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.

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.

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.

Children of September 11 - Nine Years After
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/09/11/for_children_of_911_answers_are_slow/
September 13, 2010
Nine years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the children of the terrorists’ victims are still coming to terms with their utterly unfathomable loss. Click on link to read article.

Helping Children Cope With Trauma
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/10/21/teaching.kids.work.through.trauma
November 4, 2010
A psychologist at Tel Aviv University has developed a program to help children learn techniques to avoid psychological disabilities that may arise from stress. The method can be useful for children who grow up in the midst of political conflict, such as war or terrorism. Click on link to learn more.

Journalism Students at Rutgers Tell the Stories of 9/11 Children
http://news.rutgers.edu/focus/issue.2011-02-24.5637140908/article.2011-03-21.9548720349
March 29, 2011
Journalism majors in the Rutgers 9/11 Student Journalism Project are trying to help the rest of us make sense of that day by interviewing the children of people who did not survive it. Click on link to learn more.

APA Journal Special Edition Examines Psychological Impact of 9/11 Over Ten Year Period
http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-9-11-intro.pdf
July 25,2011
A team of psychologists examine the social, political and psychological impacts of the nation’s worst terrorist attack in a special issue of APA’s flagship journal, American Psychologist. This special issue is: “9/11: Ten Years Later,” Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD, Special Issue Coordinator/Editor; American Psychologist, Vol. 66, No. 6. Click on link to read the introduction.

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.

Young Children Deeply Impacted by Traumatic Events
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/study_shows_young_children_wer.html
September 14, 2010
Parents and mental health experts have long assumed that witnessing a disaster has less emotional impact on little children because they are too young to comprehend it. An ongoing study of New York City children who were 5 or younger when they witnessed the 9/11 attacks has proved that false. Click on link to learn more.

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.

David Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pages
http://www.trauma-pages.com/
August 8, 2010
This website focuses primarily on emotional trauma and traumatic stress, including PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) and dissociation, whether following individual traumatic experience(s) or a large-scale disaster.

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?:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Suggestions for Helping Children Cope With the Tragedy in Japan
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-ways-to-help-kids-cope-with-japan.html
March 24, 2011
From the Care 2 Make a Difference webpages, some ideas on how to explain the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan.

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.

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.

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.

Talking With Children About Violence
http://www.womensmentalhealth.org/posts/tragedy-and-coping/
January 12, 2011
Tragic events such as the recent shootings in Tucson, Arizona cause all of us to question our basic assumptions that the world is a safe place. Children are particularly vulnerable to news and media coverage which most often magnifies the horror, but does little to restore a sense of stability and safety. Unfortunately it can be difficult for parents to feel comfortable in talking with and reassuring their children about the event and the world we live in. For some suggestions, click on the link to read an excellent article on how to help children cope with violent events.

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.

Parents Urged to Make Children Feel Safe During 9/11 Tenth Commemoration
http://www.salisburypost.com/News/090411-9-11-Kids-could-find-Sept-11-coverage-traumatic-qcd
September 6, 2011
Mental health professionals recommend that parents take time this week to help their kids understand the 9/11 attacks and make them feel safe. Click on link to read article.

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.

Nickelodeon to Air Interactive Program on 9/11 Terror Attacks
http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-national/nickelodeon-announces-9-11-tv-special-for-kids-too-young-to-remember
August 2, 2011
The Special, What Happened?: The Story of September 11, 2001, will air on September 1 on Nick News with Linda Ellerbee at 9PM. The special will air commercial-free and is being complemented with an online discussion guide for parents, educators and caregivers, specially created through a partnership between Nickelodeon and the American Psychological Association (APA). Click on link to learn more.

Strategizing Discussions With Children About Terrorism
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2011/08/16/2011-08-16_upcoming_september_11_anniversary_calls_for_parents_to_strategize_how_to_talk_to.html?page=0
August 17, 2011
Suggestions for parents on how to talk with children about the 9/11 attacks.

The Tenth Commemoration: Talking With Children About the Issues of 9/11
http://ubhc.umdnj.edu/brti/tlc/guidelines/NewSchoolYear911.htm
July 26, 2011
The New School Year and September 11th Helping Children Navigate the Words and Images of 9/11, an article by Donna Gaffney, DNSc, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN Advisory Board, Families of September 11. Click on link to read article.

Thirteen Online Education: Dealing with Tragedy Tips and resources for teachers and parents.
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/tips.html
January 10, 2012
To help cope with the effects of the horrific terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, both as educators and as parents, Thirteen has compiled a list of tips and resources focused on helping children through these difficult times.

"Radio Rookies" Seeks Teenagers With a 9/11 Story To Tell
www.radiorookies.org
April 8, 2011
The 9/11 Generation Speaks: This spring and summer, WNYC Radio in partnership with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum is holding a workshop to help young people tell radio stories about growing up in the New York area since 9/11. We are looking for people for whom 9/11 was, in some way, a pivotal moment in their growth. Potential participants will range from kids who lost family members to those impacted less directly by 9/11 and its aftermath: maybe they lived near the World Trade Center; perhaps the attacks changed their lives because of their parents´ line of work or their family´s religion; maybe their own convictions have been challenged or led them to take some action. We know that 9/11 affected different people in many different ways, and we hope to be surprised by some of the stories young people have to tell. If you know a young person (15-22 years old) who has a story to tell and is interested in working with WNYC to get it on the radio, please tell us about him or her. The workshop will run from mid-April through mid-August. Young people will work with Radio Rookies producers twice during the school week (afternoons) and once on the weekend; they will also do several hours a week of independent reporting. During the summer, they will work at least 10 hours a week with Rookies producers. Participants will be paid a stipend and the stories will air on WNYC Radio. There is only room for six teenagers. Applications are due April 11th and are available by request - please go to www.radiorookies.org and tell us about the potential applicant. An interview with the participant and his or her family members will be required of all finalists. RADIO ROOKIES OVERVIEW Radio Rookies is a WNYC Radio program that trains teenagers to tell true stories about themselves, their communities, and the world. Since its inception in 1999, the Radio Rookies have told stories ranging from their passion for poetry to living in a neighborhood where guns are easily accessible. Radio Rookies was awarded a 2005 Peabody Award. The Peabody judges hailed the Radio Rookies´ reporting as "remarkably immediate and illuminating" and said, "...there´s no better way to understand how teenagers see the world." Most recently the Rookies´ have been awarded The 2010 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Radio, the National Edward R. Murrow award for Radio Feature Reporting, and the Gracie Award for Outstanding Radio Series from the American Women in Radio & Television.

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.

Post Traumatic Growth and Resilience
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703720004575477614058976560.html
September 9, 2010
Certain children are more likely than others to grow after disasters or tragedies. The ability to maintain a sense of hope and optimism is helpful. Click on link to learn more.

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.