The Borderline in My Daughter’s Personality – Part 2
This post is the second entry in a three-part blog. The third part will run tomorrow. The first part ran yesterday; you can read it here. by: Julie Beem “Borderline feels like I’m going to lose my mind You just keep on pushing my love over the borderline…” Madonna As I read further into this […]
The Borderline in My Daughter’s Personality – Part 1
Today’s post is the first in a series of three blogs about Julie’s daughter and borderline personality disorder. Parts 2 and 3 will run Thursday and Friday. by: Julie Beem “Borderline feels like I’m going to lose my mind You just keep on pushing my love over the borderline…” Madonna We’ve been at this whole […]
The Other “B” Word
by: Craig Peterson Before anyone’s imagination runs wild, I’m not talking about that “B” word but the other one we know all too well. “Birth families.” For nearly all of us who’ve adopted – whether domestically or internationally, our children will bombard us with questions about their birth families. Probably sooner than later. Maybe they […]
What if I Had a Behavior Plan?
by: Julie Beem The world is enamored with behavior plans for anyone whose behaviors are “out of line” with society. But do they work? I can’t speak for children with other disabilities, but children who have been traumatized and have attachment challenges just do not respond to traditional behavior modification plans. And frankly, I don’t […]
Ghost Ship
by: Deborah A. Novo I hear you speaking and sense no depth. I hear you repeatedly lying, while looking me dead in the eye, and see you so broken. Lying is your normal and truth is the enemy. It has become more comfortable to control your life by sustaining lies rather than tell the truth. […]
Toolbox Tuesday – Meet WALTER
by: Julie Beem Even after therapeutically parenting for at least 100 years (ok, more like 17), I still love to get a new tool. This tool came to me over the weekend while I was listening in on a Nancy Thomas seminar. Little did I know that I’d have the opportunity to use it within […]
Do You Believe?
by: Gari Lister Have you read the Attachment & Trauma Network‘s belief statement? I hadn’t until I went to the board retreat in January, and since then it has inspired me on a daily basis. It reminds me why ATN is important — why we need to fight for traumatized children and their families — […]
The Amygdala – Stopping Flight or Fight at its Source
by: Craig Peterson What on earth is the amygdala? Most people have no idea. Even less can say it correctly. Let’s start with the pronunciation. Amygdala contains four syllables with the accent on the second one. Just remember to say “ah” three times. ah-MIG-dah-lah Now that I’ve made you look silly, let’s move onto the […]
The Search for a School That Fits
by: Melissa Sadin
Teenager with problemsAs the parent of a child with moderate to severe attachment trauma, I have struggled for years to provide my son with an appropriate educational program. I have worked as a special education teacher and an administrator, so I know the lingo needed to get what I want at an IEP meeting. However, I was startled to discover recently that I wasn’t sure I knew what my son needed. My son always makes it very clear to all involved when something doesn’t work for him. The things that do work, however, are much more subtle and harder to see. My son has never said, “Oh, I like Mrs. Soandso. I feel safe in her class and am able to process language better there so I perform better academically.” The closest we get to that is, “She’s okay, I guess.”
Tuesday Toolbox: “Touching” the Heart of Trauma
by: Jennie Murdock
Mother and DaughterI opened my email andwas reminded of the title for the ATN blog: “Touching the Heart of Trauma”. It struck me that quite literally what we need to do IS “touch” the heart of trauma by touching the body.