By SALLYANN MURPHEY, guest columnist
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. You may have seen a number of people wearing blue ribbons around the county, but there weren’t as many public events as in past years because everyone in social services is running to keep up with the increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases in the system.
Just going by the Guardian ad Litem figures, our volunteers spent more than 2,000 hours in 2017 advocating for 97 of our county’s children, an increase of more than 30 percent from the year before.
Victims of domestic abuse, neglect and, of course, substance abuse are all on the rise, and every one of these children is suffering from trauma.
Trauma-informed care has become a vital part of training for anyone who works with children. As Charlotte Murphey, LMHC (a therapist who specialized in trauma treatment for children and who now offers trainings on the topic), writes:
“Understanding trauma in children is a complex business, but it’s essential for the adults in their lives to do so if the children are going to have a real chance of healing. Too often, the labels assigned to children with trauma are ill-fitting, born from adults who have misunderstood their symptoms as evidence of a ‘defiant’ or unruly child. In reality, children exhibit trauma so differently from adults that it can go unrecognized, leading to outcomes such as drug addiction, imprisonment and suicide. The experience of trauma can shape the development of a child’s brain, even going so far as to inhibit or unlock genes that impact the strength of their immune system, or their ability to produce a stress hormone called cortisol, which can potentially increase their risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder. In short, traumatic experiences can shape a child’s life right down to their DNA. … Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, an expert on childhood trauma, once said that trauma is the greatest undiagnosed health crisis in the United States.”
If you would like to learn more, you will find an in-depth article about child trauma on the Kids’ Zone page at our website, browncountygal.org, along with a number of resources for those who are either supporting a traumatized child, or who believe that a child may be suffering from its effects.
The good news is that, with professional intervention, childhood trauma is treatable and the outcomes can be excellent. Murphey again: “Children who come out the other side are often more empathetic, better problem-solvers, are responsible and trustworthy … and more likely to maintain a purpose and positive outlook on life.”
That potential is surely worth all our vigilance and effort.
The Kids’ Zone is brought to you by the Brown County Guardian ad Litem program, of which Sallyann Murphey is the director. To contact the Guardian ad Litem, call 812-340-8894 or email [email protected].
