the effects of early childhood (ages 0-3) neglect on the...
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The Effects of Early Childhood (ages 0-3) Neglect on the Developing Brain and
Implications for Treatment
Matthew Vasquez, PhD, LMSW Assistant Professor
Nicole Miller, MSW student
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Early childhood attachment experiences build the foundation for life-long learning, resiliency, and the capacity to heal from later traumas.
Self
Brain
Body
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Attachment Theory (The Self)
John Bowlby (1969) viewed the processes of attachment as not only a theory for understanding infant development and the pathology, but also as a means of explaining the development of human personality. The development of personality requires an understanding of the internal working model.
John Bowlby (1907-1990)
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Internal Working Model
The internal working model develops during infancy and early childhood. It posits that people develop cognitive templates that dictate an understanding of their self-worth and overall safety in a given environment based on the type of caregiving they receive. These templates influence attachment behavior, emotional regulation, and later personality.
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The IWM is composed of implicit (procedural) memories
Baby feels hunger sensation Primitive help-seeking response activated (crying). Stress response system also
activated
Hunger is satiated, parasympathetic activation
Repeat this process 5000x
IM - Crying (or help seeking) behavior is useful. This reinforces the use of more complex help seeking behavior as the child grows older
IM – The feeling of hunger is minimally distressing.
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Feeding
Soothing
Playing
Changing
I am valued, this world is safe. Painful sensations don’t last
long.
Parents are seen as a “secure base.” Child will feel comfortable to explore the world (including new environments, challenges,
and other children) when parents are near.
Children will start practicing more advanced forms of help-seeking (outstretched arms,
asking and searching out help).
As the child grows older, becomes more mobile and develops
symbolic thinking, the child will start to self-sooth in times of
distress.
Personality
Quality & consistency of
parenting
Development of implicit memories -
Internal working model
Attachment behaviors & internal locus of control
Development of personality
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Neglectful caregiving
“The world is unsafe, I
am on my own, I am unloved.”
Avoidant, ambivalent, disorganized behavior
Difficulties with self-soothing/regulation and in seeking support from
others
Poor relationship development and social
skills.
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Explicit & Working Memory
(Conscious)
Implicit Memory
(unconscious)
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Explicit memories, concrete thinking, sufficient communication ability
Alice 9 (years old)
Dominant Cognitive States Explicit & Working Memory
(Conscious)
Implicit Memory (unconscious)
CBT Play therapy
(symbolic thinking)
Talk therapy
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Regulation Theory (the Brain)
One of the leading contemporary researchers on attachment theory is Dr. Allen Schore, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA center for Brain, Culture and Development.
He has published widely on the neurological aspects of attachment, and has proposed an updated version of Bowlby’s attachment theory that he calls regulation theory.
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Regulation Theory
The quality to which caregivers interact with and provide stimulation to infants can greatly effect early neurocognitive development, specifically in right-brain region. With consistent interaction, the parent and child eventually achieve affect synchrony.
The Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University are calling this process of back-and-forth interaction:
Video
#2
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Infants do not know how to self-regulate their emotional states, so they instinctually use the serve and return process with their caretaker to help with regulation.
With consistent caregiving, a sufficient amount of neural tuning will lead to affect synchrony. In time, the child will rely less and less on others for emotional regulation.
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The right hemisphere of our brain is responsible for imagination, creativity, and most importantly processing emotional states and self-regulation.
Thus, a lack of sufficient serve and return activity stunts the development of this area, which resultantly stunts all of these processes.
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Implicit memories, which construct the internal working model, are thought to be housed in the right-side of the brain.
At three years old, we see a shift in dominant brain activity to the left side of the brain (reasoning, logic, and language).
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Long Term Implications – Orbifrontal Cortex
The orbifrontal cortex is not functional at birth, but becomes mature during the right-brain development through the attachment process in infancy, and is further strengthened by the socialization processes that occur later in childhood.
Paired with the amygdala, the OFC mediates the ability to engage in flexible behavior as the environment changes [inflexible thinking]. It also processes value and risk, and then makes decisions based on these calculations [Poor decision making, behavioristic approaches may be ineffective].
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Early Childhood Neglect:
Physical Effects
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Developmental Effects of Neglect
1st critical period
of development
(0-1.5 years)
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Physical Effects of Neglect
Right brain is physically smaller, in other words, there is less “brain” to work with.
Left Picture MRI scan of a healthy 3 year old child.
Right Picture
MRI scan of a child who spent
the first three years in a
Romanian orphanage
Enlarged ventricles –
produce cerebrospinal
fluid (CSF)
• Schizophrenia
• Dementia
• Severe PTSD
MRI scan of a healthy 3 year old child. MRI scan of a child who spent the first three years in a Romanian orphanage
Enlarged ventricles – produce cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) • Schizophrenia • Dementia • Severe PTSD
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Infantile (primitive reflexes) persist beyond appropriate developmental period
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Failure to Thrive
Its not just about providing the child food and shelter. The child will not absorb the nutrients from the food if does not receive active engagement for a caregiver. Children will not survive if they believe themselves to be unloved and/or unwanted.
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Clinical Considerations 0-3 years of age
• Enhancing caregiver-child interaction (serve-and-return).
• Addressing obstacles to
caregiving (caregiver-trauma, drug use, medical issues).
• Monitoring developmental
progress (tracking, movement, speech).
• Promoting proper nutrition.
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Treatment Considerations
• Promoting synchrony through movement and play.
• Enhancing social skills (peer and family interactions).
• Enhancing affect regulation skills (down-regulation).
• “Pressure cooker” approach to care – trauma informed, care among all points of contact.
Ages 3+
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John, 6
• Below average height/weight • Below average speech • Adopted age 2, after removal from home due
to severe neglect • Very active, difficult to sooth • 4 ½, left with nanny for 1 month • Behavior escalated • Easily over-stimulated • Defiant • Aggressive (toward peers and with family)
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Early Childhood
Neglect
Treatment Approach Interventions
Emotional &
Behavioral Symptoms
Very active, easily
overstimulated, defiant,
aggressive, and poor peer
relationships.
Help parents understand
the underlying nature of
these behaviors. Manage
with prosocial
interventions
Parent & child
psychoeducation
Somatic effects Smaller bodily frame, poor coordination
Physical activities that
promote range of motion and physical coordination
Occupational therapy
Effects on the brain
Right hemisphere
Regulation, imagination, & creativity
Interventions that promote
right brain development,
imagination, and creativity
• Theraplay
• Attachment and
Biobehaviorial Catchup
(ABC)
• Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
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So what has research and experience proven to be effective in children exposed to early childhood
neglect?
Theraplay Attachment and Biobehavioral Catchup (ABC) Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) Narrative Therapy Expressive Arts Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Yoga
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Theraplay
• Child and Family therapy for: • Enhance and build attachment • Improve interactions between
caregivers and child • Focus:
1. Structure 2. Engagement 3. Nurture 4. Challenge
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Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up
• Children: ABC encourages or enhances the development of nurturing care Often present with dysregulated behavior.
ABC promotes the development of optimal
regulatory strategies. • Parents:
May develop ineffective techniques to control or alter their children’s dysregulated behavior. ABC provides parents with psychoeducation to reduce ineffective or poor parenting skills.
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Child Parent Psychotherapy
Dyadic Therapy Treatment Goal: • Bring parent and child dyad
together to form bonds in a safe and nurturing environment.
• Enhances caregivers’ understanding of child development
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