Jolene Philo's first child, Allen, was born with a life-threatening birth defect that required 7 surgeries from birth to age five. She taught students with special needs in a variety of settings during her 25 years in education. Her book, Different Dream Parenting: A Practical Guide to Raising a Child with Special Needs was released by DHP in November of 2011. She also blogs about special needs at www.DifferentDream.com.
Though caring adults wish they could shield children from trauma and from it’s bigger, meaner cousin, post-truamatic stress disorder (PTSD), the truth is that we can’t. But we can become educated about childhood trauma and PTSD to become better advocates on behalf of kids touched by these mental illnesses. Previous posts in this series explored [...]
No one wants the words “post-traumatic stress disorder” and “children” to appear in the same sentence. But recent events like the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting are reminders that children as well as adults can be exposed to events that cause this debilitating but highly treatable mental illness. Previous posts in this series explained why [...]
After our adult son’s treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder with origins in childhood trauma, I wanted to learn more about this common mental illness. I also wanted to find a good working definition of PTSD to share with people curious about our son’s story. My search began with interviews with several therapists at Intensive Trauma [...]
PTSD in children is real. So are myths and misconceptions about this mental illness. Because they are so prevalent, many people are ignorant of or deny the existence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in kids. This article, the second in an ongoing series, examines the following commonly held myths and misconceptions about PTSD in children: [...]
I am an advocate for children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I didn’t seek the job. I didn’t even know it existed until our twenty-six-year-old son was diagnosed with PTSD one week and successfully treated for it the next. The adventure began the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2008 when our son Allen called. “Mom,” he asked, “will [...]
This question will date me, but here goes. Does anybody out there remember the Honeywell Corporation advertising campaign from the early 1970s? The beginning of the TV commercial escapes me, but its conclusion is burned into my brain. The announcer ended every ad with this memorable tag-line: The future is now…at Honeywell. Forty years later, [...]
