Childhood trauma underpins much of the mental health issues that are so prevalent in schools with our young people. It affects a child’s well-being – their behaviour, confidence, ability to focus, learn and to make friends. Trauma has many faces – and, in any discussion around a child’s needs, it is essential to consider the child holistically.

A child who has experienced the hormonal fluctuations associated with stress, while in the womb, or who has,  when  young, experienced extreme stress within the home due to a number of reasons: bereavement; separation from the caregiver due to any number of reasons including hospitalisation; maternal depression; domestic violence within the home - may, at a later stage, have separation anxiety, difficulty with focus and attention, be hyper-vigilant, or behaviourally dysregulated. These behaviours can present  similarly to ADHD.

The Trauma and Attachment Aware Classroom, by Rebecca Brooks is a great book for Teachers and TAs - also for those caring for a child who has had Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

John Bowlby explained clearly how important a secure attachment is, for stable emotional development, and the effects of separation, or of threatened separation, from the parental figure in "A Secure Base", Routledge Classics, 1988.

Dr Gabor Mate speaks and writes eloquently on diverse aspects of trauma, childhood and parenting:

https://drgabormate.com/trauma

If you would like to talk over anything that is of concern regarding your child's behaviours, or anxieties, please contact me at info@askasendco.co.uk