Trauma is part of life. The first day of school, moving, parents separating, the loss of a loved one. Those events seem like little bumps to us, but to kids they can be traumatic. Kids with special needs often deal with bigger traumas like medical interventions, bullying, and feeling different from classmates.

Trauma Protection Using the Whole Brain Perspective

The folks at ConnectedFamilies.org offer sound advice about how parents can protect their kids from trauma. Lynn Jackson suggests employing the whole brain perspective with their children. She explains how to help kids use all three parts of their brains to process trauma.

1. Left brain—language and logic: Explain to your child the facts of what’s going on—how to understand exactly what happened in the past, and/or what to anticipate in the future.
2. Right brain—emotions: Once you’ve talked about the facts, help your child give words to the feelings that they’re feeling about the situation.
3. Frontal lobe—planning: Help your child make a plan for what to do when they feel those feelings and encounter whatever is ahead.

Jackson puts it this way “From this launching point of facts, feelings, plan, you can use whatever difficulties your child is facing to help build in them an identity as one who perseveres, who overcomes tough stuff.”

To read more about the whole brain perspective and to hear Lyn explain how to use it, check out Helping Kids Deal with Trauma. You’ll find the video there, too.

How Do You Protect Your Kids from Trauma?

What kind of trauma has your child experienced? What advice do you have for other parents? What worked? What didn’t work? And remember, if your child continues to exhibit traumatized behavior, you may need to seek professional help. Our son found healing at Intensive Trauma Therapy, Inc. (ITT) To learn more about the clinic, visit www.traumatherapy.us.

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