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: 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Niche for Every Child
by: Craig Peterson All children need a special activity in their lives – something to call their own. And especially those who’ve experienced trauma. Many of these opportunities happen through school. For some it’s team sports. For others it might be music or theater. In the case of my son Andrew, he found his niche […]
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 […]
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 — The Landing Pad
by: Jane Samuel Our youngest, now age 12, like many children of trauma, wants to have all her ducks in a row and know what is coming next. She hates getting caught off guard – “I forgot that we had P.E. today and I didn’t have my shoes!!” So schedules and planning work very well […]
Lessons Learned: New Trauma on Top of Old
by: Craig Peterson “Stop saying you understand. You don’t. You have no idea how I feel.” My daughter’s words stopped me in my tracks. Had I assumed too much? Had I overreached and appeared insensitive? Did I re-traumatize her in the process? Probably shades of all three. You see, my daughter is black. I’m white. […]