CHILDREN IN CHAOS Identifying and Assisting Young Children Living in Substance-Abusing Families

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CHILDREN IN CHAOSIdentifying and Assisting Young
Children Living in Substance-Abusing Families

• David Love, MFT
• Valley Community Counseling Services
• Stockton, CA
• davidlove_at_vccsinc.org

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CHILDRENS POTENTIAL

• Any newborn is prepared to learn all the
  languages on the planet.
• They are prepared to be composers, artists,
  scientists, . . .
• They can learn sign language 8-12 mos. before
  they can speak.

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Making the Connection Children in Chaos

• Domestic
• Violence
• Substance
• abuse
• Elder Abuse

Incest
Child Abuse and Neglect Sibling Abuse
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PRIMARY TRAUMAIN CHILDREN

• Each year 5 million children in U.S. experience
  an extreme traumatic event
• 40 will develop some form of chronic
  neuro-psychiatric problem
• Most problems classified as anxiety disorders
  with post-traumatic stress disorder being most
  common
• Trauma event will impair emotional, academic
  and/or social functioning

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CHILD MALTREATMENT IS LEADING CAUSE OF
TRAUMA-RELATED DEATH FOR CHILDREN UNDER FIVE

• Two-thirds occur at hands of parents under the
  influence of drugs or alcohol
• 51 victims of abuse
• 44 victims of neglect
• 5 multiple forms
• CASA

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CHILDREN OF SUBSTANCE- ABUSING PARENTS

• 2.7 times more likely to be physically or
  sexually abused
• 4.2 times more likely to be neglected
• Children also significantly more likely to be
  abused by others
• CASA

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PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO STIMULANT DRUGS VS HOME
ENVIRONMENTS

• Cognitive Problems-Related strongly to chaotic
  home environment
• Behavioral Problems-Related to prenatal exposure
  to stimulant drugs
• Ira J. Chasnoff, M.D.

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• The Impact of Family Chaos on Brain Development
  in Children

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Impact of Stress on Brain Development
NORMAL
TRAUMA
21 ratio
11 ratio
Cortical Modulation Ratio
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Adverse Childhood Experiences Study Vincent J.
Fellitti, MD The largest study of its kind ever
done to examine the health and social effects of
adverse childhood experiences (n17,000 adults
RR70.5)
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POPULATION ATTRIBUTABLE RISK(Per cent
attributable to ACE)

• Alcoholism 65
• Drug Abuse 50
• IV Drug Abuse 78
• Current Depression 54
• Chronic Depression 41
• Sexual Assault 62
• Domestic Violence 52

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THE ORIGINS OF ADDICTIONVincent Felitte,
MDKaiser Permanente Medical Care Program

• The major factor underlying addiction is
• adverse childhood experiences that have not
• healed with time and that are overwhelmingly
• concealed from awareness by shame, secrecy
• and social taboo.

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UNDERSTANDING TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN
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Amygdala
The Pathway of Fear in the Brain

• Brains rapid response system to fear that sends
  the body into high alert

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Pathway of Fear in the Brain

• Hippocampus
• Processing and storing information
• Evaluate threats by putting them into context of
  previous experiences

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Thinking Through Fear

• FRONTAL CORTEX
• Reins in the amygdala
• and calms the body if
• the threat is determined
• to be insignificant

UW Extension, 2006
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SYMPTOMS OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

• Attachment Problems
• Depression
• Suicidal Behavior
• Anxiety Disorders

• Alcohol and Drug Abuse
• Violent Behavior
• Mood Disorders
• Behavioral Problems

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CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND NEUROPSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS

• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
• Complex Trauma
• ADD-ADHD
• Dissociative Disorders
• Conduct Disorders

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Implications for Learning

• Traumatized children often spend so much time in
  the lower level brain in a state of persisting
  fear that they consistently focus on non-verbal
  vs. verbal cues
• May be very intelligent but cant learn easily?
• must do verbal learning when calm
• Learning needs to be more experience-based ? when
  traumatized children are stressed they are
  reactive/ reflexive vs. accessing cognitive
  solutions

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Too Scared to Learn

• Children who do not feel safe live in a state
  of emergency. Their energy is consumed by crises,
  making it impossible for them to focus on
  learning to read.
• -Too Scared to Learn
• by Jenny Horsman, 2000

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• INTERVENTION
• TREATMENT

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Specialized Programs

• Pre-school
• K-3
• K-6
• Clinic-based

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ASSESSMENT TOOLS

• Parent Stress Index (PSI)
• Addiction Severity Index (ASI)
• Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC)
  (TSCYC)

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SUPPORTING TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN-Interventions

• Parenting Skills for Caretakers of Traumatized
  Children
• Socialization Skills for Children

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PARENT EDUCATION

• Must understand the developmental needs
• of their children
• Must recognize the damage the environment is
  doing to their children
• Must learn how to provide a safe environment for
  their children and make the changes to accomplish
  the goal

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SOCIALIZATION SKILLS FOR CHILDREN

• Must gain age appropriate developmental skills
• Must be able to function in social environments
• Must gain balance between chronological,
  emotional and cognitive development.

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SUPPORTING TRAUMATIZED CHILDREN-Treatment

• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Trauma-Focused Play Therapy

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COMMUNITY RESOUCES-Prevention, Intervention
Treatment

• California Victims of Crime Program
• CHAT Centers
• Human Service Agency
• Mental Health
• First 5

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WEBSITES

• www.zerotothree.com (zero to three
• www.musc.edu/cvc (Child Abuse Tx Manual)
• www.childtrauma.org (Child Trauma Academy)
• www.apsac.org (American Professional Society on
  the Abuse of Children)
• www.calib.com/nccanh/ (National Clearinghouse on
  Child Abuse and Neglect Information)
• www.casacolumbia.org (Columbia University)
• www.johnbriere.com