be overwhelmed, irritable or anxious. If you find yourself being this way, simply help the child understand why, and that these reactions are normal and will pass. 3. Be nurturing, comforting and affectionate, but be sure that this is in an appropriate 'context.’ For children traumatized by physical or sexual abuse, intimacy is often associated with confusion, pain, fear and abandonment. Providing 'hugs', kisses and other physical comfort to younger children is very important. A good working principle for this is to be physically affectionate when the child seeks it. When the child walks over and touches you, return in kind. The child will want to be held or rocked – feel free. On the other hand, try not to interrupt the child's play or other free activities by grabbing them and holding them. Further, be aware that many children from chronically distressed settings may have what we call attachment problems. They will have unusual and often inappropriate styles of interacting. Do not tell or command them to 'give me a kiss' or 'give me a hug.' Abused children often take commands very seriously. It reinforces a very malignant association linking intimacy/physical comfort with power (which is inherent in a caregiving adult's command to 'hug me'). 4. Discuss your expectations for behavior and your style of 'discipline' with the child. Make sure that there are clear 'rules' and consequences for breaking the rules. Make sure that both you and the child understand beforehand the specific consequences for compliant and non-compliant behaviors. Be consistent when applying consequences. Use flexibility in consequences to illustrate reason and understanding. Utilize positive reinforcement and rewards. Avoid physical discipline. 5. Talk with the child. Give them age appropriate information. The more the child knows about who, what, where, why and how the adult world works, the easier it is to 'make sense' of it. Unpredictability and the unknown are two things which will make a traumatized child more anxious, fearful, and therefore, more symptomatic. They may be more hyperactive, impulsive, anxious, aggressive and have more sleep and mood problems. Without factual information, children (and adults) 'speculate' and fill in the empty spaces to make a complete story or explanation. In most cases, the child's fears and fantasies are much more frightening and disturbing than the truth. Tell the child the truth, even when it is emotionally difficult. If you don't know the answer yourself, tell the child. Honesty and openness will help the child develop trust. 6. Watch closely for signs of re-enactment (e.g., in play, drawing, behaviors), avoidance (e.g., being withdrawn, daydreaming, avoiding other children) and physiological hyper-reactivity (e.g., anxiety, sleep problems, behavioral impulsivity). All traumatized children exhibit some combination of these symptoms in the acute post-traumatic period. Many exhibit these symptoms for years after the traumatic event. When you see these symptoms, it is likely that the child has had some reminder of the event, either through thoughts or experiences. Try to comfort and be tolerant of the child's emotional and behavioral problems. These symptoms will wax and wane - sometimes for no apparent reason. The best thing you can do is to keep some record of the behaviors and emotions you observe (keep a diary) and try to observe patterns in the behavior. 7. Protect the child. Do not hesitate to cut short or stop activities that are upsetting or re-traumatizing for the child. If you observe increased symptoms in a child that occur in a certain situation or following exposure to certain movies, activities and so forth, avoid these activities. Try to restructure or limit activities that cause escalation of symptoms in the traumatized child. 8. Give the child 'choices' and some sense of control. When a child, particularly a traumatized child, feels that they do not have control of a situation, they will predictably get more symptomatic. If a child is given some choice or some element of control in an activity or in an interaction with an adult, they will feel more safe, comfortable and will be able to feel, think and act in a more 'mature' fashion. When a child is having difficulty with compliance, frame the 'consequence' as a choice for them - "You have a choice- you can choose to do what I have asked or you can choose….." Again, this simple framing of the interaction with the child gives them some sense of control and can help defuse situations where the child feels out of control and therefore, anxious. 9. If you have questions, ask for help. These brief guidelines can only give you a broad framework for working with a traumatized child. Knowledge is power; the more informed you are, the more you understand the child, the better you can provide them with the support, nurturing and guidance they need. Take advantage of resources in your community. Each community has agencies, organizations and individuals coping with the same issues. They often have the support you may need.
- Anything that can decrease the intensity and duration of the acute fear response (alarm or dissociative) will decrease the probability of persisting neuropsychiatric symptoms. - In general, structure, predictability and nurturing are key elements to a successful early intervention with a traumatized infant. - The primary source of these key elements is the primary caregiver. Therefore, it is critical to help the caregivers understand as much about post-traumatic responses as possible.- If the primary caregivers are impacted by the same trauma, it is imperative that they get treatment that compliments the work with the child. Indeed, the best intervention for infants and young children is treating the primary caregiving adults. As they become less anxious, fearful and impaired, the more available they are to the infant and toddler. - Early assessment and intervention can
be prophylactic -- helping prevent a prolonged acute neurophysiological, neuroendocrine
and neuropsychological trauma response. If an infant or young child has been in a
traumatic event, or if the primary caregiver of young children has been traumatized, early
aggressive intervention can be crucial. Contrary to popular belief, even infants and very young children experiencing traumatic events can be effected. Indeed, there is increasing evidence to suggest that the younger a child, the more pervasive are the post-traumatic problems. These are a few simple points to keep in mind. The infant’s world is defined by his or her caregivers. If the caregivers are pre-occupied, depressed, anxious, exhausted or absent due to post-traumatic symptoms, this will adversely impact the infant and toddler. About the drawings: The Weeping Sun : from a drawing by a 12 yo Kosovar girl living in an Albanian refugee camp following displacement in 1999.* The Firing Squad: from a drawing by an 11 yo Kosovar boy after witnessing the murders of members of his village in 1999.* Mother and Child: from a drawing of the experiences of a 10 yo Kosovar boy.* Happy Sun: modified from a drawing by a 10 yo girl treated at the ChildTrauma clinic in Houston.*Drawings from the collection of Dr. Shoaib (Psychiatry resident at Baylor College of Medicine and a trainee at the ChildTrauma program in 1998) obtained during a visit to Kosovar refugee camps in Albania in 1999. THE TRAUMATIZED CHILD and THREAT
When we are under threat, our minds and bodies will respond in an adaptive fashion, making changes in our state of arousal (mental state), our style of thinking (cognition) and in our body’s physiology (e.g., increase heart rate, muscle tone, rate of respiration). To understand how we respond to threat it is important to appreciate that as we move along the arousal continuum - from calm to arousal to alarm, fear and terror - different areas of our brain control and orchestrate our mental and physical functioning. The more threatened we become, the more ‘primitive’ (or regressed) our style of thinking and behaving becomes. When a traumatized child is in a state of alarm (because they are thinking about the trauma, for example) they will be less capable of concentrating, they will be more anxious and they will pay more attention to ‘non-verbal’ cues such as tone of voice, body posture and facial expressions. This has important implications for understanding the way the child is processing, learning and reacting in a given situation. The key to understanding traumatized children is to remember that they will often, at baseline, be in a state of low-level fear -- responding by using either a hyperarousal or a dissociative adaptation -- and that their emotional, behavioral and cognitive functioning will reflect this (often regressed) state. The key points outlined in this booklet help a caregiver provide the structure, predictability and sense of safety that can help keep traumatized children from staying in a state of fear too long. And help them understand how the behaviors of the child can regress (move to the right on the Arousal Continuum).
ORGANIZATIONS Prevent Child Abuse, America Prevent Child Abuse (formerly the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse) is nationally recognized as one of the most innovative leaders in child abuse prevention. It has a nationwide network of chapters and their local affiliates in hundreds of communities. Through our media campaigns, people are finding ways they can help prevent abuse. PCA seeks to equip professionals with the latest, proven prevention approaches through training and technical assistance. To find out more about your local affiliate and the national program activities contact: Prevent Child Abuse America Child Welfare League of America CWLA is an association of more than 1,000 public and private nonprofit agencies that assist over 2.5 million abused and neglected children and their families each year with a wide range of services. There have many resources for families and professionals working with traumatized children. For more information contact: Child Welfare League of America American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) APSAC's mission is to ensure that everyone affected by child maltreatment receives the best possible professional response. This organization has many useful scholarly and clinical materials focused primarily at the professional audience. Caregivers working with abused or maltreated children may find this a useful resource, nonetheless. For more information contact:: APSAC Red Cross The American Red Cross has a long history of helping children, families and communities recover from disasters. This experience has resulted in an increasing awareness of the need for quality mental health education and preventative approaches to minimize the long-term effects of traumatic disaster. With special experience for trauma resulting from natural disasters, this organization has a network of mental health professionals capable of immediate response to help a community organize and focus their resources following traumatic events. One of the primary partners in this effort is the Disaster Mental Health Institute in South Dakota. Either of these resources are excellent places to start. The Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Institute OTHER David Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pages Without question the best trauma-related resource that exists on the Web. Dr. Baldwin has done a remarkable job, collecting, sorting and commenting on this information. If you have access to the Web, start here. You won’t be disappointed. These Trauma Pages focus primarily on emotional trauma and traumatic stress, including PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), whether following individual traumatic experience(s) or a large-scale disaster. New information is added to this site about once a month. The purpose of this award winning site is to provide information for clinicians and researchers in the traumatic-stress field. Baldwin’s interests include both clinical and research aspects of trauma responses and their resolution. For example:
Supportive resources supplement the more academic or research information of interest to clinicians, researchers, and students. David Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pages
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A neuropsychiatric disorder that may develop following a traumatic event that includes changes in emotional, behavioral and physiological functioning.
For more information about the ChildTraumaAcademy, please contact: Jana Rubenstein, M.Ed., LPC |
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