Expert: Kids can be re-traumatized following news of Conn. shooting
A child-behavior expert warns parents that children traumatized by the Aurora movie-theater shooting may be deeply affected by recent mass shootings at a Newtown, Conn., school and an Oregon mall.
The first thing parents should do is limit or stop their children’s exposure to social media, said Dr. David Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital.
Parents — everyone — need to be cautious about letting children consume any media coverage of the event — especially social media, such as Twitter, where events immediately and quickly unfold.
“Kids are getting exposed to these events in real time — watching them happen,” Schonfeld said.
These first reports are vivid, incomplete and often inaccurate — and their immediacy can be a powerful trigger for anxiety, fear and other negative reactions from past traumas, he said.
“It abruptly brings people back to where they were,” Schonfeld said. “It’s not good for anyone, but it’s particularly bad for kids who have been through something like it. It re-traumatizes them.”
Aurora Public Schools Superintendent John Barry said the school immediately took an active posture on the latest school shooting.
The first thing it did was reassure students and parents: “Our schools are safe. Students and families are not alone. Our staff members care,” he said.
It’s important to get ahead of reactions, Barry said. The district immediately sent messages to staff and parents.
“Although this is an isolated event that happened far away from Aurora Public Schools, news of this nature — especially in light of the summer tragedy in our city — may be disturbing for students and families,” read a message to parents.
The message listed all the security measures in place at the schools.
“If you see more police officers in the area, please do not be alarmed,” the message said. “Aurora police are increasing their presence in our neighborhoods as a precaution in response to the tragedy in Connecticut.”
Dr. Danielle Jones, also with the Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, said parents should start by asking their child what he or she has already heard. Listen for misconceptions or misinformation, she said, and for your child’s underlying concerns.
“Tell them what adults are doing to keep them safe,” Jones said, “but don’t provide false reassurance or dismiss their concerns.”
Parents have to help their children identify their own coping strategies, she said.
“We ask all our people to have their antenna exceedingly high for evidence any of their students, colleagues or friends need help,” Barry said.
Signs of trauma are different in children of different ages. Signs appear soon after events for some but are delayed for others.
The 7/20 Recovery Committee, a community group that formed in the wake of the Aurora theater shooting last summer, includes mental-health experts encouraging parents to watch for the following:
• Preschool children may feel helpless, fearful and unsure about whether there is continued danger. They have difficulty sleeping or fear of going to sleep. They have nightmares. They experience increased anxiety when separated from parents. They may lose speech skills or toilet-training skills. They may engage in play that reflects trauma and is more repetitive than imaginative.
• School-age children have heightened concern for their own and their family’s safety. They may feel guilt or shame about their actions around a past traumatic event. They may be overwhelmed by fear or sadness. They also experience sleep disturbances. They have difficulty concentrating at school. They complain more of headaches, stomachaches or other physical ailments. They can engage in uncharacteristically aggressive behavior.
• Adolescents experience feelings of fear or vulnerability. They may withdraw from families and friends. They could feel guilty or ashamed of their responses. They may engage in self-destructive behaviors. They may be self-conscious about their emotions.
Jones said if parents have concerns about a child’s behavior, they should contact their pediatrician, other primary-care provider or a mental-health specialist.
Electa Draper
It does seem that Ryan Lanza had a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. The incidence of these and similar disorders has been increasing for decades and we believe that we finally know why–our toxic food. Recent research supports the idea that certain dietary elements can adversely affect brain function. The two most likely suspects are excessive fructose primarily from sugar and HFCS and high glycemic carbohydrates mainly from grains.
Over time these dietary elements can trigger a form of food-induced brain dysfunctiion called CARB syndrome. People with CARB syndrome can develop up to 22 brain dysfunction symptoms that interfere with their ability to function. Remember the old “Twinkie” defense? We now believe that this type of food can indeed adversely affect behavior. If this is true, we need to take a serious look at what we are feeding our children if further tragedies are to be avoided.
Not one gun in the school to defend the children. Our kids are sitting ducks. ARM THE SCHOOLS! At least give them a fighting chance.
This was a senseless act of violence. The person who did this is dead, and the police are investigating. We have no idea yet what happened here and anything else is wild speculation.
Mike Huckabee thinks it’s because there’s no god in schools. It’s violent video games! MRA’s think because of women…emasculating young men that they become so distraught. And now, it’s the mentally ill! I find this article, to be the sloppiest, most bigoted piece of ‘investigative’ drivel that a paper could allow for publishing. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Who are you, schills for the NRA?
What we do know about this, is that ‘guns’ killed these poor victims. Write articles about that, that’s something real we can discuss, NOW.
Gun Control? Where is it? Oh yes, it is not cool to raise the topic in public.
Congratulations, Governor Hickenlooper. Proud that you did and that you are Colorado’s Governor. There are how many members of the NRA, 15,000? Who cares? The second shooting massacre in one week.
We must do the right thing.
Oh no no no… no. Not now, not at Christmas. Not kids.
Words fail me.
Another appalling incident. My heart breaks for those involved.
But you guys are delusional. You know that any sort of gun control being talked about would have done nothing in this case, or in any of the other recent incidents. You just “demand” that something is done so as to ease your emotions. This father of a student was using pretty run of the mill, 9mm handguns. No “assualt rifle”, no high-cap magazines.
Gun control only makes it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. I can’t figure out why that is so hard.
This is just terrible, words can not explain the horror these parents and children are going through.
The knee jerk reaction is to blame the gun, when we should be blaming the shooter. The uneducated always want to enact a law to solve a problem. A new law would not prevent this, and it would not prevent people who should not have guns from getting them.
The top three shootings are in places with the most strict laws. There was a person who went on a knife rampage just recently and killed several people.
The recent press about gun control and the vocal left screaming for it makes me wonder? Why does Hollywood support the left, the left welcomes Hollywood, but Hollywood takes gun violence and flaunts it every chance. Movies and shows have become so violent that I as an adult wonder their purpose.The left never calls Hollywood out for their violent films and shows.
They only call out the NRA and the so called backward sothern folks.
It is too early to be screaming for gun control, but we should be screaming for very tough sentences for those who use a gun in a crime.
Gun control is not the answer. Those who fight for gun rights and those who want them controlled are not addressing the real issue. We put too little priority on mental health in this country. Those who use guns to threaten others inappropriately or kill in senseless attacks have psychological issues provoked by anger. This is not an easy issue to solve but worth addressing none the less.
Heartbreaking. Simply heartbreaking.