What ‘Resilient’ Means to Me
Is Larissa resilient? (And does she have ADHD?) Larissa has a writing assignment–2-3 pages–due by the end of today. She understands the topic and knows what she wants to say, so she opens her notebook, picks up her pen, and I can’t work without music. Larissa picks up her phone, checks her DMs, then scrolls […]
Who Do You Trust the Most?
During a session with your therapist, she hands you a paper with three concentric circles drawn on it. They represent relative levels of trust in relationships. The central circle is who you trust the most. She asks you who you would put in that spot. You don’t answer. She pushes. You remain silent. Finally, she suggests your parents. You nod. You know that she needs you to nod.
Lost at the Beauty Shop – A Story
–by Anna Gosman, guest contributor All Karen had said was, “Walk around the corner and grab your iPad from the beauty shop. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Her daughter had forgotten her iPad, and Karen figured the thirteen-year-old could run back to the shop to get it. It was safe – this was […]
ATN Angel: Donald Craig Peterson
By: Julie Beem Tireless. That’s the word that comes to mind when describing Craig Peterson. Those on Facebook know him as Donald Craig Peterson. Craig is an author, an activist, an advocate, an advisor…but most importantly he’s a dad. Parenting six he adopted as a single parent has been far from easy. His children have […]
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 […]
ADHD versus Anxiety
by: Craig Peterson A recent article about the misdiagnosing ADHD in children with early trauma has been making the rounds. Before everyone jumps on the bandwagon, let’s remember that many mental health issues are at play. Not all children are the same. Each needs to be carefully diagnosed. For traumatized children who haven’t begun to […]
Melissa Sadin: ADHD vs. Trauma: When The Duck in Your Class Roars like a Lion
October 1, 2014 by: Gari Lister Today I am delighted to highlight one of the fabulous interviews from the second day of ATN‘s Educating Traumatized Children Summit. And this one is totally near and dear to my heart because it is an interview with the very awesome Melissa Sadin, who also just happens to be […]
What’s in a Name? Part 4 – Is Keeping a Wrong Label OK?
By: Julie Beem
Many of the parents who contact ATN have children with multiple diagnoses and we’re frequently puzzled about which ones are the “right” ones. I’m included in that group. My child has an alphabet soup of diagnoses, including autism spectrum and ADHD/OCD/Tourettes (aggravated by her trauma.) Fortunately for us, we had professionals who also recognized the RAD, PTSD, DTD components and pointed us in the right directions for treatment of those. Yet, her developmental and processing struggles continue.
What’s in a Name? Part 3 – Misdiagnoses/Misunderstandings
By: Julie Beem
My child has __________________ (pick one or several: Bipolar, ADHD, autism, ODD, anxiety, executive functioning problems). When parents of traumatized children turn to professionals for diagnoses and treatment, coming away with at RAD or Developmental Trauma Disorder diagnosis isn’t a sure thing. If I had a dollar for every time a parent told me, “but my child has only been diagnosed with ADHD,” I could fund ATN’s activities well into the next decade. Nearly every child I’ve met with attachment or trauma problems carries an ADD or ADHD diagnosis. Don’t misunderstand me, children can have both attachment & trauma problems and ADHD. But do they always co-exist? No