All children may experience very stressful events that affect how they think and feel. Sometimes children who experience severe stress, such as from an injury, from the death or threatened death of a close family member or friend, or from violence, will be affected long-term. The child could experience this trauma directly or could witness it happening to someone else. When children develop long term symptoms (longer than one month) from such stress, which are upsetting or interfere with their relationships and activities, they may be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Examples of PTSD symptoms include:

Reliving the event over and over in thought or in play

Nightmares and sleep problems

Becoming very upset when something causes memories of the event

Lack of positive emotions

Intense ongoing fear or sadness

Irritability and angry outbursts

Constantly looking for possible threats, being easily startled

Acting helpless, hopeless or withdrawn

Denying that the event happened or feeling numb

Avoiding places or people associated with the event

Because children who have experienced traumatic stress may seem restless, fidgety, or have trouble paying attention and staying organized, the symptoms of traumatic stress can be confused with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Examples of events that could cause PTSD include:

Physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment

Being a victim or witness to violence or crime

Serious illness or death of a close family member or friend

Natural or manmade disasters

Severe car accidents

Psychotherapy in which the child can speak, draw, play, or write about the stressful event can be done with the child, the family, or a group. Behavior therapy, specifically cognitive-behavioral therapy, helps children learn to change thoughts and feelings by first changing behavior in order to reduce the fear or worry.

If you think your child may be suffering from PTSD, contact our office.