The Impact of Trauma On Children

Effects of Trauma

Part 1

1. What was your reaction to the outcome of the ACE study and Dr. Nadine Harris Burke’ Ted Talk?

Exposure to adversity on developing brains and bodies of children has a dramatic effect on health across the lifetime. When children are exposed to life-threatening situations over time, they develop fight or flight responses that are activated all the time. I liked the example used by Dr. Nadine where she used a bear in the forest and a child meeting the bear when walking in the forest. The activation of the fight or flight response occurs at that particular time, and it ends when the child leaves the forest or escapes from the bear. However, imagine a situation where the child is exposed to this adversity every day at home (Burke Harris, 2015, February 17). The child will have a hyperactive flight or fight response that will stay activated and lead to adverse health outcomes later in life.

Understanding the impact of exposure to adversity as a child and how it affects a person’s health outcomes later in life was eye-opening as it lays a good ground for us to understand why people develop particular diseases and others don’t. The good thing about ACEs is that they are representative of all the population regardless of social status. The initial ACE study mainly had white, middle- and upper-class participants meaning that the results cannot be assumed to only impact those from poor inner-city folks. Exposure to traumatic events as a child will lead to adverse health outcomes even for those who come from affluent backgrounds. Therefore, the results are representative of the population, and they can be used to explain some of the adverse health outcomes seen across the population.

Using the ACE results, we can initiate early interventions to assist children at risk of developing chronic health conditions due to exposure to adverse events at home. With the different grading criteria, we can identify children at risk and implement solutions that can assist them in dealing with the activation of their stress-response genes.

2. What ideas do you have as a social worker to address this national health crisis?

In addressing this national health crisis, the first step is to educate people on the impact of adverse events in childhood and how they lead to chronic health outcomes later in life. With education and increased knowledge, people will begin to see that adverse childhood events can impact all children, and they are not things that happen to those in poor inner-city areas. Therefore, they will take the issue seriously and begin making changes. Childhood trauma is widespread, and there is a direct link between it and the adult onset of chronic diseases. Making the correlation between the two was vital as it explains why people get diagnosed with certain conditions, and there is no indication as to why they suffer or develop the disease. When we begin educating people on how they might have developed certain conditions and how their childhood could be impacting their adult life, they will be more willing to undertake measures to assist them in overcoming these adverse events, so they do not transfer them to their children. Increasing the knowledge of society and other professionals is vital for overcoming the trauma most people suffer and they are not aware of.

The second step would be to administer the ACE test to people and encourage them to share the test with others. When people start to see they might be victims of adverse childhood events, they can start taking precautions towards preventing the development of chronic health conditions. Some individuals believe they grew up in a loving and caring home, so there is no way they could have had an adverse childhood. However, once they take the test, they realize they too might be at risk of some of the chronic health conditions. Most professionals believe that only people from poor or low-class backgrounds suffer from adverse childhood events, making it hard for them to link between the two when dealing with people from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. Encouraging these professionals to administer the test to their clients will assist in changing the narrative.

3. How does the diagnosis or the misdiagnosis of common childhood mental health issues like ADHD relate to this study?

The study demonstrates that children diagnosed with mental health issues like ADHD might not actually be suffering from the condition in most cases (Felitti, 2010, May 3). As indicated by Dr. Nadine, many cases were being referred for ADHD, and these patients could not be diagnosed with ADHD when taken through a thorough diagnosis. Therefore, many children suffer childhood trauma and are diagnosed as having a mental health issue. For social workers, we should now be careful when diagnosing children with mental health issues to ensure we are not categorizing them based on the presenting symptoms. Instead, we should be categorizing them based on proper diagnosis and considering all factors. The interesting thing is that we can discover that most children diagnosed with ADHD were misdiagnosed because they presented with symptoms similar to those of ADHD, while they have an underlying issue related to exposure to adverse events in their childhood.

We can now better explain why some children will present with symptoms similar to those of ADHD, and when taken through ADHD diagnostic testing, the results indicate otherwise. It could be confusing for therapists and physicians trying to figure out why a child presents with symptoms similar to a particular disorder, and their test results show something else. The study gives more information on why there is a misdiagnosis of common childhood mental health issues and what we can do to rectify the situation. Also, any child diagnosed with a common childhood mental health condition should be given the ACE study questions to determine if there might other underlying causes of their condition.

With a proper diagnosis, we can now track down the condition’s root cause and know how to treat or manage the condition. Treatment will target the particular causes, making it more effective than a generalized treatment plan. Using the study, we can identify what could have been the root cause of a child to develop the mental health condition, and treatment will be geared towards assisting the child in overcoming the adverse event they experienced when growing up.

Part 2

Discuss two of the core concepts, what you learned about them, and apply two trauma case examples to the concepts.

Danger and safety are core concerns in the lives of traumatized children, and trauma and post-trauma adversities that can strongly influence development are the two core concepts I will be discussing. Danger and safety are core concerns in the lives of traumatized children. Traumatized children struggle to identify safe spaces, and even when they are placed in a safe community with loving caregivers, they will still find it hard to trust and feel protected (NCTSN Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma Task Force, 2012). However, with time the children can learn to trust and be more at ease as they continue to live in a safe environment. Prolonged exposure to traumatic events can make it difficult for a child to recover from traumatic events. The child will find it hard to differentiate between a safe and unsafe environment resulting in their stress genes being always triggered and alert. The child starts to seek opportunities to satisfy their danger thrills like participating in dangerous sports or dangerous activities. For example, a child might join the wrestling or football club because they seek danger. In the club, they can become the one who is continually challenging other players or tackling others. To restore the sense of protection for the child, safety must be ensured at home and in the community with minimal exposure to dangerous events or trauma triggering events.

Other children might become timid to an extent they are unwilling to explore or venture outside their home. The traumatic event experienced by the child could have caused them to feel unsafe when outside because they might have been involved in an accident or seen an accident happen. The traumatic event made the child fearful of society. Any time they go outside, their flight, freeze, or fight response is activated. The child prefers to stay indoors and avoid situations that might bring harm to them. Their sense of safety lies in staying indoors, making it hard to venture outdoors and participate in school or other play activities.

Trauma and post-trauma adversities can strongly influence development. Children exposed to trauma will be met with developmental challenges, and they might not fully develop in areas of cognitive functioning, interpersonal relationships, and emotional regulation (NCTSN Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma Task Force, 2012). The child can start having unnatural behaviors like being violent and not recognizing the pain they are causing others. Without full cognitive development, the child will not realize when they are doing something wrong, and they might continue to do it even when it is clear the other person is hurting. The failure to recognize pain in others leads to a violent streak that can result in dangerous behavior later in life if not treated. Children will demonstrate regressive behavior that is not applicable for children of their age. For example, a child who fails to develop interpersonal relationships will find it hard to form long-lasting bonds with others. They will struggle when it comes to interacting with others, and they might resort to violent tendencies, which to them is their way of showing love and care.

Trauma exposed children will seek thrills that are uncommon with other children (NCTSN Core Curriculum on Childhood Trauma Task Force, 2012), like dangerous sexual behavior or leaving home early. The child is trying to escape from the trauma they have faced, and they use different strategies like freedom-seeking or having multiple sexual partners. These behaviors only offer them temporary relief, and they are forced to continue engaging in them to get relief. Sadly, over time they realize it is not possible, and they start on the journey to substance abuse.

Social workers should be looking out for certain signs to demonstrate regressive behavior in children that are not applicable for their age. Using these, the social worker can initiate treatment or therapy to assist the child in overcoming the trauma they might have faced. When we understand the impact of trauma in children, we can comfortably assist them in overcoming it if done early.

Part 3

What is public policy? What are some examples of policies that impact social work?

Public policy is defined as a system of laws, courses of action, regulatory measures, and funding priorities regarding a given topic undertaken by a governmental entity (Weiss?Gal, 2017). It can also be defined as an institutional proposal to solve relevant and real-world problems. Some policies that impact social work include social worker safety, child welfare, and affordable care act integration. There have been tragic incidences of violence against social workers in the workplace. Considering that social workers have to provide services outside the four walls of an office, it becomes challenging to retain social workers. The policy aims to make social workers feel safe and protected when attending to their clients. The policy proposes establishing a grant within the Department of Health and Human Services to fund the purchase of workplace safety equipment like cameras and GPS locators. Social workers can use these when they attend to clients at the client’s home or community.