How Trauma and Chronic Stress Affect Developing Brains

Trauma alters the developing brain, triggering behavioral and mental health issues. Under prolonged exposure to stress, resources are diverted from the “thinking” part of the brain to its survival centers. Here, learn how to best support stressed children and teens who have been exposed to traumatic events.

Jaygar

July 3, 2023 at 11:05 am

This is a very interesting article, and offers good advice for parents. But what do adults who have grown up with ADHD and trauma do to try and repair the damage?
Penny Williams

July 19, 2022 at 2:15 pm

I would also add that being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world can be traumatic for many. As Dr. Bruce Perry says in “What Happened to You?:” “Marginalized peoples — excluded, minimized, shamed — are traumatized peoples, because as we’ve discussed, humans are fundamentally relational creatures.” Neurodivergent people are, sadly, marginalized.

Expanding what we call traumatic can help kids with ADHD and/or autism because it helps us understand them and their neurobiology. And then we can change the narrative on behavior from “why are you acting like that” to “what is causing you to have a hard time?” And that changes everything.

Penny Williams
thebehaviorrevolution.com and ParentingADHDandAutism.com