Orange is the New Black
by: Melissa Sadin
Orange is the New BlackEvery few years, the fashion industry announces a new color that for a time becomes as popular as black. The first time I heard this phrase it was red. Red was the new black. I bought some red and am now more comfortable wearing red than I used to be. The most recent new black was orange. I’m still getting used to it, but I am becoming more comfortable wearing orange.
Trauma is the new black in childhood developmental disorders. Those of us who have been “wearing” trauma are already comfortable with it. We understand the strengths and limitations. We are, however, waiting for it to catch on. There are still many who don’t quite know what to do with it.
That Mom Could Be Me
November 6, 2014 by: Gari Lister Tuesday morning I checked Facebook and saw a post that made me start to cry before I even finished reading it. A “critical” missing […]
Dr. Robert Anda: Childhood Adversity – the Nation’s Largest Public Health Crisis
September 30, 2014 by: Gari Lister So — wow! — ATN‘s Educating Traumatized Children Summit kicked off with some blockbuster interviews today! Throughout the Summit, the ATN Blog will bring […]
Orphan Sunday vs. Orphan Reality
By: Julie Beem
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27
Resilience – Inborn or Learned – Part 2
By: Julie Beem
The listing of factors that make children resilient from Resilience Theory: A Literature Review by Adrian DePlessis VanBreda made total sense to me. But the paragraph of conclusion supposedly based on these factors did not:
Resilience – Inborn or Learned – Part 1
By: Julie Beem
There’s a lot of talk about resilience being the antidote to trauma. Lots of workshops, books, and training programs talk about building resilience in kids as a way to counteract the impact of trauma in their lives. On the surface all this seems to make sense, but it’s always puzzled me. What did people mean by resilience, and why does it appear that my child has none, even after years of parenting her?
What’s in a Name? Part 4 – Is Keeping a Wrong Label OK?
By: Julie Beem
Many of the parents who contact ATN have children with multiple diagnoses and we’re frequently puzzled about which ones are the “right” ones. I’m included in that group. My child has an alphabet soup of diagnoses, including autism spectrum and ADHD/OCD/Tourettes (aggravated by her trauma.) Fortunately for us, we had professionals who also recognized the RAD, PTSD, DTD components and pointed us in the right directions for treatment of those. Yet, her developmental and processing struggles continue.
What’s in a Name? Part 3 – Misdiagnoses/Misunderstandings
By: Julie Beem
My child has __________________ (pick one or several: Bipolar, ADHD, autism, ODD, anxiety, executive functioning problems). When parents of traumatized children turn to professionals for diagnoses and treatment, coming away with at RAD or Developmental Trauma Disorder diagnosis isn’t a sure thing. If I had a dollar for every time a parent told me, “but my child has only been diagnosed with ADHD,” I could fund ATN’s activities well into the next decade. Nearly every child I’ve met with attachment or trauma problems carries an ADD or ADHD diagnosis. Don’t misunderstand me, children can have both attachment & trauma problems and ADHD. But do they always co-exist? No
What’s in a Name? Part 2 – To Label or Not to Label
By: Julie Beem
“You don’t want her labeled for life.” This sentence is usually spoken by your child’s grandparent (out of sheer concern for you and your family) or by a school official (who may be trying to block access to special education services). Either way, crossing the threshold into “labeling” your child is a difficult thing for many.
What’s in a Name? Part 1 – the Radish
By: Julie Beem
The argument discussion rears its head every now and then, so I wasn’t surprised to see it come up again in an online group I belong to. Someone in the group took offense over others in the group referring to their children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) as “radishes” or “radlets”. Then others in the group took offense at being “shamed” because they were just referring casually to their children. And a war of words ensued.