|
| ||||||
On Wednesday, November 14, WCCF and the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services are hosting a Child Policy Forum called “What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us about Loss, Love, and Healing.” The event will feature a luncheon presentation by Dr. Bruce Perry, senior fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, a Houston-based nonprofit that promotes innovations in service, research and education in child maltreatment and childhood trauma. The stories below illustrate the importance of the concepts Dr. Perry will be speaking about at the event.
These statements were written by two mothers of adopted children. Their daughters’ lives tell the dramatic story of the real impact that trauma, neglect and sensory deprivation have on the development of children’s brains in the first year of life. Because brain development is based on experience, a young child’s brain will adapt to a negative environment just as readily as it will to a positive environment. Prolonged, severe, or unpredictable stress--including abuse and neglect--during a child's early years can result in negative impacts on the child's physical, cognitive, emotional and social growth. Babies who do not get responses to their cries, and those whose cries are met with abuse, develop brain connections that prepare them to cope in a hostile, non-nurturing environment. As a result, their ability to learn and respond to nurturing and kindness may be impaired. Following are pieces of the stories of three wonderful little girls who had this type of early experience. Abby: “She came from a very economically poor orphanage, but the caretaker ratio was 1:3 and the response of staff seemed excellent. She was in great physical health. She couldn’t tolerate facing us when we first got her—she would scream hysterically until she disassociated by falling asleep. The first two weeks she was home, she screamed and cried whenever she was up, but slept excessively. She also was a head banger, particularly in her crib, for quite some time. Abby could have a hard fall or injury with few tears and would seek only her blanket and fingers for comfort. At times Abby looks/acts hyperactive. It took her quite a while to cry to express her needs. Abby is really an awesome kid--- smart, good sense of humor, great at play—she is well liked by teachers and now attends first grade.” Molly: “Molly came from an overflow orphanage. The people seemed very nice, but they had no training and no resources. I would not have survived there. Molly had several medical issues, including a wide/flat back of head from extended time lying on a bamboo mat; a misshapen foot due to lack of stimulation; a lost sucking reflex because the holes on the nipples were so enlarged; excessive inner ear fluid and a resultant hearing loss; a sleep disorder; symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; an open friction wound on her leg; and an inability to play with toys. They had absolutely no stimulation there. She can really be a delightful little girl, but can also be full of rage, frustration and anger …. Why wouldn’t she be, given all she’s been through?” Sal: One cold early spring morning, a beautiful, healthy baby girl, 3 days old, wakes up to find herself alone on a deserted street, hungry and cold. Her mother does not answer her cries, and in fact no one responds for hours. The baby, increasingly agitated and distressed, screams with primal urgency. Eventually a stranger happens by, picks up the crying baby and delivers her to the police station. Through several more intermediaries, the baby is eventually delivered to the local social welfare institute. Examined by a doctor and then wrapped in blankets and fed a bottle, she is deposited into a crib and left alone for much of the rest of the day. That night, no one comes to answer her frantic cries. More days go by, more cries unanswered. Feeding and diapering are administered on a rigid schedule, since the caregivers have so many babies to attend to, and there is minimal opportunity to be held, carried, or spoken to. Stimulation is limited to what the baby can see, hear and feel from her crib. Feedings are piping hot bottles of formula, propped for maximum efficiency, delivered through extra large holes in the nipple. Occasionally the baby's mouth loses its place on the nipple and the entire contents of the bottle pours onto her body. When that happens she misses her feeding, and her wet clothes aren't changed for another hour or more. Eventually the baby stops crying altogether because she has learned that crying rarely draws anyone to her. She is often lonely and scared, especially at night. The sounds of other babies crying and in distress cause her great anxiety, which she learns to tolerate by shutting down and withdrawing deeper inside herself in an attempt to protect herself from the constant stressors in her environment. One day many months later, the baby is bundled up and brought by bus to a city several hours away. She is handed to a stranger with just the clothes on her back and one bottle of prepared formula. Otherwise, everything of her old life has vanished in an instant. The stranger brings her to a hotel across town, where she is changed into new, peculiar-smelling clothes. The stranger shakes a brightly colored rattle in her face. The baby's environment has gone from one of minimal stimulation to one of hyper stimulation; new sounds, new smells, new sights, new sensations, delivered in rapid fire sequence. The stranger tries to feed her a Cheerio, but the baby reflexively gags because she's never had solid food in her mouth. The stranger tries to bathe her in the sink, but the sensation is unfamiliar and terrifying. The stressed baby, overwhelmed, sinks deeper and deeper into a state of shock and withdrawal. * * * * * These girls’ stories illustrate what many children throughout our state experience. In 2005, there were 8,831 child victims of maltreatment in Wisconsin, according to the Department of Health and Family Services’ Child Abuse and Neglect Annual Report. This represents 6.5 children per 1,000 children in the state. Due to multiple barriers, such as substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, homelessness and poverty, many Wisconsin families are unable to provide the critical nurturing and stability their children need for optimal development. The good news is that these three girls have made great progress since being adopted. Their adoptive parents are remarkable. These parents are dedicated to providing all of the time, special treatments, extensive therapies, consistency, patience and love these children need to work through very difficult early experiences. Their stories serve as reminders of the great need for prevention services, and the importance of providing positive environments for all of our children. Sal’s mother continues, “I see someone who works hard every day to fully integrate the experiences of her first year. While experience isn’t destiny, it has molded who she is today. With full acceptance of that, I am working hard to help her become who she will be tomorrow.” Thanks to Heidi Holman for allowing us to use portions of her story. You can read Heidi’s full story at http://www.baas.org/news_special.php. Special thanks to Deb Sumiec for sharing her story and making this article possible.
| ||||||
