ATN Angel: Bob Burroughs

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. by:  Sheilah Davidson I first met Bob when I picked him up for an ATN Board retreat in California. We had a long drive […]

ATN Angel: Toni Hoy

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. by:  Maureen O’Neill Davis ATN’s advocacy director, Toni Hoy, made a lasting and inspiring impression on me. I found ATN when my efforts to […]

ATN Angel: Anna Paravano

In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. By:  Sheilah Davidson Even before I met Anna, she had an impact on me. One of my very early experiences with ATN was attending […]

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, […]

Stop the Madness – Schools Must Be Trauma Sensitive

by:  Julie Beem I knew it — from the first time this photo and story showed up in my Facebook feed.  The security officer forcefully removed a teenage girl from her math class after she had been using her cell phone — by knocking her chair to the ground.  And then I saw an interview […]

First Day – Joy, Sadness and Anxiety

by:  Gari Lister Most schools in Dallas started Monday, and my Facebook feed is full of happy children getting ready for their first day of school.  My own daughter started last week — on Wednesday, of all weird days — and somehow I missed posting her picture (so of course I’m embarrassing her by posting […]

What Now? My Child is Struggling at School

by:  Craig Peterson Looking back to my elementary school years, I was lucky. Learning came easy. Fast forward 30 years. My children were struggling at school. When a flyer came home about a school workshop, I jumped at the chance to gain additional knowledge. Several weeks later I encountered a roomful of overwhelmed mothers. Within […]

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 […]

The Curse of the Missing Homework

by:  Craig Peterson In elementary school my two attachment-challenged sons whipped through their assignments in class. They rarely had homework. Since both made excellent grades, I never gave the situation a second thought. All that quickly changed by middle school. As the missing work mounted, their grades plummeted. With seven teachers during the day, they […]

Tuesday Toolbox – Giving Your Child a Sensory Diet at Home

by:  Jane Samuel Like many children from hard places our daughter was diagnosed with sensory issues. As I began to get a grasp on her sensory needs and avoidances and attended OT sessions I kept a running list of what helped her and what would be a good tool to use at home. This Tuesday […]