debor016

Jason came up to me in the main hall and started talking about a client in our day school, Marvin. Marvin had been diagnosed with autism. It was clear that Jason was very committed to Marvin and wanted what was best for him.   Together they had developed many tools that helped Marvin stay calm as he moved throughout his day. They included such items as a fidget ball which Marvin kept in his pocket and a weighted vest which Marvin could wear when agitated. Marvin reported feeling calmer when he wore the vest. But Jason was very uneasy about Marvin’s use of these items. He was concerned about what would happen when Marvin returned to public school. When he used these items the other kids would tease him, he would not have any friends, and he would be miserable. Jason was thinking of taking away the items now so that Marvin could learn to do without them. Later as I helped my husband to apply a Band-Aid to his cut thumb, I reflected on the idea of a band aid. When we apply a banda...

All over the country the child welfare system at every level is reinventing itself to provide trauma informed care. At State agencies, at non-profit treatment providers, at the foster care level, in schools, in outpatient therapy, good caring people are working hard to understand behavior through a trauma lens and to offer treatment that is more relationship-based and collaborative, less punitive and inflexible. Much training is being offered, including by us, on viewing symptoms as adaptations; understanding that the child is doing the best they can; and offering youth safe and caring relationships in which to heal. The same principles are being applied to parents, and there is increased awareness of how their early trauma experiences interfere with their parenting. Utilizing the information from the ACEs study we have learned the societal cost of early childhood adverse experiences, and thus the importance of early and skillful intervention. Yet I am increasingly aware of a central...