News from the Attachment & Trauma Network

Hope and Healing For Traumatized Children & Their Families Nov/Dec 09

The Attachment &

Trauma Network (ATN) mission is to support

families parenting

children with trauma and/or attachment

issues through education, mentoring, advocacy and local/

regional resources and to develop awareness of

trauma and attachment-related issues in all child-centered environments

(schools, doctors’ offices, foster/adopt

community, legislative).

ATN Mission

In This Issue...

What are senses?

There is no agreement among neurolo-

gists as to exactly how many senses

there are because of differing defini-

tions of a sense. In general, however, a

"sense" is a faculty by which outside

stimuli are perceived. The Sensory

Systems, which integrate functions of

the Peripheral Nervous

System and the Central

Nervous System trans-

late various aspects of

the environment into

electrical signals and

then transmit these sig-

nals, in the form of ac-

tion potentials, to the

Central Nervous Sys-

tem, where they are

interpreted. Aristotle

(ancient Greek philosopher, 384 – 322

BC, student of Plato) was the first to

identify human senses and came up

with the original five: sight, hearing,

touch, smell, and taste. Currently, it is

commonly agreed that there are four

additional senses in humans: equi-

librioception (balance), proprioception

(body awareness), nociception (pain),

thermoception (heat and absence of

heat).

When do senses start to develop?

Brain development begins with the

formation and closure of the neural

You Fill Up My Senses:

The Roles Senses Play in Attachment

By Joseph Lyons, Psy. D

tube, the earliest nervous tissue that

stretches along the entire back of the

embryo. By 16 days after conception,

the neural tube starts forming the neu-

ral plate. At around 18 days, the plate

lengthens and starts folding up to form

a groove. At around 22 days, the tube

begins to fuse shut. By

27 days, the tube is fully

shut and starts to trans-

form into the brain and

spinal. By the 6th week

neural connections per-

mit the first fetal move-

ments, spontaneous

arches and curls of the

body. All nine senses

play important roles in

attachment from the time

they begin to develop.

Touch (Tactician), is the first sense

to develop and so is believed by

many to be the most important with

regard to attachment.

The sense of touch usually begins

around the lips by nine weeks after

conception. By 10 weeks the fetus is

moving limbs, hiccupping, stretching,

yawning, swallowing, grasping, and

sucking. The most sensitive touch re-

ceptors are located in the face, back of

the neck, chest, upper arm, fingers,

soles, and between the legs.

(Continued on page 2)

Roles Senses Play ................. 1

Piece of My Mind ................. 5

Emotions and Development .. 7

Commentary on the Brain .... 13

Do Babies Learn? ................. 14

Book Reviews ...................... 15

Self Care ............................... 16

2

The following are sensory receptors:

Tactile sensations are processed mainly in the Hypo-

thalamus and Parietal lobes.

Smell (Olfaction) usually develops by 13 weeks. The

nose contains specialized sensory nerve cells, or neurons,

with hair like fibers called clilia on one end; each neuron

sends a nerve fiber called an axon to the olfactory bulb, a

brain struc-

ture just

above the

nose. Olfac-

tory infor-

mation is

processed in the limbic system.

The nose develops between 11 and 15 weeks. In the

womb the chemical receptors for smell are bathed not

with air but with amniotic fluid. During later pregnancy,

the fetus "breathes" amniotic fluid and recent research

indicates that chemicals in the amniotic fluid may stimu-

late the smell chemical receptor cells as it washes over

the lungs.

Smell is the sense most strongly connected to memory.

By three days of age an infant can identify the smell of

her mother‟s milk. In one study, 90% of women tested

identified their newborns by olfactory cues after less than

one hour of being with their infant. Some could do it af-

ter only 10 minutes. After one hour, 100% of mothers

could identify their baby‟s smell.

Taste (Gestation) has also usually developed by 13

weeks following conception. The five primary taste sen-

sations are sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami (response

to glutamic acid, e.g., monosodium glutamate). A single

taste bud contains 50–100 taste cells representing all five

taste sensations and each taste cell has receptors. Each

(Continued from page 1)

taste receptor cell is connected to a sensory neuron that

leads back to the somatosensory area of the cerebral cor-

tex.

The fetus‟ taste buds form by 15 weeks and by the third

trimester the fetus swallows an average of a quart of am-

niotic fluid each day. Tastes to which fetuses become

accustomed in the womb may help familiarize them with

their native cuisines.

Balance (Equilibrioception) begins with the develop-

ment of the vestibular system, which occurs by about

14 weeks following conception. Equilibrioception is de-

termined by the level of endolymph (fluid) in the laby-

rinth (the complex system of fluid passages in the inner

ear). The labyrinth comprises the vestibular system and

the auditory system. The vestibular system works with

the visual system to keep objects in focus when there is

head movement. The vestibular system influences nearly

everything we do either directly or indirectly.

Receptors in joints and muscles are also important in de-

veloping and maintaining balance. The Cerebellum re-

ceives sensory input from muscles, tendons, joints, eyes,

ears, and

other brain

centers as it

works to

control bal-

ance, posture, and coordination.

With regard to attachment, vestibular problems may oc-

cur due to the following: premature birth followed by

fairly long period in incubation, exposure to excessive

movement as a fetus or infant, exposure to invasive

sounds as a fetus or infant, neglect resulting in lack of

movement during infancy, repeated or severe ear infec-

(Continued on page 3)

Name Location Function (responds to…) Hair follicle ending Hairy skin areas Hair displacement

Ruffini endings Dermis of hairy and glabrous skin Pressure on skin

Krause corpuscle Lips, tongue, genitals Pressure

Pacinian corpuscle Deep layers of dermis in hairy and Vibrations 150-300 Hz

glabrous skin

Meissner corpuscle Dermis of glabrous skin Vibrations 20-40 Hz

Free nerve endings Throughout skin Mechanical, thermal, or

noxious stimulation

Merkel cells Epidermis of glabrous skin Pressure of the skin

After one hour, 100% of all

mothers could identify their

baby’s smell.

Aristotle was the first to identify

human senses and came up with

the original five: sight, hearing,

touch, smell, and taste.

3

tions (with or without tubes), head banging, motion sick-

ness or dizziness caused by watching objects spin or by

spinning oneself (for self-soothing), traumatic brain in-

jury, shaken baby syndrome. Appropriate movement,

(rocking, bouncing) will offer a feedback loop that en-

hances the development of both physical coordination

and attachment.

Body Awareness (proprioception) is also dependent

on the development of the vestibular system, starting

by about 14

weeks after

c o n c e p t i o n .

Proprioception

i s t h e

“unconscious”

awareness of

where various

regions of the body are located at any one time. The pro-

prioception sensory system calls upon proprioceptors in

the muscles that monitor length, tension, pressure, and

noxious stimuli.

The most complex and studied proprioceptors are the

muscle spindles. They inform other neurons of length of

the muscle and the velocity of the stretch. During fine

movements, the density of muscle spindles increases as

opposed to during gross movements. There are also more

spindles found in the arm and leg muscles used to main-

tain posture against gravity.

The brain processes information from pro-

prioceptors in the tendons, joints, and liga-

ments. It is important to note, however,

that most women do not feel fetal move-

ments until 18 weeks of pregnancy.

Hearing (audition) comes with the devel-

opment of the auditory system, which occurs by 21

weeks following conception. Humans are capable of

hearing sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz. The eardrum

(tympanic membrane) vibrates according to sound waves

and then the three bones in the ear (malleus, incus, sta-

pes) further process the sound waves. Then membranes

(cochlea, corti, cilia, tectorial) send the auditory stimula-

tion to the midbrain, the thalamus, and the auditory cor-

tex. The incoming information is also interpreted in the

temporal lobes.

By 18 weeks a fetus responds to loud, sudden noises. By

26 weeks, the fetus can hear what is going on within a 12

foot radius of the womb. Newborns immediately exhibit

(Continued from page 2)

recognition of their mothers‟ voices.

Sight (Vision) begins to develop by 26 weeks following

conception. Photoreceptor neurons in the retina take in

information in the form of electrical impulses. That in-

formation is then interpreted in the occipital lobes of the

brain.

By 32 weeks the fetus can track objects and by 34 weeks

the fetus has the vision of a newborn. Newborns 20 min-

utes old can successfully imitate facial

expressions. By 4 days, neonates demon-

strate recognition and preference for

mother‟s face. By 2 months, infants are

able to gaze and smile and so engage in

face-to-face play. By 5 months, infants

can incorporate objects into the interac-

tion. By 9 months vision is used as an

intentional communicator as infants deliberately seek

information and support from adults.

Pain (Nociception) forms by 32 weeks following con-

ception. By 32 weeks, every part of the fetus‟ body is

sensitive to pain. There are three types of pain receptors:

Cutaneous (skin), Somatic (joints and bones), and Vis-

ceral (body organs). Information from these nociceptors

passes through either the trigeminal ganglia, which is the

fifth cranial nerve, or through the dorsal root ganglia,

which is also knows as the spinal ganglia.

Ganglia are multiple clusters of neurons. Neurons are

major classes of cells. For decades it has been believed

that certain

parts of the

t h a l a m u s

along with the

somatosensory

cortex serve to

discriminate

aspects of pain such as quality, location, and intensity.

While at the same time other portions of the thalamus,

the prefrontal cortex, and the limbic system serve to pro-

vide an affective-motivational dimension to the experi-

ence of pain.

Some research has indicated that fetuses will clench the

muscles surrounding the umbilical cord when they be-

come aware that the mother is thinking about having a

cigarette.

Children who have been neglected or chronically abused

appear to experience pain differently. Many seem to have

little regard for this form of sensory input.

(Continued on page 4)

The maturation of the complex part of the

brain through sensory interactions with the

environment determines their emotional

and cognitive development in the first

few years of life.

By 18 weeks a fetus responds to loud,

sudden noises. By 26 weeks, the fetus can

hear what is going on within a 12 foot radius

of the womb.

4

Joseph Lyons, Psy. D.

Attachment Institute of New England

21 Cedar Street, 2nd Floor,

Worcester, MA 01609

508-799-2663, x 105,

joe@attachmentnewengland.com

RESOURCES:

Amen, D.G. (1988). Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: A

Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression,

Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness. New York, NY: Three

Rivers Press.

Bremmer, G. & Fogel, A. (Eds.) (2001). Blackwell Handbook

Of Infant Development. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.

Carlson, N.R. (1988). Foundations of Physiological Psychol-

ogy (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Hughes, D.A. (1997). Facilitating Developmental Attachment.

Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc.

Keck, G.C., and Kupecky, R.M. (2002). Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow. Colorado

Srings, CO: Pinon Press.

Kranowitz, C.S. (2003). The Out-of-Sinc Child Has Fun: Ac-

tivities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction. New York,

NY: The Berkley Publishing Group.

Lewis, T., Amini, F. & Lannon, R. (2000). A General Theory

of Love. New York, NY: Vintage Books.

Levy, T.M., and Orlans, M. (1988). Attachment, Trauma, and Healing: Understanding and Treating Attachment Disorder in

Children and Families. Washington, DC: CWLA Press.

Lewkowicz, D.J. & Lickliter, R. (Eds.) ( 1994). The Develop-ment of Intersensory Perception. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erl-

baum Associates.

Randolph, E.M. (2001). Broken Hearts Wounded Minds. Ev-

ergreen, CO: RFR Publications.

Sears, W. & Sears, M. (2003). The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two (2nd

ed.). New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Schore, A.N. (2003). Affect Regulation and the Repair of the

Self. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

Schore, A.N. (2003). Affect Dysregulation and Disorders of

the Self. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

Siegel, D. & Hartzell, M. (2003). Parenting From the Inside

Out. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam.

Siegel, D. (1999). The Developing Mind. New York, NY:

Guilford Press.

Later, A. (Ed.) (1998). Perceptual Development: Visual, Audi-

tory, and Speech Perception in Infancy. East Sussex, UK: Psy-

chology Press, Ltd.

van der Kolk, B.A. (2005, July). Frontiers of Trauma Treat-

ment. Course conducted at the Cape Cod Institute, Eastham, MA.

Verny, T. & Kelly, J. (1981). The Secret Life of the Unborn Child: How You Can Prepare Your Baby for a Happy, Healthy

Life. New York, NY: Dell Publishing.

WEBSITES:

http://www.accessexcellence.org/ae-bin/htsearch

http://www.alertprogram.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/tv/humansenses/

index.shtml

http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/

http://www.biopulse.org/color.html

http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob/teaching/sensory/olfact1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://www.keystoneblind.org/kidsclub/exercises/

http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/origins/

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/color2.htm

http://www.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=brainBriefings_main

http://www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/

The somatic sense of heat and the absence of heat

(Thermoception) has also developed by 32 weeks fol-

lowing conception. Temperature receptors are found in

various tissues including the skin, cornea, and bladder.

The hypothalamus is involved in thermoregulation. A

primary role of the primary caretaker is regulating an in-

fant‟s temperature.

By the last trimester, most senses have not only devel-

oped, but fetuses are capable of simple forms of learning

through sensory input. For example fetuses are capable

of habituating (decreasing their startle response) to re-

peated auditory stimulus, such as loud clapping just out-

side of the mother‟s abdomen.

In spite of these abilities, babies enter the world with a

relatively primitive cerebral cortex. The gradual matura-

tion of this complex part of the brain through sensory

interactions with the environment determines their emo-

tional and cognitive development in the first few years of

life.

(Continued from page 3)

5

I watched the young mom

with her 2-month-old son at

our local IHOP this week-

end. He was fussily nod-

ding off to sleep in her

arms. When her food ar-

rived, he awoke slightly. So

instead of putting him

down, she did the “mom

thing” and stood up, bounc-

ing and swaying to lull him

into a deeper sleep, occa-

sionally sneaking a bite of

her food, which was defi-

nitely cold by the time she

was about to sit down to eat.

Watching scenes like this always floods my mind with

thoughts and feelings about my daughter, her early de-

velopment, and all that she missed (and I missed giving

her). Home at 20 months, my daughter was not the

blank slate that some would espouse she was. Her

early childhood of neglect, poor nutrition, and likely

abuse, had taken a great toll on her development.

As my husband observed

the IHOP interaction, he

commented on how chubby

this baby was, and that the

mom continued to hold the

baby while he slept. And I

kept thinking how healthy

that was for this little one‟s brain development.

I never expected that adoption would make me well-

versed in early childhood development, but what our

children didn‟t get can be a huge clue to what their

challenges are now and what they need to heal.

This issue of Hoofbeats is focusing on infant develop-

ment (including pre-natal) because it is important that

those of us parenting traumatized children clearly un-

derstand the impact of neglect, sensory deprivation,

malnourishment and poor pre-natal care on a develop-

ing brain.

Neuroscience is still discovering the entire picture, but

there is plenty of research out there that contradicts the

idea that our children “were too young to remember”

what happened in their pre-verbal lives. In fact, sci-

ence seems to indicate that the earlier the maltreatment

occurs, the more damaging it is, because of the way the

Piece of My Mind

Julie Beem

brain develops. The brain that is developed in-utero

and during the first year of life is the foundation for

all other brain development.

How can understanding infant development help

change my child/teenager’s behaviors? Grasping

the concept of what my daughter missed develop-

mentally didn‟t necessarily change her behaviors (at

least not at first), but definitely changed the way I

thought about those behaviors.

Our children do things that look purposefully ma-

nipulative and feel as if they are directed personally

at us. And on the surface, they are. Understanding

the developmental pieces that our children have

missed helps us to view our children‟s issues as dis-

abilities and developmental “holes”.

It helps us to understand that sometimes the “won‟t”

is truly a “can‟t” when it comes to their behaviors,

because the underlying brain development is not

healthy. No matter how “smart” a child is (and

many of our children have above average intelli-

gence and great frontal cortex functioning), if the

pons and midbrain areas of the brain (responsible

for emotional regulation

and sensory interpreta-

tion) are impaired, then

our children‟s behaviors

will reflect that.

Once I viewed my

daughter‟s issues as dis-

abilities it was easier not to take them as personal

attacks or rejecting behaviors. It was easier to view

the need for a different, more therapeutic, parenting

approach.

Where’s the message of hope and healing if my

child’s brain was “damaged” long before I was in

the picture? That‟s the $64,000 question! The an-

swer is brain plasticity. When I was in school, the

scientific community believed that after toddlerhood

a brain literally quit growing. More than once our

college professors warned that any brain cells we

killed off during our party weekends would be for-

ever lost because the brain did not grow new cells.

But, neuroscience has changed its mind on that one.

(Not that I advocate wild party weekends!) Brains

do continue to grow, both by producing new cells

and by re-purposing areas of the brain to do the

work for other areas. And therein lies the hope!

(Continued on page 6)

It helps us to understand that sometimes the

“won’t” is truly a “can’t” when it comes to

their behaviors, because the underlying brain

development is not healthy.

6

Visit the ATN store at:

http://www.radzebra.org/MM5/merchant.mvc

Visit the conference page to purchase audios.

Click membership to pay your

membership dues.

We hope to have a donation area set up soon.

We appreciate your support.

Adjunct interventions like neurofeedback, neurodevelop-

mental reorganization and sensory integration therapies

are helping many of our children. Some families find

changes in diets, hormone therapies and things like mu-

sic, swimming, or horseback riding therapies to help as

well. It is precisely because the brain is changeable that

healing can take place!

The challenge is that it‟s much harder to fix what didn‟t

occur correctly the first time than it would have been for

it to occur correctly the first time. Therapists tell us that

the child will need many more repetitions and much

more effort to “re-do” a developmental piece that is

missing, than they would have needed if it was done at

the appropriate developmental stage. This news, how-

ever, is not really news to those of us parenting trauma-

tized children. If we‟ve been at this for any length of

time at all, we know there is no “quick fix” for our chil-

dren.

My wish is that you will take the information in this is-

sue as a gift to your family this holiday season, and ex-

amine your family‟s struggles in a new light. Further, I

hope you pass on this information as a gift to others.

Perhaps reading the articles by these professionals will

(Continued from page 5)

help those around your family understand the challenges

your child truly faces (and that they were impacted by

what happened to them before they joined your family).

And perhaps this basic understanding of healthy pre-

natal and infant development will encourage those in

your world who are about to have babies to recognize the

importance of nurturing this development. A world full

of healthy and happy babies…now that would be the

greatest gift of all!

The Perfect Gift

Looking for the perfect gift for your

favorite awesome parent? Dona-

tions made to ATN can be made in

honor or memory of a loved one,

friend or family member. Dona-

tions to ATN are tax-deductible and

help traumatized children and their

families nationwide.

If you have family members who want to “help” but

aren‟t sure how to make a meaningful contribution, a do-

nation to ATN may be just the right gift.

What will ATN do with the donation? All funds given to

ATN go directly to help traumatized children and their

families. Monies are needed to pay for the crisis phone

line, website and our new ATN Lifelines - online train-

ing series, slated to be fully launched in 2010.

Donations can be mailed to: ATN, PO Box 164, Jeffer-

son, MD 21755 or by calling Lorraine at 240-357-7369.

Honorees will receive a card from ATN acknowledging

the gift.

Did You Know…

United Way Donations

Did you know that you may be able to donate directly

to ATN through your United Way giving at work? If

your employer‟s United Way program allows you to

designate giving, you can choose ATN. We won‟t

show up on the pre-printed list, but by supplying your

name and federal tax ID, you can direct your paycheck

deductions to ATN.

Contact Lorraine (lorraine@radzebra.org or 240-357-

7369) or Julie (julieb@radzebra.org.)

7

Babies are not innately born with the ability to regulate

emotions and social behavior. Healthy brain develop-

ment facilitates infants‟ ability to acquire emotional and

social skills. Ground-breaking stud-

ies in the 1990‟s confirmed that ac-

tivity in the premotor cortex called

the mirror neuron system allows in-

dividuals to observe and mimic

emotional and social behavior.

Infants must complete the develop-

mental sequence, an exact sequence

of movement, reflex, and sensory

experience, to stimulate the neural

growth through which they gain ac-

cess to all parts of their brain, in-

cluding the mirror neuron system. If

the developmental sequence is not

completed and babies do not gain

access to these parts of their brain, lifelong functional

deficits will result unless rectified through a program of

neurological reorganization.

Chronological age does not automatically translate into

increased function. Just because a child reaches a year of

age, she does not inevitably gain the ability to walk. To

walk well with a smooth gait, the child must first com-

plete the developmental skills of crawling on her abdo-

men and creeping on hands and knees. These trigger the

postural and structural reflexes which allow the child to

walk well.

This process applies to social, emotional, and cognitive

skills as well: each of these rely on the developmental

sequence to insure appropriate function and, lacking

completion of the developmental sequence, deficits

manifest.

A March, 2005 study summarized the critical importance

of the foundational layers of the central nervous system

to facilitate more advanced function: “New learning isn‟t

simply the smarter bits of our brain such as the cortex

„figuring things out.‟ Instead, we should think of learning

as interaction between our primitive brain structures and

our more advanced cortex. In other words, primitive

What Do Emotions Have To Do With Brain Development?

Neural Development’s Impact on Emotional and Social Regulation

By Emily Beard Johnson, BA, CD, Asst. Assoc. of ECE, Neurological Reorganization Practitioner

brain structures might be the engine driving even our

most advanced high-level, intelligent learning abilities.”

When a baby is born, the myelin (a white, fatty substance

that facilitates neural movement in the

brain) is present to the medulla. At this

stage of development, all activity is re-

flexive. As stated by an infant cogni-

tion scientist, “Babies have to learn

everything….They start with a few

primitive reflexes to get things going.”

Initiating the developmental sequence

through unrestricted movement, reflex,

and sensory experience facilitates mye-

lin growth and, hence, increased func-

tion. As described in a February, 2007

study, newborn brains grow movement

and vision regions first (compromised

mainly of gray matter), which facili-

tates the growth of the white matter (myelin) and corre-

sponding increased function.

As stated by the research author, “This study gives us the

first glimpse that there are regional differences in how

quickly the brain is growing, and these regional differ-

ences are probably related to functional development.” A

December, 1997 study demonstrated that sensory experi-

ence influences the development of brain areas that con-

trol movement: “The research suggests that sensory feed-

back to the brain‟s motor cortex system is one of the ma-

jor driving forces that shapes motor function during de-

velopment,” critical for the development of the mirror

neuron system. When this visual and sensory-motor de-

velopment begins, mirror neuron function in the form of

social mimicking is observed in infants as young as two

to three weeks old. This is the foundation of later, com-

plex emotional and social behavior.

Once the developmental sequence is initiated, myelin

reaches the pons at approximately one to five months of

age. The pons is responsible for all vital, life-preserving

function as well as extreme emotional content, including

attachment, bonding, sense of safety and security, fear,

and anxiety.

(Continued on page 8)

Permission to copy this article with appropriate attribution is granted (206) 399-5275.

8

ATN Professional Member Directory

These professionals believe in ATN’s mission and have

joined us as Professional Members.

Attachment Institute of New England

Worcester, MA

508-799-2663

www.attachmentnewengland.com

Therapists: Ken Frohock, LMHC, LPC

Peg Kirby, Psy.D.

Joseph Lyons, Psy.D.

Suzanne Allen, Ph.D.

Center for Attachment Resources & Enrichment

(C.A.R.E.)

Decatur, GA

404-371-4045

www.attachmentatlanta.org

Therapists: Barbara S. Fisher, M.S.

Janice Turber, M.Ed.

Lawrence Smith, LCSW

Silver Spring, MD

301-588-1933

lbsmith@md.net

Parenting with Pizzazz

Silverthorne, CO

970-262-2998

Therapist: Deborah Hage, MSW

One visual milestone of a pons-level baby is her ability

to recognize basic face structure, which she uses as a pri-

mary perceptual mechanism. This ability is so critical

that babies develop the ability to recognize face structure

long before they recognize body structure. This face rec-

ognition also plays a critical role in the development of

new object recognition, a key cognitive skill.

A pons-level baby uses her new visual skills to maintain

eye-contact and promote bonding and attachment with

caregivers, especially her biological mother while breast-

feeding. Breast-feeding offers an array of important sen-

sory experiences to support healthy neurological function

nutritionally, emotionally, behaviorally, and cognitively..

According to an August, 2006 study, “The quality of

physical contacxt [during breastfeeding] between mother

and baby may influence the development of the off-

spring‟s neural and hormonal pathways.”

Abnormal face processing and an unwillingness to main-

tain or avoidance of eye contact is a predictor for neuro-

psychiatric disorders, especially autism spectrum disor-

ders, and bipolar disorder. “The more [children] misin-

terpreted the faces as hostile, the more their amygdala

flared. Such a face-processing deficit could help account

for the poor social skills, aggression, and irritability that

characterizes the disorder in children.”

The cycle of response is a pons-level function and crucial

component in the development of safety, security, attach-

ment, and bonding. Pons-level infants have a vital cry

that communicates, “Help me! Help me! Come save me;

I‟m dying!”

Pons-level infants perceive the world in terms of black

and white as the part of the brain responsible for abstract

reasoning is not yet myelinated. This communication re-

flects the pons-level infant‟s perception that her life is at

stake if she is hungry, cold, hot, in pain, or separated

from her mother.

To establish safety, security, attachment, and bonding, it

is necessary that the infant‟s needs are adequately met

when she vitally cries. Releasing the vital cry and then

having her needs adequately met establishes a cycle of

response, builds a healthy mirror neuron system, and al-

lows the baby to feel safe, secure, attached, and bonded.

Conversely, if the baby uses her vital cry and her needs

are not met, the pons initiates the fight or flight response.

At that time, the brain releases stress hormones (such as

cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline) to facilitate escape

from what the infant perceives as a life-threatening situa-

tion.

(Continued from page 7)

(Continued on page 9)

9

For an infant with limited capacity to move and minimal

control over her environment, these hormones are re-

leased to the point that they become detrimental and

cause an injury to the pons. Consequently, even when the

infant is in a nurturing and responsive environment, the

stress-response is hard-wired into her brain and she con-

tinues to act as if her life is threatened.

The correlation between an adequate reaction to the cycle

of response and lifelong emotional and behavioral com-

petence is well-documented.

An April, 2001 study demonstrated that children with

d e p r e s s e d

m o t h e r s

have diffi-

culty regu-

lating their

e m o t i o n s

and getting

along with

others be-

cause their mothers are unable to show adequate warmth

and sensitivity. In other words, the cycle of response was

not sufficiently completed and the children have poorly

functioning mirror neuron systems. As stated by the

study author, “Our study showed that one possible reason

these children may have trouble getting along might be

the inability of depressed mothers to cultivate emotion

regulation skills in their children. Emotion regulation

skills have been found to be an important component of

social competence.”

An additional study demonstrated the lifelong impacts of

poor infant attachment. “Expressions of emotions in

adult romantic relationships can be related back to a per-

son‟s attachment experiences during early social devel-

opment. Those participants who were secure and at-

tached as infants were rated with higher social compe-

tence as children” and this social competence was

tracked through to expressive and emotional attachment

in romantic relationships in adulthood. As stated by the

lead author, “The current findings highlight one develop-

mental pathway through which significant relationship

experiences during the early years of life are tied to the

daily experiences in romantic relationships in early adult-

hood.”

A May, 2003 study found that in utero and infant envi-

ronments shape the development of stress behaviors and

learning abilities. The study author stated that “the find-

ings of [the] study demonstrate the significant role of the

(Continued from page 8)

[pre- and post-natal] environment in regulating certain

behaviors,” such as stress-associated behaviors and cog-

nitive performance in adulthood. Successful completion

of the pons-level developmental sequence facilitates life-

long attachment, emotional regulation, and appropriate

responses to stress.

Another emotional skill developed in the pons is compas-

sion and empathy. Pons-level infants perceive extreme

sensations, including pain. As regulated by the mirror

neuron system, feeling pain appropriately facilitates

compassion and empathy: if it doesn‟t hurt me if I am

pushed down, then there is nothing to prevent me from

pushing you. Conversely, if it does hurt me to be pushed,

I am much less likely to deliberately push you.

Several studies confirm the correlation between pain per-

ception and the development of compassion and empa-

thy. A February, 2004 study demonstrated that the same

brain region engaged when one feels pain physically as

when one empathizes for a loved one in pain. As stated

by the study author, “For the first time, brain imagers

were able to study empathetic processes…and show that

emotional and not cognitive processes are triggered by

the mere perception that your loved-one is in pain…The

results suggest that we use emotional representations re-

flecting our own subjective feeling states to understand

the feelings of others. Probably, our ability to empathize

has evolved

from a sys-

tem for rep-

resenting our

own internal

b o d i l y

states.”

Individuals

who have issues with pons function (such as those with

post-traumatic stress disorder) experience less pain sensi-

tivity, with decreased ability to empathize and express

compassion.

For those with neuropsychiatric disorders, the mirror

neuron system isn‟t firing appropriately and, conse-

quently, the individual struggles to empathize. As stated

by the lead author of a May, 2007 study, “These results

support the notion that a dysfunctional mirror neuron

system may underlie the impairments in imitation and in

empathizing with other people‟s emotions…This may

lead to a cascade of negative consequences for the devel-

opment of key aspects of social cognition and behavior.”

While it may seem counter-intuitive, pons-level emo-

(Continued on page 10)

Individuals who have issues with

pons function (such as those with

post-traumatic stress disorder)

experience less pain sensitivity,

with decreased ability to empathize

and express compassion.

Psychological stress during infancy

has been found to cause early

impaired memory and a decline in

related cognitive abilities.

10

tional development has lifelong cognitive consequences

as well. According to a February, 2003 study, the vision

development typical of a pons-level infant allows her to

fill in perceptual gaps by four months of age. As stated

by the study author, “These results suggest that visual

completion of a simple object trajectory is not functional

at birth, but emerges across the first several months after

the onset of visual experience.” Because this perceptual

ability is not innate and completion of the developmental

sequence is required to lay the foundation for this capac-

ity, early life stress interferes with the normal process,

thus causing memory loss and cognitive decline later in

life.

“Psychological stress during infancy has been found to

cause early impaired memory and a decline in related

cognitive abilities. The study suggests that emotional

stress may contribute to the type of memory loss during

middle-age years that is normally seen in the elderly.”

After the pons is developed, myelin reaches the midbrain

-level. This occurs at approximately seven to fourteen

months of age. (For our purposes, the midbrain is a re-

gion of the brain that encompasses many parts, one of

which is called the midbrain). The midbrain is responsi-

ble for regulating, filtering, and balancing almost all in-

ternal and external stimuli. Important emotional growth

occurs at this level as well.

Visual development continues, with infants developing

vertical eye tracking, the beginnings of convergence, and

appreciation of detail within detail. Infants use these

skills to further refine the mirror neuron system.

A November, 2002 study demonstrated the importance of

these in-

c r e a s i n g

skills to in-

fants‟ ex-

p a n d i n g

e m o t i o n a l

and cogni-

tive capaci-

ties. “This work is important because following another

person‟s line of sight is crucial for learning about lan-

guage and understanding the emotions of other people.”

Another study reinforced the point that infants use visual

cues to shape appropriate emotional responses through

the mirror neuron system. Using infants‟ visual skills as a

measurement, researchers found that twelve-month old

infants “begin to interpret the behavior of other individu-

als based on inferences about other persons‟ emotions,

(Continued from page 9)

desires, and beliefs.”

Completion of the developmental sequence allows in-

fants to reinforce and build on emotional and cognitive

skills.

The midbrain-level is responsible for filtering distracting

stimuli, as demonstrated by a March, 2007 study. The

ability to filter out distractions is not automatic, but re-

quires myeli-

nation of this

part of the

brain. “Our

brains fend

off distrac-

tions. If we

are busy

with some-

thing, we

suppress disrupting external influences…suppression is

not automatic.”

Filtering distractions is critical for emotional and aca-

demic success. When this is not in place, learning dis-

abilities such as attention deficit disorder and attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder can result. Because of the

pons-level cycle of response‟s interplay with the mirror

neuron system, the quality of parenting also predicts

whether or not an ADHD child also exhibits conduct

problems, such as lying, fighting, bullying, and stealing.

As the lead author of an April, 2007 study stated,

“Research has suggested that children with both ADHD

and conduct problems are at the greatest risk of becom-

ing chronic criminal offenders.” Additionally, these self-

regulation skills, beyond intelligence, are a greater indi-

cator of children‟s early academic success, laying the

roadmap for either lifelong academic success or struggle.

When midbrain-level myelinazation does not occur ap-

propriately, neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depres-

sion, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism spec-

trum disorders, can result. A February, 2007 study rein-

forced this point: “This study suggests that in autistic

children, something may go awry during gray matter

growth in the first year of life.”

An April, 2007 study found that a growth factor involved

in brain development causes pathological changes in

brain‟s white matter (myelin). “These changes lead to

alterations in biochemical signaling and behaviors sug-

gestive of mental illness,” especially with schizophrenia

and bipolar disorder. These issues negatively impair an

individual‟s ability to process both emotion and cogni-(Continued on page 11)

When midbrain-level myelinazation

does not occur appropriately,

neuropsychiatric disorders,

such as depression, bipolar disorder,

schizophrenia, and autism spectrum

disorders, can result.

Completion of the developmental

sequence is critical for lifelong

emotional, social, and,

ultimately, cognitive competence.

11

neurodevelopmental healing Emily Beard Johnson BA, CD, Asst. Assoc. of ECE

Phone (206) 399-5275

emily@neuroreorg.com

www.neuroreorg.com

tion, according to an October, 2005 study. As stated by

the study‟s author, “We found that the amygdala, the part

of the brain that is supposed to react to emotional stimuli,

is over-reactive to negative stimuli in children with bipo-

lar disorder and the part of the brain that controls cogni-

tive behavior is under-reactive.”

Successful myelinization triggers the mirror neuron sys-

tem, critical for minimizing issues related to neuropsy-

chiatric disorders and for maximizing emotional and cog-

nitive function.

At approximately a year of age, the myelin reaches the

cortex, or the rational, verbal, intelligent part of the

brain. However, if the developmental sequence was not

completed in the pons and midbrain, issues will be evi-

dent in the cortex, because toddlers use their rudimentary

mirror neuron system to further refine appropriate emo-

tional and social behavior. At this point, the foundation

of the mirror neuron system must be in place so that

healthy emotional and that toddlers‟ imitation predicts a

well-developed conscience, toddlers engage in emotional

eavesdropping to guide their behavior, and fears learned

by observing others are neurologically identical to those

directly experienced.

Basically, according to a March, 2007 study, the apex of

cortical function, moral judgment, fails without healthy

emotional processing. This processing is reliant on the

successful completion of the developmental sequence

within the first year of life.

Establishing the neural foundations that support healthy

emotional and behavioral processing begins at birth

when infants initiate the developmental sequence through

unimpeded movement, reflex, and sensory experience.

If an infant‟s move-

ment is constricted, she

will be unable to com-

plete the developmen-

tal sequence and, con-

sequently, trigger ap-

propriate neural growth

in the mirror neuron

system. As a result,

functional deficits will result in the form of abnormal

emotional and social behavior. Most severely, these pre-

sent as neuropsychiatric disorders.

Numerous studies confirm that the presence of abnormal

function within the first years of life predict life-long

emotional, social, or behavioral issues just as healthy

function in the first years sustain healthy function

(Continued from page 10)

throughout one‟s life. Neurological reorganization is cur-

rently the only discipline that replicates the developmen-

tal sequence to stimulate neural growth and eliminate the

underlying cause of emotional, social, and behavioral

dysfunction. Completion of the developmental sequence

is critical for lifelong emotional, social, and, ultimately,

cognitive competence.

REFERENCES:

Association for Psychological Science, May 4, 2007.

Earl K. Miller et al., Nature, February 24, 2005.

Michael Brunton, “What Do Babies Know?,” Time,

January 29, 2007.

Dr. John Gilmore et al., Journal of Neuroscience, Febru-

ary 7, 2007.

George Huntley, Journal of Neuroscience, December 1,

1997.

Association for Psychological

Science, May 4, 2007.

Virginia Slaughter et al., Cur-

rent Directions in Psychological

Science, December, 2004.

Isabel Gauthier, PhD, Michael

J. Tarr, et al., Nature Neurosci-

ence, June, 1999.

British Cohort Study, Archives

of Disease in Childhood, August, 2006.

Katarzyna Chawarska et al., Presented at the International

Meeting for Autism Research, May 4, 2007.

Kim Dalton et al., Nature Neuroscience, March 6, 2005.

Dr. Ellen Leibenluft et al., Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, May 29, 2006.

(Continued on page 12)

Numerous studies confirm that the presence

of abnormal function within the first years

of life predict life-long emotional, social,

or behavioral issues just as healthy function

in the first years sustain healthy function

throughout one’s life.

12

Dr. Chi-Ming Kam, Presented at Society for Research in

Child Development, April 21, 2001.

W. Andrew Collins, Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, February, 2007.

Darlene Francis, PhD, et al., Nature Neuroscience, May,

2003.

Dr. Tania Singer, Science, February 20, 2004.

Elbert Geuze, PhD, et al., Archives of General Psychiatry,

January, 2007.

Mirella Dapretto and Stephany Cox, Presented at the In-

ternational Meeting for Autism Research, May 4, 2007.

Scott P. Johnson et al., Child Development, February,

2003.

Dr. Tallie Z. Baram et al., Journal of Neuroscience, Octo-

ber 12, 2005.

Rechele Brooks and Andrew Meltzoff, Developmental

Psychology, November 5, 2002.

Valerie Kuhlmeier et al., Psychological Science, Septem-

ber, 2003.

Harm Veling, Released by Netherlands Organization for

Scientific Research, March 26, 2007.

Andrea Chronis et al., Developmental Psychology, Janu-

ary, 2007.

(Continued from page 11)

Clancy Blair et al., Child Development, March 26, 2007.

Dr. John Gilmore et al., Journal of Neuroscience, Febru-

ary 7, 2007.

Gabriel Corfas, PhD, et al., Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, April 23, 2007.

Dr. Mani Pavuluri et al., Presented at the American Acad-

emy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Canadian

Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, October 20,

2005.

David Forman, Psychological Science, October, 2004.

Betty Repacholi and Andrew Meltzoff, Child Develop-

ment, March/April, 2007.

Elizabeth Phelps et al., Released by Oxford University

Press, March 16, 2007.

Antonio Damasio, Ralph Adolphs, et al., Nature, March

22, 2007.

The Unit of Child and Adolescent Psycopathology, Uni-

versitat Autonoma de Barcelona, December 20, 2006

Michael Lewis, PhD, Child Development, March/April,

2006.

Eero Kajantie, Annals of the New York Academy of Sci-

ences, March 1, 2007.

The Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) recognizes that each child's history

and biology is unique to that child.

Because of this we believe there is no one therapy or parenting method

that will benefit every child.

What works for one child may not work for another child.

Many children may benefit from a combination of different parenting methods

and/or treatments.

We encourage parents to research different treatments and parenting methods in order

to determine what will work best for their unique children.

www.radzebra.org

13

To become a member of ATN,

complete the form on page 16

or go to http://www.radzebra.org/join.htm

The brain is a beautiful and wonderful

thing, yet so very fragile. It‟s approxi-

mately 15 centimeters of mass in the av-

erage human and weighs about three

pounds, but controls everything we do.

The science of the brain impacts every

part of our lives. As I was preparing to

put the finishing touches on the articles

for this issue, I attended a class on Youth

Ministry. Lo and behold, our instructor

discussed brain development throughout

our entire class. We were discussing

how brain development impacts how we

teach our youth. I never expected to hear words like

“hippocampus” or “pre-frontal cortex” in my ministry

class, but it was great information. I nodded like a bob-

blehead doll during various parts of the presentation.

Interestingly our instructor, Richard Melheim, gave us an

article on the brain and sleep. It explained in many ways

why our children stay stuck in negative behaviors. The

article, “Sleep Now, Remember Later” is from the April

27, 2009 issue of Newsweek. As I read this, I started

reading as Christian Educator and Youth Worker, but the

information called to me as the mother of traumatized

children. One portion said, “Interestingly, sleep depriva-

tion is more likely to cause us to forget information asso-

ciated with positive emotion than information linked to

negative emotion.” How many of us had or have a child

who didn‟t (or still doesn‟t) sleep well in our home? It

may be that the child doesn‟t feel safe or is dealing with

mental health issues such as Bi-Polar disorder. If your

child isn‟t sleeping, they‟re not processing all those

warm and fuzzy things that we are trying to put into

them. They are staying stuck in the negative memories.

With this information is it any wonder we have to work

so much harder to get our children to accept the positive

emotions we are trying to send?

The article goes on to state, “If a memory is to be re-

tained, it must be shipped from the hippocampus to a

place where it will endure – the neocortex,

the wrinkled outer layer of the brain

where h igher t h ink ing t akes

place…..Sleep is the best time for the

„undistracted‟ hippocampus to shuttle

memories to the neocortex, and for the

neocortex to link them to related memo-

ries.”

So, if our children aren‟t sleeping the

brain can‟t make the connections, or at

least not very effectively, to form the

positive memories because it‟s not shift-

ing to the portion of the brain that it needs

to. Those negative memories are “stuck” and not re-

placed or added to with positive ones.

And finally, toward the end of the article, further confir-

mation of what we as parents of traumatized children al-

ready knew on some level. “Some sleep researchers be-

lieve that for every two hours we spend awake, the brain

needs an hour of sleep to figure out what all these experi-

ences mean, and that sleep plays a crucial role in con-

structing the meaning our lives come to hold. Break-

downs in such sleep-dependent processing may contrib-

ute to the development of depression, and may explain

why some people who experience horrific traumas go on

to develop PTSD.”

Young children need an average of twelve hours of sleep

if they are emotionally healthy. According to this article,

our children need far more than that to be able to over-

come the negative memories that they have. Children

who have suffered the abuse and neglect that ours have

often have difficulty sleeping. They lie awake at night

waiting for a new abuser to come into the room at night.

They may lie awake checking to see if you are going to

stay in the house through the night. This cycle keeps

them stuck in their trauma and unable to form healthy

attachments. Helping them feel safe and helping them

get a good night‟s sleep may be the first step in helping

them to attach.

A Commentary on the Brain

By Kelly Killian

14

The answer is definitely “yes.” For example, we know

that babies are influenced after birth by what they hear

before they are born. Developmentally, fetuses de-

velop functional ears at about 16 weeks, can be startled

by loud noises at 18 weeks, and by 20 weeks can be

calmed by the mother‟s voice (demonstrated by the fact

that heart rates slow).

Studies show that newborn babies prefer their mother‟s

voice over all other voices. They even prefer a voice

speaking with their mother‟s accent over one speaking

with a different accent. And, most interestingly, they

prefer music that their mother heard before they were

born.

How can you tell what a tiny infant “prefers” when

they are unable to speak yet? There are several differ-

ent ways that researchers have developed to test a

baby‟s preference; however one will serve as an exam-

ple. Researchers put a tiny velcro strap on each of the

newborn‟s ankles. Each strap contains a small switch

that will turn on and off depending on which way it is

turned. In this case the left ankle switch controls a re-

cording of the baby‟s mother and the right ankle switch

controls a

recording of

an unfamil-

iar woman‟s

voice.

It is wonderful to watch the few-days-old or even a few

-hours-old baby discover that he/she can control the

sound heard by kicking a right or left leg. It doesn‟t

take long because young humans are smart. Before

long, the baby is kicking that left leg so he can hear his

mother‟s voice. He or she listens to the mother longer

than the other voice, and we conclude that his mother is

the voice he “prefers.”

There‟s only one way this baby could know his

mother‟s voice. He heard it while he was in the womb.

This preference seems to extend to songs he heard in

utero, to stories he heard read aloud before birth, and

language patterns he heard around him prior to the time

he was born.

Currently, research underway at Texas Tech University

is testing whether infants respond longer to mother‟s

singing voice or the singing of an unfamiliar voice.

Do Babies Learn Before They are Born?

By Dr. Janice N. Killian

For further reading:

Standley, J. M.

& Madsen, C.

K . ( 1 9 9 0 ) .

Comparison of

infant prefer-

ences and re-

sponses to audi-

tory stimuli:

music, mother,

and other fe-

male voice.

Journal of Music Therapy. 27(2), 54-97.

Standley, J.M. (2001). The power of contingent music

for infant learning. Bulletin of the Council for Research

in Music Education, No. 149, Spring, 65-71.

Standley, J. M. (2001). Music therapy for premature

infants in neonatal intensive care: Physiological and

developmental benefits. Early Childhood Connections,

7(2), 18-25.

Standley, J.M. (2002). A meta-analysis of the efficacy

of music therapy for premature infants. Journal of

Pediatric Nursing, 17(2), 107-113.

Dr. Janice N. Killian currently serves and Professor

and Chair of Music Education at Texas Tech Uni-

versity in Lubbock, Texas where she teaches doc-

toral, masters, and undergraduate music education ma-

jors, and conducts music education research. Killian

holds the Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin,

a masters from the University of Connecticut and

bachelors from the University of Kansas. She is past

head of the College Division of the Texas Music Edu-

cators Association, chairs the statewide taskforce on

Music Teacher Recruitment and Retention, publishes

frequently in major journals in music education re-

search and serves on the editorial review boards of the

Journal of Research in Music Education, International

Music Research, and the International Journal of Re-

search in Choral Singing. In 2008 she was elected to

serve on the Music Education Research Council, na-

tional executive oversight body for issues involving

research for MENC: The National Association for Mu-

sic Education.

Studies show that newborn babies

prefer their mother’s voice over all

other voices.

15

Help Wanted: Book reviewers. If you or your adoptive child have read a good book,

write a review (250-400 words) and include a link to where you found the book and email to familyfilter@nc.rr.com.

ATN Book Reviews

I first came upon these books when our former pastors

donated them to our church library. They are available

as a set or individually.

Each book addresses issues that “special needs” children

may face, whether it is simply being different in some

way, self esteem or a physical handicap.

Giggle de Smalley Bok is a tale of a little creature who is

picked on to the point of tears. It is a freeing story of es-

teem, personal value and self-worth for any children who

have felt down on themselves.

Mickey's Not The Same brings children into the dreams

and hopes of a boy who can't talk and walk like "normal"

children. Mickey's story, based on a pair of extraordinary

brothers in Melheim's first youth group, will help both

children and adults to see those with physical challenges

in a new light.

Giggle De Smalley Bok, Mickey’s not the Same, and The Girl Who Liked Trucks

by Richard Melheim

The Girl Who Liked Trucks is a call to parents to let their

children grow in their own ways and to love and support

them in their dreams.

I loved these books when I first read them, and then I had

the opportunity to meet the author. He was the instructor

of a Youth Ministry class that I attended and is very

knowledgeable on brain development.

He and his wife have been through infertility treatments

and were in the process of applying for adoption when

they discovered that after five years of infertility treat-

ments, his wife was pregnant.

While the author has no firsthand experience with adop-

tion or special needs children, his books are beautifully

written and our children can relate to them and enjoy

them.

For ordering information, see Richard Melheim‟s website.

http://store.faithink.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=8

16

There‟s no single remedy to decrease the pressure and

stress associated with caring for a traumatized child . Self

-care, however, is the most effective way to reduce care-

giver burnout and create a nurturing, loving environment.

Parents who identify and meet their own needs model to

their children what it means to value their bodies, minds,

and souls. Constantly facing limits in time and resources,

Don’t Forget Self-Care During the Holidays

ATN Staff

Executive Director: Julie Beem

julieb@attachtrauma.org

Director of Education: Tanya Bowers-Dean

tanya@attachtrauma.org

Director of Membership: Kelly Killian

kelly@attachtrauma.org

Director of Support: Kristie Gottlieb

kristie@attachtrauma.org

Administrative Director: Lorraine Schneider

lorraine@attachtrauma.org

ATN Board of Directors

Nancy Spoolstra, DVM

Founder, President

Overland Park, Kansas

Larry Smith, LCSW

Silver Spring, Maryland

Janice Turber, M.Ed

C.A.R.E., Atlanta, Georgia

Ken Huey, Ph.D.

CALO, Lake Ozark, Missouri

Nancy Bostock

St. Petersburg, Florida

Jennifer Smith

Overland Park, Kansas

Nancy Van Slooten

Marietta, Georgia

Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc.

P.O. Box 164

Jefferson, Maryland 21755

240-357-7369

www.attachtrauma.org

many parents are tempted to regularly sacrifice their own

needs in an attempt to prioritize their child‟s. This strat-

egy results in a failure to fully meet anyone‟s needs.

Self-care offers another lesser-known benefit that is

highly prized by parents of all children: a natural energy

boost! Recognizing the full spectrum of one‟s needs and

taking action to meet them offers a new surge of energy

to tackle life‟s tasks with a more open and clear mind.

Parents who make a plan and meet their own needs be-

fore deficits strike will also be better equipped to recog-

nize the unmet needs of their children.

Physical needs

Adults need adequate nutrition, water, sleep, and exer-

cise. Clean air, shelter, and human touch are also basic

elements of life required to maintain one‟s health.

Emotional needs

Security, trust, and intimacy are emotional needs that all

adults seek ways to fulfill.

Social needs

Adults need time with peers and companions to satisfy

their social needs and decrease the risk for caregiver

burnout.

Intellectual needs

All adults require some level of intellectual stimulation

to experience satisfaction and a sense of calm. Active

brains are happy brains!

Spirituality needs

Adults share a need to belong, live a purposeful life, and

believe in a greater power. Fulfilling this need offers

hope, direction, and acceptance.

Creativity needs

WCreativity involves spontaneity and the inclusion of

imagination into our lives.

As a final reminder of the importance of self-care, con-

sider the instructions given by flight attendants before a

plane‟s departure: “We never anticipate a change in

cabin pressure. Should one occur, however, four oxygen

masks will fall from the compartment above. Place the

mask over your nose and mouth and breathe normally. If

you are traveling with small children please secure your-

self first and then assist the child.” It is difficult but es-

sential for parents to meet their own daily needs first if

they hope to nurture their children for a lifetime.