Sharing Web Resources

The Zero to Three website includes a section regarding maltreatment.   In this section, there are outside links to resources that respond to the needs of children and families impacted by maltreatment, violence, loss, and disaster.  The links included “Child Maltreatment” and “Defining Trauma and Child Traumatic Stress.  I chose to look deeper in the site “Defining Trauma and Child Traumatic Stress”.  This site spoke about the two different types of circumstances that children and adolescents experience trauma.  The first circumstance is called Acute traumatic events.  Acute traumatic events occur at a particular time and place and are usually short-lived.  Traumatic events include school shootings, gang related violence, natural disasters, serious accidents, sudden loss of a loved one, and physical or sexual assault.  The second type of circumstance is chronic traumatic situations.  Chronic traumatic situations is exposure to trauma that can occur repeatedly over long periods of time. Chronic traumatic situations include some forms of physical abuse, long-standing sexual abuse, domestic violence and wars.

This site also talks about child traumatic stress.  Child traumatic stress occurs when children and adolescents are exposed to traumatic events or traumatic situations, and when this exposure overwhelms their ability to cope with what they have experienced.  Children respond to traumatic stress in different ways.  Many children show signs of intense stress which include disturbed sleep, difficulty paying attention and concentrating, anger and irritability, withdrawal, repeated and intrusive thoughts, and extreme distress.  Even though some children bounce back from a traumatic situation they can suffer from long term consequences and effect their development.  Repeated exposure to traumatic events can affect the child's brain and nervous system and increase the risk of low academic performance, engagement in high-risk behaviors, and difficulties in peer and family relationships.

This website offers a section regarding Early Care and Education.  This section mentions the importance of positive early learning experiences and how it lays the foundation for later school success.  This section offers three links that include Child Care, Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care, and School Readiness Interactive Birth to 3.  All of these circumstances have the potential to provide high quality education for young children. 

After looking more into child maltreatment and traumatic stress it is importance to look not only at current situations, but also past situations that the child was involved with, in order to fully understand and support the child and family.