ac.care

2. Developmental Trauma and the Impact on the Brain

Developmental trauma and the impact on the brain

The above image belongs to Dr. Bruce Perry who demonstrated how a child’s brain growth is impacted on by developmental trauma. The left hand brain is that of a child who was nurtured appropriately. The brain on the right is a child who was in an orphanage and given the bare essentials needed to survive such as formula, food, clothing. The child however was severely neglected through a lack of interactions, affection and ability to explore their environment for appropriate development.

Experiencing abuse over a period of time can have a significant impact on the development of a child’s brain. Being removed from a biological family can be traumatising for a child and it is important that carers are aware of the different responses this can cause. The following videos allow us to explore this further. *Please note some of these videos can be difficult to watch.

Removed is a video created in the US which assists viewers to see through a child’s perspective the experience of being removed and placed into care. Memories of trauma can be very vivid and a reaction to this is what is regarded as being triggered (or also called flipping your lid). Flight, Fight or Freeze responses. Fight doesn’t have to be a physical response, it can also present shouting, screaming or swearing. Flight can present as children storming off, slamming doors, climbing roofs and even running away. Freeze can be seen in a child being still, silent, frozen, starring in to place and dissociating. Children who are withdrawing could be experiencing both flight and freeze responses. When children feel unsafe (physically and emotionally) this can cause extreme stress causing a child to feel on-guard and unable to relax.

Adults flip their lids too, this is when we lose our ability to remain rational and thoughtful. When Zoe receives a new dress from her carer she flips her lid. This could stem from a reminder of her experience of violence. First she froze through experiencing a flashback, she then fought back through the fight response finally moving on to the flight response, running away from the situation. At this point in time Zoe was being ruled by her emotional brain rather than her rational brain. The below video shows Dan Siegel demonstrating “flipping your Lid” and explaining this in scientific terms.