Transitioning Times

            In many instances, the individuals most affected by domestic violence are children. Exposure to violence at home can lead to issues with emotions, behavior, and development. They could exhibit aggression, feel anxious, have nightmares, struggle with concentration, fear separation, and worry about their safety. Often times, the issues that are developed can follow them through life.             The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACEs), one of the largest investigations of child abuse and neglect, found that childhood trauma, including exposure to domestic violence, can lead to disrupted neurodevelopment, social, emotional and cognitive impairment, adoption of risk behaviors, disease, and even early death. ACEs are strongly related to the development and prevalence of a wide range of health problems throughout a person’s life, including those associated with substance misuse. AC...

Childhood should be the safest time of our lives. While we are doing the hard work of growing, developing, and learning, we should be able to play, have fun, feel loved, and be safe with no worries about food, clothing, and shelter. Unfortunately, this is not the situation for many of our children of today. Millions of children in the United States alone, experience some kind of traumatic event each year. These traumatic events take many forms. The events could be related to abuse, neglect, witnessing violence, car accidents, death of a friend or family member, natural disasters, or a whole host of other possibilities. Just what does the impact of trauma look like for a child? This varies greatly based on each individual child. Factors that influence the symptoms include: the magnitude of trauma, how much of a threat does the child perceive the crisis event to be, previous trauma experienced, family stability, mental health of the child and immediate family members, and social sup...