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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.
Recommended