CASA TOMADA

Children who experience psychological trauma have been shown to have 7-8% smaller brains (Mate, 2008,) and a smaller hippocampus (Misiak et al., 2017), and Widom’s (1989) widely cited study reported an 18% reduction in the size of corpus callosum regions8 _{and a 50% increased risk of delinquency, adult criminality and violent}

criminal behaviours compared to those who have not experienced childhood

8_{The Corpus Callosum connects the right and left-brain hemispheres. Decreased integration} between these hemispheres affects ability to incorporate logic and reasoning, and to regulate emotion before acting (see Heide & Solomon, 2006, p. 225).

psychological trauma. These children are most vulnerable to symptoms because trauma alters brain development and changes their physiological, cognitive, emotional,

behavioural, and social functioning (D’Andrea, Ford, Stolbach, Spinazzola, & van der Kolk, 2012; Herman, 1992).

While secure attachment with a caregiver can mitigate childhood trauma, (Bretherton, 1992) its prevalence at the hands of the caregiver has long-term,

devastating effects (Seigel, 2012; Perry, 2001). In infants and children, psychological trauma prevents attachment formation or breaks established attachment bonds (Mate, 2011) which is referred to as developmental trauma (Heide & Solomon, 2006; van der Kolk, 2005). When psychological trauma occurs within the home, a “biological paradox” often occurs whereby the survival instinct of the child’s brain requires the child to cry or get away while the attachment circuit compels the child to move toward the caregiver for protection (Siegel, 2012). There is “no solution to the [child’s] fear” (Siegel, 2016, p. 50), which results in collapsing the child’s world9 _{and impacts all aspects of development (p.}

21-11), including neurocognitive development to social-behavioural competence, beginning in infancy (Heide & Solomon, 2006; Moretti & Peled, 2004), and often continuing throughout adolescence (Cooper, Shaver & Collins, 1998).

In psychologically traumatized children, critical aspects of the brain cease to develop (Heide & Solomon, 2006) and overproduction of some chemicals and hormones and underproduction of others disrupt the endocrine system’s development and result in chronic physiological hyperarousal (Heide & Solomon, 2006; Perry, 2013; Solomon & Heide, 2005). Remaining “stuck in the cocoon” (Bloom, 1997, p. 211), these children function at whatever developmental stage they were at during the time of trauma (Mate, 2011; Solanto, 2007, 2013). When trauma is ongoing “every aspect of the self [becomes] distorted and bent in the direction of the traumatic experience[s]” (Bloom, 1997, p. 72). Rage responses become disinhibited and habitual patterns of rage form a classic feature of childhood trauma (Terr, 2003). It is also common for abused children to experience aggression towards themselves or others and to experience murderous revenge fantasies (Herman, 1992), and they are more likely than adults to develop

9 _{Siegel, Siegel, & Parker (2016) explains the collapsing of the child’s world as the collapsing of} adaptation strategies and the fragmentation of the child’s inner self. The inner core of the child remains undeveloped, and results in the child’s inability to trust others, and an inability to “trust their own mind to function well, especially under stress” (p. 50).

hyperarousal10 _{and dissociative physiological, emotional and behavioural responses}

(Perry et al., 1995, p. 277). Because they cannot escape, these children commonly suffer from trance states or numbing (Herman, 1992) so extreme that alterations in consciousness result in them “look[ing] extremely withdrawn or inhuman” (Terr, 2003, pp. 329, emphasis added).

Development of emotional states and the ability to understand emotions of others and empathize become inhibited (Perry et al., 1995; Solomon & Heide, 2005) and

arousal modulation and regulation of internal states cannot develop (van der Kolk, 2005; Schore, 2001; Siegel, 2012). Children are often unable to develop a sense of self and connection with other people (Heide & Solomon, 2006; Herman, 1992), and commonly experience pervasive terror and confusing and uncontrollable emotions. Misleading explanations for violence, or conspiracies of silence invoked by adults, prevent children from understanding the context and meaning of the events, resulting in cognitive

confusion (Pynoos et al., 2007). These children become distrustful and suspicious (Terr, 2003; van der Kolk, 2007b) and have little insight into what they do or feel and what has happened to them (van der Kolk, 2005). They become easily frustrated and demonstrate low impulse control (Perry, 2001) and lack of brain development and function may result in amnesias, with whole segments of childhood being forgotten (van der Kolk, 2007a). Having developmentally reduced ability to use language, these children often

demonstrate their feelings and desires through behaviours rather than words,11

presenting behavioural problems in social situations. Reflection on their own behaviour and delayed gratification are difficult and at times impossible (Perry, 2001). Their

hyperaroused state prevents concentration and learning because they are oversensitive to emotional and social cues, constantly scanning the environment for warning signs of attack and reading subtle changes in facial expression, voice or body language as signals of danger (Herman, 1992, Pynoos et al., 2007; van der Kolk, 2005), rather than paying attention to verbal cues. Having difficulty absorbing verbal instruction, these children direct their attention to what people around them are doing rather than saying

10 _{See Read et al. (2001) for a discussion of sex differences in trauma responses. For example,} hyperarousal is more common in males while dissociation is a more common experience of females. Also, females generally internalize emotional responses while male responses are generally externalized (also see Misiak et al., 2017).

11 _{Levine (2010) explains that children “act out” behaviours because they do not have the capacity} to describe their desires and needs, and thus, the expression “acting out.”

(Herman, 1992; Perry, 2001). Due to their hypervigilance, they develop “remarkable non- verbal skills in proportion to their verbal skills (street smarts)” but often misinterpret friendly touches as threats (Perry, 2001, p. 230) instinctually and instantaneously responding with aggression (Moffitt, 1993; Solanto, 2007), thus maintaining the causal loop (Sampson & Laub, 1992).

Children experiencing CPT often develop a “restricted behavioural repertoire” (Moffitt, 1993, p. 684), becoming incapable of learning “rules of civilized conduct” (McFarlane & van der Kolk, 2007, p. 32). Because the brain grows in a use dependent fashion, maladaptive coping behaviours, over time, become internalized patterns of behaviours,12 _{or more specifically, “states become traits” (Perry, 2001, p. 228). When}

this occurs, these children, paradoxically, only feel calm when they are under stress and experience withdrawal in calm atmospheres (Bloom & Reichert, 1998). They antagonize other children and engage in bullying, fighting, and gang behaviours, in part, to achieve internal equilibrium (Bloom & Reichert, 1998). They become “trauma bonded” (Bloom & Reichert, 1998, p. 139; Herman, 1992, p. 105), gravitating towards dysfunctional and dangerous relationships because these represent “normal” relationships (Bloom & Reichert, 1998, p 139; Herman, 1992, p. 105).

In addition to symptoms of unresolved trauma experienced by adults, these children experience reduced cognitive, language, motor and socialization skills (van der Kolk, 2005; Misiak et al., 2017) and are often experienced by adults and authorities as rebellious, antisocial and oppositional (Perry et al., 1995; van der Kolk et al., 2009). They become the subject of increasing punishment and discipline (Bloom, 1997, 1998), as their behaviour evokes adult responses that further exacerbate their behaviours (Moffitt, 1993). They are often seen as trouble and remain on an “ill-starred path [with]

subsequent stepping stone experiences culminating in life-course-persistent antisocial behaviours” (Moffitt, 1993, p. 683). These children are most often diagnosed as having behavioural disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder, separation anxiety, or phobic disorders (van der Kolk et al., 2009), and affective disorder, dissociative disorder, adjustment disorder, panic disorder and borderline personality disorder (Fonagy et al., 2003; Terr, 2003).