English Language Lesson

 

  Introductory Motivation and Focus: What is Trauma?

The Scream by Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian artist whose brooding and anguished paintings and graphic works, based on personal grief and obsessions, were instrumental in the development of expressionism.

Born in Løten, Norway, on December 12, 1863, Munch began painting at the age of 17 in Christiania (now Oslo). A state grant, awarded in 1885, enabled him to study briefly in Paris. For 20 years thereafter Munch worked chiefly in Paris and Berlin. At first influenced by impressionism and postimpressionism, he then turned to a highly personal style and content, increasingly concerned with images of illness and death. In 1892, in Berlin, an exhibition of his paintings so shocked the authorities that the show was closed. Undeterred, Munch and his sympathizers worked throughout the 1890s toward the development of German expressionist art. Perhaps the best known of all Munch's work is The Scream (1893, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo). This, and the harrowing The Sick Child (1881-86, Nasjonalgalleriet), reflect Munch's childhood trauma, occasioned by the death of his mother and sister from tuberculosis.

 

The Sick Child 1907 Det syke barn Presented by Thomas Olsen 1939 to Tate Gallery http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?

In 1908 Munch's anxiety became acute and he was hospitalized. He returned to Norway in 1909 and died in Oslo on January 23, 1944. The relative tranquillity of the rest of his life is reflected in his murals for the University of Oslo (1910-16), and in his vigorous, brightly colored landscapes. Although his later paintings are not as tortured as his earlier work, a return to introspection marks his late self-portraits, notably Between Clock and Bed (1940, Munch Museet, Oslo).

Munch's considerable body of etchings, lithographs, and woodcuts is now considered a significant force in modern graphic art; the work is simple, direct, and vigorous in style, and powerful in subject matter. Few of Munch's paintings are found outside Norway. His own collection is housed in the Munch Museet.

http://cgfa.dotsrc.org/munch/munch_bio.htm

Definition of Psychiatric trauma

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20130

Psychiatric trauma: An experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking and which may result in lasting mental and physical effects.

Psychiatric trauma is essentially a normal response to an extreme event. It involves the creation of emotional memories about the distressful event that are stored in structures deep within the brain. In general, it is believed that the more direct the exposure to the traumatic event, the higher the risk for emotional harm.

In a school shooting, for example, the student who is injured probably will be most severely affected emotionally; and the student who sees a classmate shot, even killed, is likely to be more emotionally affected than the student who was in another part of the school when the violence occurred. But even second-hand exposure to violence can be traumatic. For this reason, all children and adolescents exposed to violence or a disaster, even if only through graphic media reports, should be watched for signs of psychiatric trauma. The same applies to adults.

Using Drawing as an Intervention with Traumatized Childrened
(Paraphrased from: http://www.tlcinstitute.org/drawingintervention.html)

Drawing is a natural way to communicate. Children usually like to draw and that offers a way to express feelings and thoughts in a way that is less threatening than verbally talking about trauma. For the child who has experienced trauma or loss, it helps to bring out emotions and events too painful to speak out loud and is one of the only means of expressing the complexities of painful experiences, repressed memories, or unspoken fears, anxieties, or guilt. Drawing helps children to communicate concerns and problems which give therapists and others ways in which they can provide support and assist the children.

Of course, drawing can be good for adults who suffer trauma, too, but here we show the trauma of children expressed through drawing:

Deep Scars, Tender Lives

Almost all the 6 million survivors have been deeply affected by the savagery of Rwanda's genocide. Adults and children saw their families and relatives being hacked to death. Some managed to survive by remaining still for over a week under their relatives' decomposing corpses. Many of the survivors suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Rwandan society initially regarded the issue of trauma as low priority. Even if the authorities had wanted to address the problem, there were no psychologists, psychotherapists or other mental health professionals. They had either been killed or fled the country.

National Trauma Centre
In June 1995, the Rwandan government set up the National Trauma Centre in Kigali. UNICEF provided funding to train 25 trauma counselors. Given the scale of trauma, says the Centre's director, "we decided to send the 25 counselors to all the different regions of the country to inform the people about trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. Their role was to help the people recognize the symptoms and to give them the tools to help themselves."

Individual therapy remains out of the question because of the sheer scale of the problem. Many survivors have only begun to exhibit symptoms, months or even years after the 1994 reign of terror. Despite dwindling funds, the Centre is continuing to try to raise awareness about trauma.

The centre estimates that four to ten percent of Rwandans are so traumatized that they require individual therapy. Less than one percent have been treated so far.

The Rwandan government has yet to provide any funding to the centre and UNICEF recently cut its support by 40 percent because of slashes in its own budget. Updated: 16 October 1998

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.radionetherlands
.nl/assets/images/rwnationaltrauma3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.radionetherlands.
nl/features/humanrights/traumarwanda.html&h=250&w=180&sz=17&hl=en&start=68&tbnid=
UJz2olc8wHwyfM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=80&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtrauma%2Bdrawings%26start
%3D60%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Exercise 1: Look at the following pictures drawn by children. Can you guess what trauma the children suffered?

Picture 1		Picture 2
Picture 3	Picture 4
Picture 5	Picture 6
Picture 7	Picture 8

Sources and Explanations:

Picture 1: Terrorists flying into the World Trade Center, New York City, September 11, 2001 from the exhibition “The Day the World Changed” http://www.radford.edu/~rbarris/research/art%20and%20trauma%20hsc.html

Picture 2: Terrorists flying into the World Trade Center, New York City, September 11, 2001 from the exhibition “The Day the World Changed” http://www.radford.edu/~rbarris/research/art%20and%20trauma%20hsc.html

Picture 3: U.S. planes dropping Agent Orange during War in Vietnam causing birth defects decades after the end of the war in 1975 http://www.gonomad.com/globalroam/uploaded_images/Saigon,%20War%20Museum-771119.jpg

Picture 4: Children spending time in detention camps as refugees http://refugee.autonomous.org/GRAF/DRAW02.JPG

Picture 5: The Columbine Massacre on April 20, 1999 when two teenage students killed 12 and wounded 24 fellow students at a high school in Colorado and is considered the deadliest school shooting in the U.S.A. www.uwyo.edu/coe_news/images/columbine.jpg

Picture 6: Called “Fire Girl” for unknown reasons—rape? domestic abuse? mental illness? a house fire or bomb? www.alchemyopenstudio.org/files/art_therapy.html

Picture 7: from Indonesian child survivor of the December 2004 Tsunami http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4075970.stm

Picture 8: from Indonesian child survivor of the December 2004 Tsunami http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4075970.stm

Vocabulary Words & Exercises:

Exercise 2: Disaster Vocabulary. How well do you know these disasters? Using the words below, fill in the blanks. A large glossary of disaster terms is found in the appendix of this chapter.

earthquake	tornado	drought	blizzard	pollution
explosion	famine	tsunami	epidemic	riot

1. A violent and heavy snowstorm is called a ____________.
   
2. When crops fail and livestock die through lack of water because of no rain there is a ____________.
   
3. The above situation could cause massive starvation through lack of food. This situation is called a ____________.
   
4. When the land violently moves or shakes especially around fault lines it's called an ___
   
5. When the above situation causes a huge body of seawater to move in towards the shore it is known as a ____________.
   
6. When there is a violent outbreak of lawlessness by people it's called a ____________.
   
7. A loud noise and sometimes huge force created by something like a bomb is known as an ____________.
   
8. A violent wind that twist round and round and causes massive destruction is called a ____________.
   
9. A disease that spreads rapidly amongst a lot of people in the same area is called an ____________.
   
10. Something that makes the air, rivers, or seas dirty is known as ____________.

(source: http://a4esl.org/q/h/vc-disaster-lb.html)

Exercise 3: Vocabulary for Emotions and Conditions Experienced with Trauma

Look at the collage of pictures below and describe what the people are feeling. Do any of these people look like they’ve suffered trauma? What do people who suffer trauma feel and look like?

After the collage of pictures is a list of vocabulary words. There are 121 words for emotions that a person with trauma may feel. Following those words are words that describe a reaction to trauma. Before describing the pictures below, look at the vocabulary.

The number of vocabulary words below may appear daunting. There are so many. How can you learn about the vocabulary words? You could look up all the unknown words in the dictionary. Those words do not appear in context, so it would be difficult to find the words that way. However, if your class divides into small groups and assigns words to each group to look up, then you can share the work and help each other. Each group should share the meanings of the words with the entire class. Then describe the pictures below using the new vocabulary.

The words below may help to describe the pictures.

Naming Emotions

I feel:

abandoned afraid agitated aggressive alienated angry anguished anxious apathetic ashamed awkward betrayed bored calm confused courageous critical, in crisis cynical defeated dejected depressed desperate determined devastated disappointed disconnected discontented discouraged displaced edgy embarrassed

exhausted fearful frightened frustrated furious gloomy guilty hateful hated helpless hopeful hopeless horrified hostile humiliated hurt hysterical impatient inadequate incompetent indecisive inferior inhibited innocent insecure insignificant insulted irritable isolated lonely manipulated

melancholy miserable misunderstood moody negative nervous numb out of control outraged overwhelmed pained panicky panic-stricken paranoid paralyzed paranoid passionate peaceful persecuted pessimistic possessive pressured protective puzzled rejected remorseful resentful re-traumatized sad safe

scared sensitive serene shocked sorry stressed stubborn stupid supportive suppressed suspicious tense terrified threatened traumatized torn up tortured touch uncertain uneasy uptight used useless victimized violated violent vulnerable weary withdrawn worthless

Possible Reactions to Trauma:

alcohol/drug abuse anger anniversary difficulties anxiety change in appetite/weight chronic physical illness confusion crying depression

despair fatigue fear feeling overwhelmed feeling inadequate flashbacks grief guilt insecurity

loss of trust numbness outrage religious confusion sleep disturbances stripped of human dignity suicidal thoughts withdrawal work/school/family problems

Explanation of Reading Study Skill A (Academic Reading Skill):

Reading University Texts or Journal Articles

Understanding that skimming and scanning are essential tools for reading at university level is essential. The number of pages that teachers and professors assign to read at this level can be a daunting task, but by utilizing skills in skimming, scanning and organizing your thought and preparation can make the task feasible. Here, step by step, you are shown how to use your skills to read the materials with speed and comprehension.

To begin: Select a section of reading material no longer than 25-30 pages. Perhaps you choose one chapter or a section of a chapter. Limit yourself to something that you can read in one sitting.

Step 1.	Purpose? Why are you reading this article or chapter, and what do you want to get out of it? When you have accomplished your purpose, stop reading. For instance, your purpose in seeking a number in the telephone book is specific and clear, and once you find the number, you stop "reading." Such "reading" is very rapid indeed, perhaps 100,000 words a minute! Perhaps it should be called by its proper name, "scanning", but when it suits your purpose, it is fast and efficient. This principle, of first establishing your purpose, whether to get the Focus or Theme, or main ideas, or main facts or figures, or evidence, arguments and examples, or relations, or methods, can prompt you to use a reading method that gets what you want in the minimum time. Also, what is the source of material? Who is author? What are his/her credentials? For what purpose was this material produced? What bias might they have? Question: Compose questions that you aim to answer: What do I already know about this topic? - in other words, activate prior knowledge. Turn the first heading into a question, to which you will be seeking the answer when you read. For example: "What is childhood trauma?” Or “What impact does childhood trauma have later in life?”
Step 2. (5 minutes)	Skim: the title of the book the title of the chapter or section you’ve selected the introduction and the conclusion
Step 3. (5-10 minutes)	Skim: the title again the introduction again all the sub-headings and the conclusion again
Step 4. (10 minutes)	Read Selectively: the title one more time the introduction one more time all the sub-headings again Scan for: the Topic Sentence of each paragraph—usually the first or second sentence. Read to find the answers to your questions. Look for the ideas, information, and evidence that will meet your purpose. all the pictures and illustrations, the charts and diagrams, sections with dots and numbers Skim: the last sentence of each paragraph and the conclusion again (Push yourself to do steps 1, 2, and 3 in less than 25 minutes)
Step 5.	Look up words whose meanings are important to your understanding of the material, but you cannot discern from the context. THEN close the textbook.
Step 6. (30 minutes or more)	Freewrite and/or Mind-Map: Without referring to the textbook, freewrite or make a mind-map of all that you can remember from the chapter or section. Push yourself to keep working on this for half an hour. Let all that you have absorbed from the reading come to the surface. Respond, or restate, the information in your own words making connections and associations. Don’t use this exercise to memorize-- rather use it to understand. Utilize all the strategies you know for remembering. It will show you what you have learned. You will also become aware of what you cannot recall or have not learned.
Step7.	Reflect: Recent work in cognitive psychology indicates that comprehension and retention are increased when you "elaborate" new information. This is to reflect on it, to compare and make categories, to relate one part with another, to connect it with your other knowledge and personal experience, and in general to organize and reorganize it. Pay attention to relationships between ideas. How does this information fit into what you have been learning? Does this information apply to other ideas? What is your opinion about these ideas or facts? What questions do you have? Do you have agreements and disagreements with it? Use representations, graphics, pictures, colors, even movement to visualize and connect ideas. Use whatever techniques work to help you understand.
Step 8.	Now Read the Text. Look for any important information that you have missed or that may answer the questions that you have. Do not get discouraged and stop reading. Ideas can become clearer the more you read. Re-read those ideas that are not clear. Highlight parts that you want to remember or that you could not recall in Step 5. Mark the reading in a way that highlights the parts you will need to review in the future so that your review can be quick and easy. At this point, if you do not understand your reading, do not panic! Set it aside, and read it again the next day. If necessary, repeat. This allows your brain to process the material, even while you sleep. This is referred to as distributed reading.

Exercises and Activities for Skill A:

Exercise 4: Though the reading material below is short compared to what is described in Skill A, use the skills to “read” the article.

Reading :

Understanding Childhood Trauma
by Peter A. Levine, Ph.D.

Although anyone - regardless of strength, capability, or experience - can be traumatized by a threatening event, those at greatest risk are infants and young children.

Johnny, age five, proudly riding his first bicycle, hits loose gravel and careens into a tree. He is momentarily knocked unconscious. Getting up amid a flow of tears, he feels disoriented and somehow different. His parents hug him, console him, and put him back on the bike, all the while praising his courage. They do not realize how stunned and frightened he is.

Years after the soon forgotten incident, John driving with his wife and children, swerves to avoid an oncoming car. He freezes in the midst of the turn. Fortunately, the other driver is able to maneuver successfully and avoid catastrophe.

One morning several days later, John begins to feel restless while driving to work. His heart starts racing and pounding; his hands become cold and sweaty. Feeling threatened and trapped, he has a sudden impulse to jump out of the car and run. He realizes the ''craziness'' of his feelings, and gradually, the symptoms subside. A vague and nagging apprehension, however, persists throughout most of his day at work. Returning home that evening without incident, he feels relieved.

The next morning, John leaves early to avoid traffic and stays late, discussing business with some colleagues. When he arrives home he is irritable and edgy. He argues with his wife and barks at the children. He goes to bed early, yet wakes up covered with sweat in the middle of the night and faintly recalling a dream in which his car is sliding out of control. More fretful nights follow.

Delayed Traumatic Reactions

John is experiencing a delayed reaction to the bike accident he had as a child. Incredible as it may seem, posttraumatic reactions of this type are common. After working for more than 20 years with people suffering from trauma, I can safely say that at least 75 percent of my clients have traumatic symptoms that remained dormant for a significant period of time before surfacing. For most people, the interval between the event and the onset of symptoms is between 6 and 18 months; for others, the latency period lasts for years or even decades. In both instances, the reactions are often triggered by seemingly insignificant events.

Of course, not every childhood accident produces a delayed traumatic reaction. Some have no residual effect at all. Others, including those viewed as ''minor'' and forgotten incidents in childhood, can have significant aftereffects. A fall, a seemingly benign surgical operation, the loss of a parent through death or divorce, severe illness (particularly one accompanied by high fever or poisoning), even circumcision and other routine medical procedures can all cause traumatic reactions later in life depending on how the child experiences them at the time they occur.

Of these traumatic antecedents, medical procedures are by far the most common and potentially the most impacting. Many clinical proceedings needlessly amplify the fear of an already frightened child. Infants about to undergo some routines, for example, are strapped into ''papooses'' to keep them from moving. A child struggling so much that he or she needs to be tied down, however, is a child too frightened to be restrained without suffering consequences. Likewise, a child who is severely frightened is not one to be anesthetized, at least not until a sense of tranquility has been restored. Children can even be traumatized by insensitively administered enemas or thermometers.

Much of the trauma associated with these and other medical procedures could be prevented if healthcare providers encouraged parents to stay with their children, to explain as much as possible in advance, and to delay interventions until their children are calm. The problem is that too few professionals really understand what trauma is about and what lasting and pervasive effects these procedures can have. Although medical personnel are often concerned, they may need more information-from you, the consumer.

What Causes Trauma?

At the root of a traumatic reaction is the 280-million-year-old heritage that we share with nearly every crawling creature on earth - a heritage that resides in the area of the nervous system known as the reptilian brain. Primitive responses that originate in this portion of the brain help the organism protect itself against circumstances that are potentially damaging or dangerous to survival. Animals in the wild routinely encounter such events, and routinely respond to them. Human beings, however, due to our more sophisticated brain structure, have an astounding proclivity for overriding these primitive responses. Thus, whereas animals are fairly quick to recover from potentially traumatic encounters, we are not. Whether or not a person will be traumatized depends largely on the individual's ability to respond to a threatening event in a specific way, with specific results.

When the reptilian brain perceives danger, it activates an extraordinary amount of energy - a phenomenon akin to an ''adrenaline rush.'' This, in turn, triggers a pounding heart and other bodily changes designed to give the organism every advantage it needs to defend itself. The catch is that to avoid being traumatized, the organism must use up all the energy that has been mobilized to deal with the threat. Whatever energy is not discharged does not simply go away; instead, it lingers, creating the potential for traumatic reaction to occur. The fewer resources the organism has to meet the situation, the more un-discharged energy there will be, and the greater the likelihood that trauma symptoms will develop in the future.

In short, an un-traumatized outcome to a threatening situation depends on one's ability to remain engaged in action, to respond effectively, and to discharge the energy that has been mobilized, thereby allowing the nervous system to return to its accustomed level of functioning. Even life-threatening events may not be traumatic for people who can respond and process them in a natural and effective way. And although anyone - regardless of strength, capability, or experience - can be traumatized by a threatening event, those at greatest risk are infants and young children.

How to Tell If Your Child Has Been Traumatized

Any unusual behavior that begins shortly after a severely frightening episode may indicate that your child is traumatized. Compulsive, repetitive mannerisms - such as repeatedly zooming a toy car into a doll - are an almost sure sign of an unresolved reaction to a traumatic event. (The activity may or may not be a literal replay of the trauma.) Other signs of traumatic stress include persistent controlling behaviors, tantrums, uncontrollable rage attacks, hyperactivity, an exaggerated startle reflex, recurring night terrors or nightmares, thrashing while asleep, bedwetting, inability to concentrate in school, forgetfulness, excessive belligerence or shyness, withdrawal or fearfulness, extreme clinginess, and stomachaches or other ailments of unknown origin.

To find out whether an uncustomary behavior is indeed a traumatic reaction, try mentioning the frightening episode and see how your child responds. A traumatized child will not want to be reminded of the predisposing event - or conversely, once reminded, will become excited, or fearful and unable to stop talking about it. A traumatized child may also respond with silence.

Reminders are revealing retrospectively as well. Children who have ''outgrown'' unusual behavior patterns have not necessarily discharged the energy that gave rise to them. In fact, the reason traumatic reactions can hide for years is that the maturing nervous system is able to control the excess energy. By reminding your child of a frightening incident that precipitated altered behavior in years past, you may well stir up signs of traumatic residue.

Reactivating a traumatic symptom need not be cause for concern. The physiological processes involved, primitive as they are, respond well to interventions that both engage them and allow them to follow their natural course of healing. Children are wonderfully receptive to experiencing the healing side of a traumatic reaction. Your job is simply to provide an opportunity for this to occur.

Resolving a Traumatic Reaction

Creating opportunities for healing is similar to learning the customs of a new country. It is not difficult - just different. It requires you and your child to shift from the realm of thought or emotion to the much more basic realm of physical sensation, where the primary task is to pay attention to how things feel and how the body is responding. Right opportunity, in short, revolves around sensation.

A traumatized child who is in touch with internal sensations is paying attention to impulses from the reptilian core. As a result, the youngster is likely to notice subtle changes and responses, all of which are designed to help discharge excess energy and to complete feelings and responses that were previously blocked. Noticing these changes and responses enhances them.

The changes can be extremely subtle: something that feels internally like a rock, for example, may suddenly seem to melt into warm liquid. These changes have their most beneficial effect when they are simply watched, and not interpreted. Attaching meaning to them or telling a story about them at this time may shift the child's perceptions into a more evolved portion of the brain, which can easily disrupt the direct connection established with the reptilian core.

Bodily responses that emerge along with sensations typically include involuntary trembling, shaking, and crying. If suppressed or interrupted by beliefs about being strong (grown up, courageous), acting normal, or abiding by familiar feelings, these responses will not be able to effectively discharge the accumulated energy.

Another feature of the level of experience generated by the reptilian core is the importance of rhythm and timing. Think about it...everything in the wild is dictated by cycles. The seasons turn, tides come in and go out, the sun rises and sets. Animals follow the rhythms of nature - mating, birthing, feeding, hunting, sleeping, and hibernating in direct response to nature's pendulum. So, too, do the responses that bring traumatic reactions to their natural resolution.

For human beings, these rhythms pose a twofold challenge. First, they move at a much slower pace than we are accustomed to. And second, they are entirely beyond our control. Healing cycles can only be opened up to, watched, and validated; they cannot be evaluated, manipulated, hurried, or changed. When they do not get the time and attention they need, they are rarely able to complete their healing mission.

Immersed in the realm of instinctual responses, your child will undergo at least one such cycle. How can you tell when it is complete? Tune in to your child. Traumatized children who remain in they sensing mode without engaging their thought processes feel a release and opening; their attention then focuses back on the external world. You will be able to sense this shift in your child, and know that a healing has occurred.

Resolving a traumatic reaction does much more than eliminate the likelihood of reactions emerging later in life. It fosters an ability to move through threatening situations with ease. It fosters, in essence, a natural resilience to stress. Certainly, a nervous system accustomed to moving into stress and then out of it is far healthier than a nervous system burdened with an ongoing, if not accumulating, level of stress. And just as certainly, children who are encouraged to attend to their instinctual responses are rewarded with a lifelong legacy of health and vigor.

First Aid for Accidents and Falls

Accidents and falls are a normal and often benign part of growing up. Occasionally, however, they may place a child at risk for developing a traumatic reaction. Witnessing a mishap of this sort will not necessarily clue you in to its degree of severity. For one thing, a child can be traumatized by events that seem insignificant to an adult; for another, signs of traumatic impact can be easily covered up by a child who believes that ''not being hurt'' will keep Mommy or Daddy happy. Your best ally in responding appropriately you your child's needs is an informed perspective.

Here are some guidelines:

1. Attend to your own responses first, inwardly acknowledging your concern and fear for your child. Take a full breath, and exhale slowly while deeply sensing the feelings in your body. If you still feel upset, do it again. The time it takes to establish a sense of calm will be minuscule compared with the increase in your capacity to attend fully to your child. Accepting the accident as an accident will help you move in to give your child support, whereas being overly emotional or smothering may frighten your child at least as much as the accident itself.
   
2. Keep your child still and quiet. Should injuries require that your child be moved, support or carry him, even if he appears able to move on his own. (Remember, a child who shows his strength may be denying the fear he feels.) If your child seems to need extra warmth, drape a sweater or blanket over his shoulders and truck.
   
3. Encourage a sufficient interlude of safety and rest, particularly if your child shows signs of shock or daze (glazed eyes, pale complexion, rapid or shallow breathing, trembling, disorientation, talking as if he were somewhere else), or if his demeanor is overly emotional or overly ''tranquil.'' Help your child know what to do by being relaxed, quiet, and still yourself. If you decide to hold him, do so in a gentle and non restricting way. Gently placing a hand in the center of his back, behind his heart, can communicate support and reassurance without interfering with his natural bodily responses. Excessive patting or rocking is unnecessary, and may interrupt the recovery process.
   
4. As the dazed look begins to wear off, gently guide your child's attention to his sensations. Softly ask him how he feels ''in his body.'' Slowly and quietly, repeat his answer as a question - ''You feel OK in your body?'' - and wait for a nod or other response. Be a little more specific with your next question: ''How do you feel in your tummy (head, arm, leg)?'' If he mentions a distinct sensation, gently ask about its location, size, shape, color, weight, and other characteristics; do not, however, suggest any form of movement. In response to his answer, gently guide him to the present moment: ''How does the lump (hurt, 'owie,' rock, fire) feel now?''
   
5. Allow a minute or two of silence between questions. This will permit any cycle that may be moving through to come to completion before your child's attention is broken by another question. If sensing the moment of completion seems too uncertain, watch your child for cues, such as a deep relaxed breath, the cessation of crying or trembling, a stretch, a smile, or the making or breaking or eye contact. (Note: The completion of this cycle may not spell the end of the recovery process, so be sure to keep your child focused on his sensations for a few more minutes. Another cycle may well begin.)
   
6. Do not stir up discussion about the accident. There will be plenty of time for telling stories about it, playing it through, or drawing pictures of it later. Now is the time for rest and discharge.
   
7. Validate your child's physical responses throughout this period of time. Children often begin to cry or tremble as they come out of shock. Parents often desire to dive in to stop the crying or trembling. Resist that impulse. The physical expression of distress needs to continue until it stops on its own or at least levels out, which may take only a minute. Indeed, studies have shown that children who cry after an accident have fewer problems recovering from it.
   
8. Your task at this time is to let your child know that crying and trembling are normal, healthy reactions. A reassuring hand on his back or shoulder, along with a statement such as ''That's OK'' or ''That's good. Just let that scary stuff shake right out of you,'' can help immensely. The key is to avoid disrupting the responses by shifting your child's position, distracting his attention, holding him too tightly, or positioning yourself too far away to help him feel safe.
   
9. Finally, attend to your child's emotional responses. Once he appears safe and calm, or even later, set aside time for storytelling or for reenacting the incident. Begin by encouraging him to tell you his experience of what happened. He may be feeling anger or fear, or perhaps sadness, embarrassment, or guilt. Tell him, in turn, about a time when you or someone you know felt the same way or had a similar accident. Let your child know that whatever he is feeling is OK and worth paying attention to.

While applying these first-aid measures, try not to be overwhelmed by worries about ''doing it right.'' Trauma that cannot be prevented can be cured, because trauma is an interrupted process that is naturally inclined to move to completion whenever it is able to. It can remain interrupted for weeks, months, years, even decades without losing its inherent capacity to move to resolution. And that is the path it will take whenever the opportunity arises.

Healing Past Trauma

Healing trauma is in many ways similar to preventing it (see ''First Aid for Accidents and Falls''). Helping your child move through an established traumatic reaction, however, may be more time-consuming and may require several processing sessions.

To begin, reengage your child in the traumatic material. Remind her of the event by asking her to tell you about it or to draw a picture of it. If you do not know what precipitated the trauma, or if your child had no conscious memory of it, do not be concerned; the key to healing is in the energetic content of the experience, not the experience itself. If your child is immersed in repetitive play, use this as your entree. You can safely assume that your youngster is engaged in the traumatic material any time her behavior seems symptomatic of trauma See accompanying article).

Next, help your child focus on her sensations by gently asking questions about how she feels ''in her body.'' Using her words, repeat each answer in the form of a question, allowing plenty of time to pass before speaking. This will help her reconnect with the healing impulses from the reptilian core. If shaking, trembling, or other bodily responses occur, be sure to validate them, for they are an extremely efficient means of discharge.

Remember that this level of experience entails no thinking - only sensation - and that changes will happen at a slower-than everyday pace. Try to reflect these soft, gentle, slow non-thinking characteristics in your demeanor and tome of voice. To help your child sustain a connection with this level of experience, keep all attention focused on physical sensations, encourage her to be gentle with herself and to take things slowly, and provide a safe, stable environment appropriate to her level of comfort (which may be different from your own).

Be on the lookout for three things. The first is any sign of release or opening up. Use this evidence to completion as your cue to move along. If you find that you have moved too fast, do not worry. Part of the grace in healing trauma is that you always get a second chance...and a third...and as many more as you need.

Also watch for any sign that your child is becoming overly emotional or upset. In the time that has elapsed since the traumatizing event, your child's nervous system may have organized the excess energy in such a way that its release could temporarily frighten her. To help your child move through this point of overload, try distracting her with a comment about something in the room - a treasured toy or favorite activity. When she regains her composure, draw her attention back to how she feels in her body. Or, if you prefer, resolve to pursue the matter at some future time.

Third, watch for signs of fatigue. The sensations, while subtle, can bring about a profound - and exhausting - change in your child's nervous system. Do not try to push the river; if your child gets tired, stop and encourage her to rest or take a nap. Be prepared to stay nearby in case she feels vulnerable. After a few moments, engage your child in another processing session. If she is still tired, put off the remedial work until another day.

Whenever you are working with your child, try to avoid drawing conclusions about what happened to her. These types of thoughts, by activating more evolved portions of the brain, will interfere with your ability to giver her the support she needs in the moment. You can always analyze the situation at a later time. One cautionary note: If you suspect that your son or daughter may have been sexually abused, be sure to enlist the aid of a trained professional to help you both.

Trauma is mysterious and frightening primarily because it is not well understood. And it is not well understood because it is too often approached from levels of experience that are far more abstract than, and in some ways incompatible with, the nonverbal realm in which it develops. The secret is to access the primitive messages emerging from the reptilian brain; the rest is simple.

Think of your child's traumatic experience as a pool of water captured behind a wall of mud on a hillside. If you poke a hole in this will of mud, the water will flow down the hill. If there is any way at all for the excess energy from your child's aroused state to ''flow down the hill,'' it will. And if it can start to flow in manageable quantities, the outcome will surely be healing. Trust in the outpouring!

http://www.traumahealing.com/art_childhood.html

This article is found on the website for Foundation for Human Enrichment - FHE is a non-profit, educational and research organization dedicated to the worldwide healing and prevention of trauma. We provide professional training and outreach to under served populations and victims of violence, war and natural disasters http://www.traumahealing.com/index.html Mission Statement The Foundation for Human Enrichment is a non-profit, educational and research organization dedicated to the worldwide healing and prevention of trauma. We provide professional training and outreach to under served populations and victims of violence, war and natural disasters. Foundation for Human Enrichment 7102 La Vista Place, Suite 200 Niwot , CO 80503 Phone: 303-652-4035 Fax: 303-652-4039 E-mail: info@traumahealing.com

Explanation of Reading Study Skill B: Reading Books

Reading Non-Fiction for Academic Purposes

For the academic purposes of reading books for a course or research, there are ways that you can get from the books the information that you need without having to read every word of the entire book. The steps below are for reading a non-fiction book rather than a novel or poetry. For example, if you wanted to read more about the topic of this chapter—Trauma—you would most likely be seeking information that answers certain questions for you. So you would be reading the book for that purpose.

Some students may think that it is cheating to not read every word in a book. This is not so. In many courses, there may not be enough hours in the day to read all the books assigned to you. So you must use your judgment for the hours that you spend reading and gather the information most useful for your purposes. Your purpose may be to pass a course—you must judge what information will be important for that course. You may be reading a book to gather information for a research paper. Take from the book that information that is useful for you research.

When you read a book with a purpose in mind, there are several steps to go through. As you go through each step, answer the question: “Have I gone far enough to achieve my purpose?” If you have, then stop—you have read enough. If not, go on to the next step.

Step 1	Note who the author is, and the date of publication. Read preface and table of contents. Look at the diagrams and pictures.
Step 2	Skim read the first and last chapters. Often these are introductory and summary chapters, and may give you all the information you need.
Step 3	Read the first and last chapters and skim the intervening chapters. This takes you into the book in greater depth, and allows you to decide which, if any, of the intervening chapters you should read.
Step 4	Read intervening chapters as demanded by your purpose.
Step 5	Go into the glossary, index, and appendices as needed.

Skimming and scanning reading are speedy and efficient techniques for getting what you need out of books and articles.

Reading Fiction for Academic Purposes

If you are taking a literature or history course, most likely you will read a novel or some fiction for the class. Here are some ways to help you get as much from the reading as possible:

A Strategy for Reading Novels

A story is a fictitious tale that is written to entertain, amuse, or instruct the reader. A novel is the same as a story but it is longer and more complex. To understand a story or novel, you need to understand the six elements used by authors when they write a story or novel.

Characters	Characters are the first element to look for when reading a story or novel. Characters are most often people but can be animals or even fictionalized beings like those seen in cartoons or movies. The main character plays the biggest role and is often the first character to be introduced. Most often the story is seen through the eyes of the main character. Secondary characters play a smaller supporting role and are introduced throughout the story.
Setting	The setting is the second element you should look for when reading a story or novel. The setting is the location where the story takes place. A story may take place in a home, countryside, town, school, or wherever the author chooses to have the action occur. The setting is usually revealed very early in a story.
Time	The time when the story takes place is the third element you should look for when reading a story or novel. A story may take place very recently or many years ago. Usually the time when the story takes place is introduced very early in the story.
Problem	The problem is the fourth element you should look for in a story or novel. The problem most often grows out of a conflict between the main character and another character in the story. But the problem can also involve a circumstance such as a hurricane, a war, or one of the many obstacles that produce a conflict in life.
Events	Events are the fifth element you should look for when reading a story or novel. An event is an attempt at solving the problem in the story. In a story there are usually a number of attempts to solve the problem and these events make up most of the story.
Solution	A solution is the sixth and final element in a story or novel. The solution is how the problem is resolved or brought to an end. Most often the solution is revealed near the end of the story. Sometimes the solution is not revealed until the very last page or even the final paragraph of the story.

Recognizing these story elements will help you better understand and enjoy a story, remember the story facts, and appreciate different writing styles used by authors.

(from: www.how-to-study.com)

Back to Top

Vietnamese Language Lesson

Vietnamese Section

Back to Top

 

 

Persian Language Lesson

 

Persian Section

Back to Top

 

Spanish Language Lesson

 

Spanish Section

Back to Top