My Why: A Tribute
When my mom died in 2021, I was catapulted into a foreign land of grief and hurt. Those who have lost close loved ones will recall the intensity of those first few days of grieving, when it is hard to eat or even breathe or to complete simple tasks – let alone the complicated logistics […]
My Why: Healing from Trauma
My introduction to ATN was not as an educator, but as a survivor of childhood trauma. I had recently retired from a 40-year career in education and was searching for answers. The previous year, I had found myself on a therapist’s couch where a tsunami of repressed memories buried under layers of dissociative coping skills […]
ARPA provides $122B Funding…Now is the time to Trauma-Inform Your School
Through the passage of three stimulus bills in 2020 and 2021, Congress provided over $190B in relief funding to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) – $122B coming through the latest act: American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This funding passes through the state educational agencies with 90% of the money going to […]
The Re-Set Process
It began at TSS In February 2021, I had the honor of moderating Dyane Carrere’s session, “A New Way to Respond to Challenging Behavior: The Re-Set Process” at ATN’s virtual Trauma-Sensitive Schools (TSS) conference. Carrere’s approach to and heart for children from hard places impressed me. So much so, in fact, that I ordered her […]
When The Political Becomes Personal
Last week was just plain emotionally exhausting! As the mom of a child who experienced severe early childhood trauma, a mom who has spent the last two decades immersed in the study of what these early traumas (abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, separation from your parent) do to the developing brains of infants and toddlers, […]
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 […]
NATA Day 2015 – We Need Your Help!
We NEED your help. Every year, millions of children suffer from early childhood trauma and develop Attachment Trauma, also known as complex trauma. ATN and many other organizations involved with traumatized children and their families have designated June 19th as National Attachment Trauma Awareness Day. And this June, we are asking YOU – and EVERYONE […]
Changing Rehoming Laws Isn’t the Answer
by: Julie Beem What do the stories of Arkansas Rep. Harris and his wife, Torry Hansen (who returned her son to Russia in 2010), and the families in last year’s Reuters report on rehoming have in common? All were adoptive parents who found they could no longer safely parent their children in their homes. While […]
Support ATN and Simplify Your Holidays
November 10, 2014 by: Julie Beem Food. It’s an important part of life and an important part of family. With Thanksgiving just days away, many of us are already thinking about food for that special day. Do we roast, smoke or deep fry the turkey? Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes? Who’s bringing the green beans? […]
Thoughts from the Board: Nancy Spoolstra
by: Nancy Spoolstra, Founder
I nNancy Spoolstraever cease to be amazed at where, how and when conversations arise about kids with attachment or trauma issues. I seem to be going through business cards lately at a pretty good clip.