PTSD: 8 Symptoms in Adolescents and Teens

PTSD: 8 Symptoms in Adolescents and Teens

by | Oct 31, 2013 | Different Dream, In Children, PTSD

PTSD: 8 Symptoms in Adolescents and Teens

PTSD (also known as post-traumatic stress disorder) is a reality for children. Therefore, it’s crucial for caring adults to recognize the symptoms so they can advocate for early treatment for children living with the disorder. My recent guest post at Friendship Circle of Michigan listed symptoms specific to older children and teens.

Facts and figures compiled at the government’s National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) show that a significant percentage of children have been exposed to trauma and later developed PTSD.

PTSD: 8 Symptoms in Children and Teens

PTSD symptoms in adolescents and teens can be quite different from PTSD symptoms in babies, toddlers, and young children. Here are 8 symptoms to look for in older elementary-aged kids and teens:

  1. Flashbacks
  2. Physical reactions
  3. Denial of event
  4. Difficulty concentrating
  5. Startle easily
  6. A foreshortened sense of the future
  7. Self-destructive choices, irritability, and impulsiveness
  8. Depression or an overwhelming sense of sadness or hopelessness

To read more about each of these symptoms, read the entire Friendship Circle post, 8 Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Teens. If you want to learn more about PTSD in kids, the post also includes a list of books for further reading.

What Would You Like to Know about PTSD in Kids?

Are you wondering if your child (with or without special needs) is living with PTSD? What else would you like to know about the condition? Some of your questions may be answered in these posts:

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Why I Advocate for Kids with PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Children: 5 Myths and Misconceptions
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Kids: What Is It?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: 10 Causes in Children
PTSD Risk Factors in Kids with Special Needs
He Won’t Remember: Children and PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Sleeping Babies

If the above don’t answer your questions, leave a comment and I’ll try to write a post about it.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly with Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon. The first book in her cozy mystery series, See Jane Run!, features people with disabilities.

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Face to Face

Face to Face

by | Oct 24, 2013 | Different Dream, In Children, PTSD

Face to Face

The first two Halloweens of our son’s life were complete busts. The first one because he was hospitalized because of feeding tube complications. The second because he freaked out whenever he saw a kid wearing a mask. And he saw lots of them.

Because I was an elementary teacher in a very small town.
Where all my students rang our doorbell and said, “Trick or treat!”
Right after I invited them into our kitchen where Allen sat in his highchair.
Right before he began crying and screaming in terror.

It was not a good night for any of us. Allen was distraught. My students were mortified because they had scared a baby. I felt guilty about my son’s emotional pain and about hurting my students’ feelings. My soft-hearted husband felt bad because he could do nothing to calm down our baby.

Before another Halloween rolled around, we wised up and gave Allen a mask to play with.
He wore it—reluctantly—and took it off.
We wore it and took it off.
He talked about it.
We talked about it.

By October 31, everything was copacetic. Our toddler donned his costume without a mask and went trick-or-treating with gusto that year. And every year thereafter.

I didn’t give the subject of Halloween masks another thought. Until decades later, when I was talking to Allen, then in his early twenties, on the phone. He described what happened when he was four, before the first surgery he could remember.*

“Did you know I freaked out when they wheeled me into the operating room?” he asked.

“No,” I replied slowly. “Though I’m not really surprised considering how you went ballistic after the surgery when the anesthetic wore off.”

To read the rest of Face to Face, go to the Not Alone blog. Thanks!

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop-up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly with Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon. The first book in her cozy mystery series, See Jane Run!, features people with disabilities.

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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Babies and Toddlers: What Are the Symptoms?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Babies and Toddlers: What Are the Symptoms?

by | Sep 9, 2013 | Different Dream, In Children, PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Babies and Toddlers: What Are the Symptoms?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a reality for many babies and toddlers with special needs. That’s the bad news. The good news is that effective treatments for PTSD exist, and they can be used with children as young as three. Before effective treatment can occur, the condition must first be correctly diagnosed. And for diagnosis to occur parents and health care professionals must be aware of the symptoms of PTSD.

Behavior Reveals Symptoms of PTSD in Babies and Toddlers

PTSD symptoms manifest much differently in babies and toddlers than in older children, adolescents, and adults. Because babies are preverbal and toddlers’ language development is limited, they can’t verbalize their fears. They can’t describe a nightmare or flashback. But the behaviors of infants and toddlers who have experienced significant trauma can offer clues that indicate the development of PTSD. By closely observing their behaviors, caring adults may notice symptoms related to PTSD.

Symptoms of PTSD in Babies and Toddlers

What are some of the behavioral symptoms to look for?

1. Hypervigilance

A baby who is tense, watchful, or on guard even when in a familiar, comfortable, and safe environment is hypervigilant. Adults often consider the behavior to be part of the child’s personality. “He’s an anxious child,” we say. Or, “She’s a worrier.” But the behavior could be a symptom of PTSD.

2. Separation Anxiety or Clinginess

Most babies go through a clingy period between the ages of 6 and 12 months. But when a baby is clingy from a much earlier age and whose separation anxiety persists into toddlerhood, the behavior may indicate the development of PTSD.

To read the rest of this post, visit www.FriendshipCircle.org.

To read the other posts in this series about PTSD in kids, check out these links:

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop-up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Sing!, the second book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in November of 2022.

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He Won’t Remember: Children and PTSD

He Won’t Remember: Children and PTSD

by | Jun 27, 2013 | Different Dream, In Children, PTSD

He Won’t Remember: Children and PTSD

Some things parents never forget. Like the first time a mother holds her newborn child. Or the first time a baby belly laughs at a father’s antics.

But when I think of our son’s early days, one unpleasant memory comes to mind. Our baby’s wince of pain when the nurse took him—bristling with drainage tubes, feeding tubes, IVs, and monitor wires—and placed him in his daddy’s arms.

Newborns Don’t Feel Pain

“Should we really be moving him?” my husband asked. “Wouldn’t it be better for him to lie still in his bed?”

“No,” the nurse assured us. “He needs the security of your arms more than anything right now. Besides, newborns don’t feel pain like they do when they get older. That’s why your baby isn’t on pain meds.”

I looked at the two inch vertical incision on our baby’ stomach and at the horizontal one that began under his armpit and ended at his spine. I looked at my son’s drawn mouth, the frown lines on his forehead, and the strain in his eyes. “Are you sure?” I questioned the nurse…and later the surgeon, the pediatrician, and the GI doctor. “Are you sure he’s not in pain? Are you sure this won’t affect him emotionally?”

He Won’t Remember

One after another, well-meaning health care professionals gave the same answer.

“He won’t remember.”
“He won’t remember.”
“He won’t remember.”

Our baby was 26-years-old before a mental health care professional confirmed our suspicions.

Our newborn son did feel pain during and after surgery.
He did remember.
He remembered a lot.
But because the experiences were pre-verbal, he had no words to describe how he felt.
Those memories were the source of his emotional and behavioral issues during adolescence.

To read the rest of this post about children and PTSD , visit the Not Alone website.

Photo credit: www.freeditigalphoto.net

 

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Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Sing!, the second book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in November of 2022.

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PTSD Risk Factors in Kids with Special Needs

PTSD Risk Factors in Kids with Special Needs

by | Jun 14, 2013 | Different Dream, In Children, PTSD, Special Needs Parenting

PTSD Risk Factors in Kids with Special Needs

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental illness that can affect our children with special needs. For the last year, I’ve been guest blogging about the topic at Friendship Circle of Michigan. The most recent post in the series describes the risk factors that make PTSD more likely to occur in children.

PTSD Risk Factors

According to Dr. Linda Gantt, executive director at Intensive Trauma Therapy, Inc. (ITT) (now of Help for Trauma), the following four risk factors increase the likelihood of PTSD developing in children who have experienced a traumatic, scary event, including invasive medical procedures common for many kids with special needs.

  1. Unexpected, unpredictable, or emergency situations. Think being a child blindsided by a scary event.
  2. The age of the child when trauma occurs. The younger the child, the higher the risk factor
  3. Repeated, significant trauma. What does this mean for kids moved from one foster care placement to another or have repeated medical interventions?
  4. Partial awakening during medical procedures. Patients who partially awaken can hear and sometimes feel what’s happening to them, but they are unable to move or speak. They experience a total lack of control.

The four risk factors are fleshed out at the Friendship Circle of Michigan post, PTSD in Kids: What Risk Factors Exist? To read the other posts in the series, here are the links:

What Do You Know About PTSD and Kids?

Do you have a child with special needs who deals with PTSD, or do you suspect your child has the condition? How are you and your child coping? Where have you had treatment? What other questions do you have? Leave them in the comment box.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for both in the upper right column on this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Sing!, the second book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in November of 2022.

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Medical Treatment or Child Abuse?

Medical Treatment or Child Abuse?

by | Apr 17, 2013 | Different Dream, In Children, PTSD

Medical Treatment or Child Abuse?

“Do you suppose these medical tests and surgeries seem more like physical abuse to our baby?” My husband and I asked the doctors and nurses caring for our son that question over and over.

Time after time, they poo-pooed our concern and gave their stock answer, “He won’t remember a thing.”

Early Medical Treatment Kids with Special Needs

Donna Thomson asked the same question in a blog post at The Caregivers’ Living Room.  She says this about one of the surgeries her son endured as a child:

When Nick was small, he had a surgical procedure to correct gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.  The procedure was called an ‘open full-wrap fundoplication’.  Sometimes words like water-boarding or enhanced interrogation techniques do not sound so bad if you haven’t witnessed them first-hand.  The same goes for an open fundoplication.

Those words resonated with me since our son had a fundoplication when he was four years old. He remembers going into the operating room and waking up after surgery well as one of the scariest events of his life. But we didn’t know that until years later. (Thomson’s complete post can be viewed at Am I an Abuser?)

Early Medical Treatment and PTSD

It turned out that we were right, and the doctors and nurses were wrong. Our son remembered not only the surgery when he was four, but also six other surgeries. The first surgery, and the most horrific because the doctors put no pain medication in his anesthesia, occurred before he was a day old. His reaction to those medical procedures was the same as that of children who are abused. He was traumatized and developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Children with PTSD Can Be Helped

That’s the bad news. But the good news is that treatment for children with PTSD is available and effective. Our son was treated at age 26, and it changed his life. If you think your child may have post-traumatic stress disorder, start searching for a mental health counselor with training. Or visit www.traumatherapy.us to learn more about the treatment our son received.

What Do You Think?

Are you worried that your child could have PTSD caused by medical treatment? To read more about it, type “PTSD” in the search box at the top of the page to find other articles on the subject at this blog and elsewhere. If you have questions or success stories, leave a comment!

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop-up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Sing!, the second book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in November of 2022.

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