What ATN Means to Me

by: Julie Beem

A long time ago in what feels like a galaxy far away, I was a sleep-deprived mom of a raging toddler whose behaviors made absolutely no sense. I was an experienced “good enough” mom — so what was I doing wrong? My introduction to ATN came via a group of adoptive parents on the internet looking for answers for their traumatized children. We didn’t use the word “traumatized” because we didn’t understand that yet.

It was in that group where I first met Nancy Spoolstra. Nancy, if you’ve not had the privilege of meeting her, is best described as a force of nature. She was one of the founders of ATN and for years the entire energy behind ATN’s growth. Nearly 20 years ago, Nancy (an adoptive parent several times over) started meeting locally with other parents whose children had Reactive Attachment Disorder, in Kansas City. Her group started bringing in experts on RAD from all over the country and advocating for children. It wasn’t long until the rest of the nation started calling and emailing…parents from all over looking for help.

I met Nancy in cyberspace in 1999 and finally in person in 2003. By 2004 I was volunteering to help — offering my background in business and marketing to help grow the organization because the need was so great. Nancy called that being “sucked into the vortex” of ATN. Having a passion to give back to other families who are struggling as your family has struggled is both a honor and a never-ending effort. Throughout the years there have been many who have stepped up to support others in the trenches, and together we’ve learned so much about what emerging science tells us about trauma’s impact on early childhood development and how this disrupts attachment. We’ve also seen that same science prove what we already know about our own wounded children – developing a healthy attachment to your primary caregiver is the major antidote for overcoming the profound impact of trauma – healthy attachment creates resiliency!

It’s a blessing to get up every day and work with the incredible volunteers and members who make up ATN. It’s an honor to advocate on behalf of traumatized children about the resources and support they need. It’s a privilege when parents turn to us for support and advice as they learn to therapeutically parent. I can’t imagine my life without ATN. I can’t imagine how much worse our early struggles would have been had I not found Nancy and this network. And I can’t imagine not giving back to the organization that has stood by my family and our traumatized daughter as we have grown and healed.

Julie Beem

Julie has been ATN's Executive Director since 2009. She joined the organization in 2004 after finding incredible support from fellow ATNers when she was searching for answers about her own daughter's early childhood trauma and attachment disorders. Julie leads a staff of passionate professionals and acts as spokesperson for the organization. Prior to ATN, Julie was the president of a marketing and communications consultancy, The Epiphany Group, and has over two decades of experience in professional services marketing, strategic planning and communication strategies. As a graduate of Partners in Policymaking and through personal experience, Julie has garnered a great deal of experience in the areas of special education, school issues, and disabilities advocacy. A published author, Julie wrote a chapter in the EMK Press Adoption Parenting book and was the special needs blogger at Adoptionblogs.com for two years. She frequently presents workshops on attachment and trauma to local and national groups. Email Julie. Julie holds an MBA from Avila College in Kansas City and was a Certified Professional Services Marketer. Julie, and her husband Dave, are parents to four (bio, step and adoptive), including their youngest daughter, adopted from China. This daughter’s attachment difficulties and developmental trauma disorder have changed their lives significantly…in amazing ways.

See more posts by this Author.