Surviving And Thriving: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Children

BANG BANG BANG! The sound that most children only hear in movies, TV shows and video games. However, the brutal truth is that way too many children of New Orleans have to encounter these sounds in real life. The violence that bleeds through the streets and homes of New Orleans do not discriminate against age, race, gender, the neighborhood you live in, the time of day, or the park you play at.

Children of New Orleans are subjected to such violence that it strips away their youth and their sense of safety. The heartbreaking reality is that these children suffer and pay the consequences of repeated violent exposure. Moreover, this should invoke a strong desire for the community to come together, to not only offer emotional support, but also offer programs to help these children with recovery. These children need to know what it feels like to thrive not just survive.

There is an old saying that it takes a village to raise a child. It’s time to come together to help the children heal from the violence that they have already endured and, provide outlets to keep them off the streets, so that we can stop the perpetuating cycle of violence and trauma. PTSD is a real debilitating problem with anyone that has been faced with extreme violence. Many people only associate this condition with war veterans, not with individuals that are exposed to or victims of violence. To really comprehend the effects of PTSD, one needs to understand that there are no guidelines on how trauma specifically affects a person.

Research has shown that the brain chemistry, and functions of the brain change after dealing with intense trauma. Bessel A. Van Der Kolk, M. D. , former director of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress Complex Trauma Network, has been working clinically with PTSD patients since the 1970’s. He wrote the New York Times Bestseller, The Body Keeps the Score; Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, describing his studies and findings with trauma patients. He found significant results showing how the brain functioned through MRI imaging when the patient was asked to recall details of their trauma. The details given to the patient while undergoing the MRI did not need to include a complete narrative of the event, it sometimes only needed to describe a single memory like a sound, or a feeling.

The study showed that untreated trauma chemically reacted in the brain as if the trauma was happening presently. The Limbic System, particularly the amygdala, the part of the brain that activates the fight or flight response was highly activated. While the Broca’s area, the part of the brain responsible for speech, that would allow someone to communicate their thoughts and feelings was undetected. The MRI results were very similar to someone who had experienced a stroke. These studies showed visual evidence how the brain reacts when we have repressed untreated trauma. This means if a child was shot at, and this child was not treated for the trauma, any memory invoked of that event could cause the child’s brain to react as if he was back in the original trauma.

The child could logically know that he was at school, and in a safe environment, but when the child heard a loud “booming sound” from a book dropping on the ground, the sound would recreate the original trauma and would signal the fight or flight response. This discovery should help us understand that these poor children are most likely replaying their trauma constantly. These are not problematic children. They are children suffering from PTSD and merely trying to survive the constant triggering of the traumatic event.

How can these children thrive in a school setting when they are in constant fear and living in survival mode?Not only does there need to be more resources for trauma recovery available to children in school, we also need to focus on making changes to their external environment including after school programs. New Orleans is not the only city with this problem. PTSD in children that have been exposed to traumatic experiences has become a national epidemic. Shouldn’t the city of New Orleans research and try to mirror successful programs dealing with trauma recovery that other cities have already successfully incorporated into their community? In 2010, Metropolitan Business Academy, a magnet high school, in New Haven, Connecticut added a specialized humanities class called Animated Learning by Integrating and Validating Experience (ALIVE) to be taken by all 9th graders, “in which students’ lived experiences are used as the basis for engaging them in the process of academic discovery and in establishing positive norms for learning that can be applied throughout the rest of their high school education”. This new addition to the curriculum, addresses trauma and gives an outlet through theater to kids. It also helps teachers recognize trauma and take the appropriate measures to handle disruptions, outburst, or violent behavior before it gets out of control. Since the mandatory class was incorporated into the high school curriculum, the impact on the children has been stunning. Data claims that: Over the past three years, the number of suspensions at Metropolitan has dropped by two-thirds. It now has a suspension rate of 3 percent. Incidents of physical fights in school have also plummeted, from 40 in 2010 to less than five last year. The graduation rate rose to 90 percent in 2014 from 82 percent in 2012, and college enrollment rose to 70 percent in 2012 from 48 percent in 2010.

The decrease in violent behavior and disciplinary action, and the increase in graduation and college enrollment, are miraculous achievements. A required class similar to the ALIVE course could easily be integrated into the New Orleans school system. In order for our children to thrive, programs should be implemented outside of the school system as well. Edgarson Shawn Scott, coach of the Panthers youth football team, has lived his entire life in Central City, and he knows all too well the violence that is in the heart of this city. He witnessed a dead body for the first time at the young age of 6. As a community, we need more leaders like Scott who wants to “offer kids an alternative to the streets and outlet for the trauma”.

Studies have shown that a good outlet for helping kids in low poverty are art based after school programs. “There was an eleven-year national study of youth in low-income neighborhoods, that found that children that were involved in community-based arts programs were more likely to have high academic achievement, be elected to class office, participate in a math or science fair, or win an award for creative writing”. There are many programs that have been introduced to trauma affected communities with success, proving through data, that with diligence we can help our young children out of this trauma epidemic brewing through our nation.

Instead of watching the children of our city suffer through violence and trauma, we should come together and build a plan to protect and save our young children. With a cohesive plan, our community can pave the way for our children to overcome their trauma and thrive as adults. The time is now, if we do not take control and fight for them, this viscous cycle of pain and destruction will be ever repeating.