I Believe in ATN
by: Sheilah Davidson Nearly 19 years ago, my husband and I adopted a newborn. It took us years to learn that our beautiful, funny, athletic daughter was affected by the trauma her birthmother experienced while she was pregnant. After many, many therapies and social service interventions as well as endless complaints from teachers, administrators and […]
I Believe Square Pegs Need Trauma-Sensitive Schools
by: Melissa Sadin At ATN we believe that early childhood trauma and attachment disruption impacts brain development. A study found that children living in an Eastern European orphanage had larger more reactive amygdalae and smaller hippocampal volume than children in the same country that had never been in an orphanage. In addition, the same researchers […]
If You Believe
by: Julie Beem The holidays are a time to focus on what we believe. Do you believe in Santa Claus? Peace on Earth? Practicing Gratitude? Family as The Most Important Thing? Well, you can believe all of these things and more, yet, if you’re a traumatized child or the family who loves a traumatized child, […]
Trauma Informed and The Power of Words
by: Melissa Sadin The idea that our words have the power to wound might be as old as time itself. In the Bible it is said, “For in many things we offend in word….” Many of us grew up with the sayings, “Loose lips sink ships” and “If you don’t have anything nice to say, […]
Everyday, I Get Up and Go to Work . . .
Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote everyday, about the kind of community you want to live in. – Unknown by: Julie Beem Everyday, I get up and stumble into my home office…to volunteer. Often I’m three cups of coffee in and still […]
Why I Always Renew My ATN Membership
by: Julie Beem Ok – this is a strange topic for the Executive Director to blog about. Yes, I’m biased. But here’s the deal…I pay my annual Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) membership dues each year because I know what an impact my dues make. In the beginning, my membership was all about me. I […]
Back to School with Traumatized Students: What Do We Tell New Teachers?
By: Jen Alexander, MA, NCC, RPT It’s back to school time for all of us. It can be overwhelming to think about what to tell this year’s teachers about our children. What’s too much? What’s too little? The answers, of course, are different for everyone, but here are some ideas to think about sharing. Educators […]
What NATA DAY is Not!
By: D Craig Peterson NATA Day is coming June 19th. Let me tell you what it’s not. It’s “not a” day to be alone. All families need support. Wear a blue ribbon and tell others what it means. It’s “not a” day to be angry. Sure, go ahead and vent if you need the emotional […]
THE BOARDER: BRINGING TRAUMA TO LIFE
By: D Craig Peterson A film can be powerful – especially in giving victims a voice. Think Precious or Schindler’s List. But could a 100-minute dramatization show the challenges of parenting severely unattached children? The answer is yes. In 2012, Jane Ryan – a long-time parent of children from hard places and a clinician – […]
Representative Harris and the “Rehoming” Controversy
Both social media and the press have been peppered with stories about Arkansas State Representative Justin Harris, whose adopted little girl was sadly sexually assaulted by someone the Harris family placed her with after they found themselves unable to handle the challenges of parenting her. Many of the news stories have vilified Representative Harris — […]