Other Considerations

Trauma

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Facts About Trauma

Trauma can affect children’s brains, bodies, behavior, and ways of thinking. It can also be treated!

All children in need of an adoption placement have been exposed to some form of trauma.

But many children in need of a permanent family have experienced more than one form of trauma or repeated trauma, the lasting effects of which should be acknowledged and understood by families considering foster care and adoption.

How does trauma affect children?

Trauma can affect children’s brains, bodies, behavior, and ways of thinking. Ongoing trauma often disrupts children’s sense of security, safety, and sense of themselves and alters the way they see and respond to people and situations in their lives. Approximately one in four children in foster care will show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Children who have experienced trauma—especially ongoing trauma—may have developed unhealthy habits and behaviors, including increased aggression (towards others or internalized towards self) and distrusting or disobeying adults. These behaviors may have helped protect the children from neglect or abuse in the past and may be strongly rooted. It will take time, patience, and often therapeutic support to address and overcome them.  

As the Child Welfare Information Gateway fact sheet, Parenting a Child Who Has Experienced Trauma (495 KB PDF), states: “Parenting a child who has experienced trauma may require a shift from seeing a ‘bad kid’ to a kid who has had bad things happen to him.”  

Trauma Treatment

How can a parent help a child recover and heal?

Experienced foster and adoptive parents have shared the following tips with us about supporting a child who has experienced trauma:

• Be patient and consistent and do not take children’s behavior personally.
• Do not to expect to learn upfront about all the trauma the child or youth has experienced. Some of the trauma’s effects may not become apparent for months or even years.
• Be prepared to have patience and talk things through—a lot!
• Be open to solving problems in new ways.
• Never be afraid to reach out for help and advice from others. Parent support groups can be a great source of information. Search for support groups by state on our website.
• Work hard to understand the trauma and how the trauma affects your child. Not all cases are text book, but doing your research can definitely help.
• Utilize and seek out community resources. Training may be available through hospitals, school programs, therapeutic, and private agencies.
• Ask your child's pediatrician for additional services and resources.
• Take the long view. The trauma didn’t happen overnight and the healing won’t either.
• Finally, as one mother told us: “The thing I’ve learned most from parenting traumatized children is that they are amazing, resilient, and strong.”

This article has been used with permission form AdoptUsKids.org

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