Children and Trauma in America
The following is an excerpt from "Children and Trauma in America", a progress report of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Laura is a 3-year-old girl from San Francisco who developed severe anxiety and nightmares after seeing her father beat her mother. Maria is a 10- year-old girl from Colorado who developed disabling guilt and shame after being sexually assaulted. Carlos is a 12-year-old boy from Boston who was hospitalized after hitting his head repeatedly against the wall at his new school. He was growing up in constant fear of assault from his father. Kevin is a 16- year-old boy who was shot while caught in the crossfire between two gangs and was unable to concentrate in school and lost interest in pursuing higher education. Mark is a 17-year-old boy from New York who became isolated from his peers and grew anxious and depressed after the 9/11 terrorism attack. In the year before the attack, he was almost killed in a car crash. Laura, Maria, Carlos, Kevin, and Mark have important things in common: they have each experienced a traumatic event. They are each also receiving help through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). . .
View Children and Trauma in America Report