Summer Survival

–by Lorraine Fuller Summer can be difficult for parents of special needs kids. The schedules are different, it’s hot outside, and there is no school. Some parents don’t get a break. I’m one of those parents. I used to love summer, but parenting a child with trauma and attachment issues has made summers difficult. Still, […]

Trauma without Healthy Attachment: How a Child Feels

Child sleeping

–by Janyne McConnaughey, PhD I sat on the floor next to her. I understood her fear of abandonment, the trauma she had experienced, and how her mother had been unable to provide any form of comfort. I watched her body shake uncontrollably and offered a blanket. I knew she would not want me to hold […]

Stronger in Spirit Than I Ever Imagined

–by Donald Craig Peterson Manager’s note: you can read the original post on Craig’s own blog, Adopting Faith: A Father’s Unconditional Love. Craig also has a forthcoming memoir, Adopting Faith: A Father’s Unconditional Love, and you can follow his son Andrew’s story by clicking “Like”  on the Facebook page, Andrew Peterson Goes for the Gold. ____________ The past month […]

What ‘Mad Men’ and Don Draper Taught Us About Trauma and Shame

–By Hilary Jacobs Hendel Manager’s note: The ATN blog is pleased to announce the addition of therapist and author Hilary Jacobs Hendel to our lineup of regular contributors. Although not as adoption- or attachment-focused as some of our other bloggers, Hilary’s work on core emotions and “The Change Triangle” provides precious insight into both our children […]

The Fine Art of Consequences – Part II

Little girl crying - Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)

–by Julie Beem In my last post, I wrote about a mom in search of an appropriate consequence for her daughter’s misbehavior at school. I suggested that an at-home consequence (taking away Wednesday night church activities) for an in-school behavior might not be the best approach, in part because children with brains affected by trauma […]

Why Jeannie Can’t Tell Time

Why Jeannie Can’t Tell Time

Staring at the analog clock in my therapist’s office, I wondered which hand was the big hand and struggled with my need not to go over my time.

“I can’t read the clock,” I said. It was awkward because I was 62, but I really wasn’t.

It’s Just Like Mother’s Day

Julie Beem

–by Julie Beem There’s a phrase my daughter spits out in anger and rage. One that does not contain obscenities or obvious threats, but still strikes fear in my heart. The phrase is, “It’s Just Like Mother’s Day!”  She usually says this through gritted teeth in almost a growl-like tone with her face contorted. Even those […]

Unanswerable questions

by: Laura Dennis “So many unanswered and unanswerable questions.” That’s how my December 29 journal entry ended. One month later, not much has changed. The same old questions are still chasing each other round and round in my head, all thanks to Saroo Brierly’s A Long Way Home. Haven’t heard of it? What if I tell […]

ATN Angel: Dr. Joe Lyons

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. by:  Julie Beem Dr. Joe Lyons is a licensed clinical psychologist, an attachment & trauma professional, and founding member of the Attachment Institute of […]

I Believe Therapeutic Parenting Sets the Stage

by:  Julie Beem Every day ATN gets calls and emails from parents struggling to find answers for their children’s behaviors.  These behaviors are the result of early, often chronic, trauma.  Whether the child has experienced abuse, neglect, painful medical procedures or witness violence, these Adverse Childhood Experiences alter the child’s social and emotional development.  They […]