Children's Support Resources - Children & Trauma
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Is my child supposed to "get over" a traumatic event, such as 9/11? There are no easy answers but we try to address this and other questions by providing resources, links to organizations, and important materials.

Grief & Renewal.com
http://griefandrenewal.com/about.htm
April 21, 2009
This site is dedicated to the belief that our personal grief can lead to our personal growth and a widening of awareness and caring for all of those around us who suffer loss. The process of bereavement leads us on a path to greater understanding and acceptance of the cycle of life and death. From this understanding and greater caring the bereaved are able to bring a new perspective into their lives and a new gift into their worlds. Through this process they renew themselves and their communities, while preserving the meaning of the life of the person they have lost. The Grief & Renewal website offers articles, questions and answers, personal experiences and essays about the journey through grief.

Tips for Talking to Children in Trauma
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/tips/intervention.pdf
March 20, 2008
Helpful suggestions about how to speak with children who have recently experienced psychological trauma. This brochure has been prepared by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services.

A Guide to Children's Grief: By Kenneth Doka
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/onourownterms/articles/children.html
April 20, 2008
Kenneth J. Doka is a senior consultant for the Hospice Foundation of America and a professor of gerontology at The College of New Rochelle in New York. On this PBS website he offers suggestions on how to understand children's losses and grief.

A Teacher's Guide to Grief
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/onourownterms/articles/teacher2.html
June 4, 2008
A helpful article for teachers who want to understand and helpfully assist in the grieving process for students who have suffered trauma or loss. Written for the PBS website by Edward Grassel a guidance counselor at the New York City Lab School.

The Children of 9/11: Living Through a Public Tragedy
http://www.amny.com/news/local/wire/ny-likids0910,0,7770061.story
September 23, 2008
Two teens talk about their police officer dad and firefighter uncle who died when they responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Helping Children Understand and Cope With the Disaster in Haiti
http://www.nj.com/parenting/index.ssf/2010/01/haiti_lesson_in_empathy_for_ch.html
January 19, 2010
Suggestions from a consultant to the United Nations and UNICEF on how parents can help their children understand and cope with the crisis, trauma, grief and loss that are experienced in disasters such as the Haitian earthquake. To learn more, click on the link above.

New Studies Emphasize Impact on 9/11 on Young Children
http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/19/911-had-significant-impact-on-young-children/15743.html
July 18, 2010
Children whose mothers struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after the 2001 assault on the World Trade Center were more likely to have behavioral problems three years later than children whose moms coped better with the attacks. Two recent longitudinal studies examine the relationship of maternal PTSD and depression to the mental health and behavior of children who were affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The first study found that preschoolers of mothers who experienced PTSD and depression symptoms exhibited more clinically significant behavior problems. The second study found that direct exposure to 9/11 played a small but significant role in explaining the prevalence of the mothers' and adolescents' PTSD and depression rates. Click on link to learn more.

Trauma in Children: An Expert Interview With Susan Coates, PhD
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/513888
May 16, 2009
An interview with Susan Coates, Ph.D., co-editor of September 11th: Trauma and Human Bonds (2003), a collection of papers on the impact of human bonds on the experience of trauma. This interview is about her experiences working with traumatized children subsequent to hurricane Katrina, but offers insights into the general experience of traumatized children.

Behavioral Disturbances In Preschool Children Whose Mothers Experienced PTSD As a Result of 9/11
http://www.narsad.org/news/press/rg_2009/res2009-06-09.html
June 4, 2009
Research study finds that almost three years after the WTC attacks, preschool children whose mothers suffered from the terrorism-related psychiatric problems were at the highest risk for developing behavioral problems.

Parents' Reactions Critical to How Children Cope With Trauma
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/on-parenting/2010/07/19/how-to-help-children-cope-with-a-dangerous-world.html
July 20, 2010
Parents have a major influence on how children react to and recover from traumatic experiences. Click on link to read article.

Children Uniting Nations Sponsors 3rd Annual Conference "Keeping Promise to Our Children"
http://www.childrenunitingnations.org/
FOS11 Board Members Present Children and Families Committee Policy Recommendations
Children Uniting Nations (CUN), a 501(C)(3) not for profit organization dedicated to the well being of at-risk youth, in collaboration with DLA Piper, the Rand Corporation, Medicine Company, Healthy Child Healthy World Foundation, major research Universities, and the Woodrow Wilson Center is sponsoring a daylong forum in Washington DC on October 17, 2007 for policy makers and academics to discuss how our laws can better serve the world’s neediest children. The conference will be held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C. from 9:15AM to 6PM. For details call (310) 203-0500 or click on the link above. FOS11 Advisory Board Members Mary Ellen Salamone, Donna A. Gaffney, as well as Board President Carrie Lemack will present policy recommendations developed by the FOS11 Children and Families Committee.
Click here to download the COS11 Children and Families Committee Policy Recommendations

The Aftermath of Disaster: Children in Crisis
By Donna A. Gaffney APRN, SC, DNSc, FAAN
This article uses examples from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the hurricane disasters of Katrina and Rita to illustrate the impact of crisis in the lives of children and adolescents. - Journal of Clinical Psychology/In Session. 62, 8. 1001-1016.
The Aftermath of Disaster Children in Crisis

City Treating Children for Possible 9/11 Ailments
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_267/citytreating.html
June 16, 2008
Bellevue Hospital’s W.T.C. Environmental Health Center has been treating more children with physical symptoms possibly related to 9/11 toxins exposure.

9/11 Exposure Linked to Behavior Trouble in Kids
http://www.dentalplans.com/articles/30451/
May 6, 2008
Direct exposure to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks boosted behavioral problems in preschoolers, new research shows.

2009 Clinical Guidelines For Children and Adolescents Exposed to The World Trade Center Disaster
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/chi/chi28-4.pdf
May 28, 2010
In 2006 and again in 2008, the NewYork City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene disseminated clinical guidelines for evaluating and treating adults exposed to the World Trade Center disaster (www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/chi/chi27-6.pdf) This latest publication will assist health care providers in identifying, evaluating, and treating symptoms related to exposure to theWTC disaster among children and provide resources for additional information and referrals.

Clinical Guidelines For Children and Adloescents Exposed to The World Trade Center Disaster
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/chi/chi28-4.pdf
June 25, 2009
This publication, compiled by the NewYork City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will assist health care providers in identifying, evaluating, and treating symptoms related to exposure to theWTC disaster among children and provide resources for additional information and referrals.

Children's Art Works to be Displayed at National 9/11 Memorial
http://www.national911memorial.org/site/PageServer?pagename=New_Museum_Collection_Tribute
September 2, 2010
In the late fall of 2001, New York University’s Child Study Center embarked on an ambitious project to study children's artwork triggered by the events of 9/11, by soliciting examples of their individual and collective creative responses. The responses culminated in a book - The Day Our World Changed (Harry Abrams; 2002) - and into a jury-selected exhibition of the same title which debuted at the Museum of the City of New York on the first anniversary of the attacks. Subsequently, the exhibition toured nationally to other sites. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center has acquired 56 of the 83 artworks featured in this critically acclaimed initiative. Click on link to learn more.

The Children of 9/11 Grow Up
http://www.thegeorgetownindependent.com/features/growing-up-9-11-1.2313398#5
September 2, 2010
A look at the impact of 9/11 on the children who have grown up over the past nine years.

Terrorist Attacks and Children
http://griefandrenewal.com/article18.htm
April 9, 2009
An article by Dr. Jessica Hamblen that examines the questions, "how should we speak to our children about this event? Should we shield them from such horrors or talk openly about them? How can we help children make sense of a tragedy that we ourselves cannot understand? How will children react? How can we help our children recover?:

Research Study Examines Impact of Parents' Anxiety on Children
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article5124499.ece
February 3, 2009
A study being conducted at Sussex University in the United Kingdom is examining the role that parents may play in transmitting anxiety to their children.

Study Finds High Percentage of Children Who Lost a Parent on 9/11 Experienced Psychological Difficulty
http://nyp.org/news/hospital/1107.html
February 19, 2009
Research study at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center found dangerous long-term heightened activity of the brain's "stress-response system" in many children who lost a parent on 9/11.

Study Finds Prior Trauma Raised Children’s 9/11 Risk
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/research/05trau.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
February 5, 2008
NY Times -- Preschoolers who witnessed the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center or saw its victims were at high risk of developing lingering emotional and behavior problems if — but only if — they had had a previous frightening experience, like seeing a parent fall ill, researchers are reporting. The study, appearing in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, suggests that very young children respond to trauma in the same ways that adults do. If they are nursing a previous emotional wound, the impact of some new scare or crisis is multiplied.

Pediatric Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness: A Resource for Pediatricians
http://www.ahrq.gov/research/pedprep/pedresource.pdf
A Guide for Pediatricians in Disaster
This resource is intended to educate and assist pediatricians in recognizing and fulfilling their important roles in disaster preparedness and response.

Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters: What Parents Can Do
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/helping-children-and-adolescents-cope-with-violence-and-disasters-what-parents-can-do.shtml
May 6, 2008
Parents and family members play important roles in helping children who experience violence or disaster. They help children cope with trauma and help protect children from further trauma. They help children get medical care and counseling. They also help young people avoid or overcome emotional problems. These problems can result from trauma. This fact sheet provides steps parents can take.

Coping in the Aftermath of 9/11
http://www.psychologistshelp.org/wtc_coping/aftermath.php
June 9, 2009
An article from psychologistshelp.com written for parents who are trying to help their children understand and cope with a traumatic event.

Psychological First Aid
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/child-myths/201003/psychological-first-aid-fostering-child-mental-health-in-times-disaster
March 23, 2010
Psychological First Aid was developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Designed to be administered by a mental health professional, it is an evidence-based approach to care for survivors in the immediate aftermath of disaster or terrorism. Psychological First Aid is designed to reduce the levels of distress in survivors and to promote both short-term and long-term adaptive functioning and coping following a traumatic event. Click link to learn more.

Young Children Benefit When Parents Receive Psychological First Aid
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/child-myths/201003/psychological-first-aid-fostering-child-mental-health-in-times-disaster
May 9, 2010
During disasters, when children are with their families, they are likely to be helped most when the older members of the family receive Psychological First Aid.

The Role of Resilience in Resolving Grief
http://www.egonzehnder.com/global/focus/topics/article/id/17500152
September 3, 2010
Resilience has profound implications for people's concepts of themselves, especially after suffering a severe stressor event. The idea also has important implication for how the therapeutic community thinks of bereavement and treats bereavement. Professor George Bonnano of Columbia University, has been looking into how people cope with distressing experiences and set about healing deep psychological wounds. Click on link to learn more.

Ready.gov - A Guide to Children's Preparedness in Disasters
http://www.ready.gov/kids/home.html
May 11, 2010
Ready.gov, a FEMA website, has created a separate Web site that offers ways to teach kids to be ready for possible disasters. It gives them four easy steps to communicate what to do in an emergency. Site also includes games and information for parents.

Speaking With Our Children About 9/11
http://www.theflagpole.com/childrens_java/children.htm
May 26, 2009
Parents are searching for ideas to help them guide, reassure, and comfort their children. It is in a spirit of trying to help, author Mac Bledsoe offers the following suggestions.

A Mom's Story of Survival
http://www.sheknows.com/articles/2479.htm
March 17, 2009
Writer Allison Salerno shares the harrowing details of the day her husband had a brush with death on Sept. 11, 2001, barely escaping the World Trade Center before it crumbled, and discusses the impact it had on her young children.

Talking With Your Children About the Current Financial Crisis
http://dyslexia.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/telling-the-kids-the-financial-bad-news/
March 26, 2009
Telling children that a parent has been — or may be — laid off is never easy. But it is necessary, according to an article by Alina Tugend in the NY Times.