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Personal Reflection/Anecdote

According to Schamuhn (2024), adults can help traumatized children in the following ways:
• Create an environment of safety. First and foremost, traumatized children need to feel they are
physically and emotionally safe. Children need to have predictability (i.e., in scheduling/routines,
parenting styles) and to know no matter what the behavior, their caregivers love and support them.
• Name it (the feeling) to tame it. Traumatized children are constantly experiencing a “fight, flight,
freeze, collapse” reaction to life, as if every moment is dangerous. It works best to speak to the
child using language they can comprehend in moments of emotion dysregulation: name the feeling
and name what they are feeling in their body.
• Build them up. Traumatized children constantly feel like they’re in the passenger’s seat; they need
experiences where they feel they are back in control over their lives and that they get through the bad
events. [Adults] can help them achieve this by pointing out times they handled a difficult situation,
put effort into something and achieved a desired outcome, or simply managed an overwhelming
emotion. Allowing younger children (2–11) ample time to play is also helpful, as it is through play
that children master their traumatic experiences. (para. 9–11)
The plants from my mother’s garden experienced trauma after being uprooted from their normal
environment. Individualized intervention accelerated their survival—just as the kind of attention detailed
above will support and maintain traumatized children.
According to Eberts (2017), “Trusting that children possess the capability to work through their
challenges…on their own timetable appears challenging for many adults to understand” (p. 21). Many
factors must align so that children can be successful during and after interventions. It is hard work for both
children and adults, but it is worth the work.
Teachers, counselors, and mentors can make a huge difference in a child’s life. Just as the plants from
my mother’s garden need my attention, traumatized children need the adults around them to be aware
of changes in their behavior and respond appropriately to address any problems through positive and
respectful communication. Under my watchful eye, the beloved lily survived and made it to Stage 3—the
final stage before blooming. Taking on the responsibility to be a nurturer requires time and hard work, but
the reward of seeing plants grow to maturity—as well as seeing a child’s growth in overcoming trauma—
is worth the sacrifice.

Dr. Shirley Turner is a member of Alpha Chapter in District of Columbia State Organization. A retired educator from the
DC Public Schools, where she was an English teacher and Instructional Coach for 30 years, Turner is currently an Executive
Leadership Coach and CEO of In Touch Consulting, LLC.
Turnershirley27@gmail.com

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