This is a story from my hero about a trauma in her early childhood. Sandi Patty is a renowned soprano soloist who was sexually abused at the age of 6 years. She came to this situation from a happy, supportive family and returned to this family after the incident, one week later
Trauma:
Apart from and unable to contact the security of her parents.
Unable to protect herself from the adult whose care she was in.
The caregiver: an authority figure in good standing, a acquaintance of her parents.
Belief of this six year old:
Adults are always right.
If the caregiver is angry, it must be my fault.
This happened because I am a pretty little girl.
It is my fault, so I cannot tell my parents.
The only good part of this week long horror, was the milk and chocolate chip cookies even though they were given without positive emotion.
After this incident, Ms. Patty started going to food for safety and security and even in her adult life, stress sent her to the kitchen to bake chocolate chip cookies. After her divorce and she was sending her children off to visit their father, she experienced intense panic even though she knew their father would not harm them. She started having memories of this incident and after psychiatric counselling came to understand the damage this incident had done to her.
There was apparently a six year olds unconscious decision not to be beautiful because bad things happen to beautiful girls. Not to question authority due to her sense of powerlessness and a knowing that she was now unfit being damaged by this affront.
Ms. Patty realizes that the thoughts she had as a six year old were not wise in a grown woman's mind but that did not make them any less powerful and controlling.
To another country and another time: the 2-6 year old children devastated by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.
Children in shelters who stayed covered up all day - unable to cope with this disaster to their lives. They are traumatized an even their innate optimism is overwhelmed with fear and inactivity (Lieberman & Knorr, 2007).
Their strong attachment partners (parents) may be missing adding to the insecurity and fear. Even if the parents are there, they were unable to fulfill their role as protector, breaking away at the child's security. (Leiberman, et al., 2007)
Children depend on emotions to read the sense of a situation. In this situation there would be intense sadness and loss. Also during this period their egocentricity causes thoughts of everything being their fault and there may be no one or no time to understand and alleviate these fears. (Lieberman, et al., 2007)
Solutions
Child-friendly spaces are being set up in the shelters. Play kits that bring something familiar and normal that the child can identify with, feel safe with and manipulate are being provided. (ECD News, 2011)
Communities are banding together, providing books, toys and teachers and mothers to be with the children. There has been special education give to early educators to best help these children(ECD News, 2010)
Spending time talking, allowing children to act out through play. (Lieberman, et. al., 2007)
A new semester started in April and the government made a priority to see that as many children as possible could be back into the normality and peer support of school. (Nakagawa, 2010)
Both of these situations, incredibly sad. One lay hidden for years and the other is known immediately and world wide. The first was shrouded in the naivete of years gone by that no person from my group would harm children and the other under the scrutiny of a global community armed with research and resources to support. All young children are vulnerable and need the entire world village to be mindful of them.
Sources
Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood ( 2011) ECD News (Early Childhood Development News) Japan Demonstrates Strong Community Resilience for Young Children post-Disaster. http://www.arnec.net
Helping Children and Adolescents after the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, (March 18, 2011), Suggestions for parents/carers/homestay families. www.education.vic.gov.au
Lieberman, A. f., Knorr, K., (June, 2007), The Impact of Trauma: A Developmental Framework for Infancy and Early Childhood. Psychiatric Annals
National Child Traumatic Stress Network, (2011). Earthquakes http://www.nctsn.org
Patty, S. (2005). Broken on the Back Row, Nashville, TN.: Howard Publishing Co.
Patty, S. (2007). Falling Forward...into His arms of grace, Nashville, TN.:Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Patty, S. (2008). Layers, Nashville, TN.: Thomas Nelson, Inc
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Bobbie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. What stood out to me is Liberman’s statement, “Spending time and allowing children to act through play”. A lot can be learned through role playing. It can help to increase your understanding of that role or the problem presented.
Thank you for your post!
Valerie
Bobbie,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post. I imagine that as an adult the fear will always be there for Patty. I am glad that she got counseling, and I hope that she explains to her children that if something like that should happen to them or someone they know to please tell their parents. I hope this never happens, but never feel that it's your fault and you can't tell anyone.
I feel so bad for the people that suffered through those terrible earthquakes and tsunami. The fear that they felt and the emotions they have, have to be devastating. I am grateful that people are providing toys, books, and shelters to help the children have some type of normal childhood. Hopefully, for those children that lost their parents, someone will become that loving caregiver for them so that they regain some sense of security.