Trauma in the Lives of Children

Effects of trauma on children: occupational therapy to support recovery

“…They may have nightmares, cling to caregivers or become obsessive. Almqvist and Brandell-Forsberg's (1997) results after interviewing parents of Iranian pre-school children living as refugees in Sweden validate the findings reported by previous authors (Eth and Pynoos, 1985;Johnson, 1989). In an initial investigation and follow-up study 2 and a half years later, parents of 50 children were questioned about family life before the exile.…”

“…The three stages delineated are pre-school, school age and adolescence. Pre-school children will often regress developmentally, exhibiting behaviours such as thumb-sucking or bedwetting (Johnson, 1989). They may have nightmares, cling to caregivers or become obsessive.…”

“…The apparitions are attributed to post-traumatic misperceptions and hallucinations (Terr, 1985). Educators maintain that the brain is a pattern-seeking device and therefore younger children may try to make sense of what they have experienced by engaging in repetitive, thematic or traumatic play that lacks the element of fun (Johnson, 1989;Kovalik, 1994). The following case study is taken from the author's practice with children who have witnessed violence.…”

“…The psychological consequences for children who witness or participate in traumatic events are often ignored and psychological help is often not available to them (Johnson, 1989). Parents, teachers and healthcare professionals may not be aware of the signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress and may attribute behaviours and symptoms to other causes or diagnoses (Herman, 1992).…”

“…These conditions are often considered to be manifestations of untreated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and interpreted as ways of coping with the traumatic event (Clark, 1997). Other factors, such as the child's level of environmental support, their previous level of adjustment and ability to cope in general, will influence their response to trauma (Johnson, 1989). The type of stress that is most likely to cause post-traumatic stress reactions is that which is severe enough to threaten the child's very existence.…”