barbara defazzio, lmhc, dcfc...
TRANSCRIPT
Barbara Defazzio, LMHC, DCFCPresident/CEO
Early onset trauma
Separation from caregivers
Multiple placements
Chaotic child welfare systems
“Cells that fire together Wire together” D. Hebb
Early trauma can affect brain development
Separation from caretakers can affect brain development
There is no such thing as a baby – there is a baby and someone”
Our kids often do not have a “someone
The tasks of the first three years of life are:
a) experience, regulate and express emotions
b) form close and secure interpersonal relationships
c) explore the environment and learn from it
Initially the infant relies on adults to regulate emotions and affect
Gradually the young child learns to regulate his/her own emotions. (“The Good Enough Mother”)
Infants of severely depressed caretakers can miss the transition to self regulation
Neglected children often do not reach this stage of self regulation
Nurturing, stable and consistent relationships are essential to good infant mental health
Young children learn what is expected of them and what they can expect of caregivers
Neglected children usually do not have stable, consistent relationships with caregivers
Improving the Caregiver-Child relationship is often the central focus of working with this population
Infants and young children share and communicate feelings and experiences with caregivers and other children
This develops a sense of confidence in the child’s ability to engage in relationships
“The Still Face”
The ability to have a stable and consistent caregiver-child relationship builds child’s confidence to interact with others and with the environment
Abused or neglected children often have impaired ability to interact
The child often cannot tell us what happened
The child often cannot remember what happened
The caretaker may not have the history to
“connect the dots”
Very young parents
Prenatal history of substance abuse
Lack of prenatal care
Separation from infant in first year – absence, incarceration, etc
Substance abuse and/or mental health issues for the parent
Multiple caretakers
Developmental delays in the infant
Speech delays – (most
common)
The pre-verbal child stores implicit memory
Implicit memories are triggers for reactive behaviors
Even a baby can experience grief
Many young children were separated from their parents and left in orphanages following WW II.
Staff – infant ratio could be as high as 1 caretaker for 50 children.
Dr. Spitz studied the effects of this kind of care on very young children.
His work eventually led to the end of the warehousing of young children and the beginning of the foster care system.
This video is seven minutes long.
It was done as part of a research study.
There is no sound.
The baby will seek what it knows
The caretaker/child interaction shapes the brain’s growth and development
Loss of the caretaker can affect both neurological as well as emotional regulation of the infant
Human brain develops to 90% of its adult size during the first three years of life
Majority of the brain systems responsible for future functioning are developed during this period
Bonding MUST be present during the first year of life for the brain to develop normally
First year of life – brain is wired to attach –brain systems are developed
Brain systems of attachment lay the groundwork for development of empathy, conscious development, character traits such as kindness, etc.
The concept that one is important enough to be loved is the key to healthy neurological development
If a child has no bonding experiences during the first year of life, later efforts to repair and restore bonding may be unsuccessful.
If bonding is interrupted during this stage, (death or removal of a parent), later efforts to repair and restore must build on whatever level of bonding did take place. (This is an important concept for foster or pre-adoptive parents to understand.)
Conscience development
Ability to think logically and analyze danger
Stress tolerance
Ability to self soothe
Ability to form attachments – RAD is set in place by age two
If child never had an attachment figure, treatment of RAD can be difficult
Trauma imprints itself on the infant brain in implicit memory – (EMDR)
Trauma causes the brain to hardwire for trouble
Increased cortisol levels – hyper vigilance
High levels of cortisol can also kill developing brain cells
Decreased serotonin levels – continuous sense of danger – (Children of Iraq)
Chronic stress or trauma can alter the brain
Child is hyper vigilant, unable to self-regulate
Decreased immune system as child matures
Aggression against self or others
Hyper-reactivity to stimulus – child may “blow up” easily
Memory Disturbance –memory of the quality of the event is implicit memory, but the actual explicit event is buried
Dissociation – numbing against reliving the drama. Child may appear to be spacing out
More frequent illnesses
Early treatment is “critical” for prevention
Expect a child who looks like an ADHD child
Expect a child who is hyper-vigilant
Expect a child who may over or under react to a situation
Expect a child who may seem to be daydreaming at odd times
Expect a child who does not see adults as nurturers
Expect a child who may seem to have poor conscience development
Expect this to be a slow process as the child learns to trust you
“Treat the Trauma by respecting the trauma” -
Avoid judging the negative behaviors as lack of character in the child
Set up regular caretaking situations – story time, etc – CRITICAL!
Expect this to take awhile for the child to learn to expect caretaking from an adult.
Do not rush to ADHD meds
Do not give up!
Early trauma can affect the developing brain
BUT………………..
Intervention and treatment can reverse the effects of trauma. You can make a difference!
Circle of Friends Services, Inc.www.cofsfl.org/ [email protected] 259-5413
Journey Home Consultation and Training for Mental Healthwww.journeyhome-fl.com/ [email protected] 801-9121
Helping Babies From the Benchhttp://www.cpeip.fsu.edu/faimh/bench/BenchSM.html
Trauma Academy – Dr. Bruce Perrywww.traumaacademy.com