Neurobiology and Permanency

Neurobiology and Permanency is a three-part video series inspired by the work of our team of professionals at A Child’s Song who have the privilege of walking alongside families struggling to feel safe and connected to each other. Love and good intentions are not enough to maintain permanency. There is more to it. The way a child functions within the context of parent child or family relationships is a direct result of the experiences their body and brain had in the first few years of life. Both the questions and the answers we need to build strong families are found in the science of neurobiology. There is so much to learn from the study of brain development and the impact trauma has on this complex process to help give children and families what they need to create strong, permanent bonds that can hold steady through the storms.  

The first video of our 3-part series will explore the core concepts of neurobiology that impact permanency. This is foundational to understanding the information presented in the next two videos. The second video will look at what these concepts mean for parents who are in permanent relationships with children who have been impacted by early trauma and loss. The third video will consider how these core concepts can influence the work of professionals in supporting permanency planning for children and youth. 

Video 1: Relationships Between the study of Neurobiology and Creating Successful Permanency Plans for Children and Youth 

VIDEO 1 DROP DATE: Saturday, November 09 at 6:00am

Welcome to the first video of our three-part series on neurobiology and permanency.  Get ready to explore the core concepts of neurobiology that impact permanency in this first video of our 3-part series. You will be amazed at how this information helps you to make sense of the way children and youth who have been impacted by early trauma and loss respond in permanent relationships. The research is clear! Children and youth need permanency for optimal development. While the journey to permanency can be difficult, time-consuming and painful, it is so worth it! Join us as we talk about how understanding neurobiology can directly impact the long-term health and wellness of families across our country. 

This video helps you start by looking at the first relationship that every child has and how the way this relationship all future ones. Babies are born ready to connect.  What happens when the connection they are looking for isn’t available anytime during those first few years of life unlocks the keys to helping them develop healthy relationships in the aftermath of loss. 

Video 2: What Parents and Caregivers Need to Know: Applying Neurobiology to Nurturing Our Children 

VIDEO 2 DROP DATE: Saturday, November 16 at 6:00am

Welcome to the second video of our three-part series on neurobiology and permanency.  Now that you understand the core concepts of neurobiology, we are going to explore what these concepts mean for anyone parenting children who have experienced early trauma and relational losses. Permanency gives children and youth the opportunity for a redo by allowing their brain to restructure the way it responds to attachment relationships.  It offers children and youth the opportunity to experience what it is like to have their needs met predictability and reliably without having to do it themselves. The parent child relationship provides the availability and proximity of attuned soothing so that they can learn to self-soothe and self-regulate. The better educated a parent is in understanding the developing brain of their child, the more successful they will be in reading their child’s cues, interpreting behavior accurately and meeting their child’s needs. This video takes important concepts from science and translates it into everyday responses for parents. It is meant to challenge the way you think, spark your curiosity and set you on new path towards connected relationships.  

VIDEO 2 FOLLOWED BY A LIVE DISCSSION FOR PARENTS

Tuesday, November 19th - 7:00pm - 8:30pm

PARENT REGISTRATION

Video 3: Applying Neurobiology to the Practice of Planning, Preparing and Transitioning Children to Permanency 

VIDEO 3 DROP DATE: Saturday, November 23 at 6:00am

Welcome to third video of our three-part series on Neurobiology and Permanency. Video 3 was designed for professionals who plan transitions and prepare children and youth for permanency.  We are excited to share with you how the concepts presented in video 1 give us incredible insight into how to best support successful permanent placements for children in care.  It is so important for professionals to understand the science that supports speaks directly to the work they are doing with children and youth.  The application of these findings of neurobiology will also help professionals better advocate for legislation and policy that reflects current research.  

We know so much more than we did a decade ago about how a child’s experiences impact their development and what they need to heal from adverse life events. We know that children are born ready for relationships and that their life experiences provide the neurobiological framework for how they see and experience future relationships. The first few years of a child’s life are crucial. Each experience contributes to the formation of a child’s brain during this sensitive period and will have lasting impact across all subsequent development.  

When children wait in unstable, temporary situations or experience multiple transitions between primary caregivers these experiences shape their brain. The longer children learn and grow without permanent relationships, the more they will require reparative interventions to help build new connections in the brain that allow them to feel the benefits of safe and secure relationships. This information needs to be front and center in decision making about how we care for the emotional and psychological wellbeing of children.  

VIDEO 3 FOLLOWED BY A LIVE DISCUSSION FOR PROFESSIONALS

Tuesday, November 26th - 9:30am - 11:00am

PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION

Social Workers, Resource Workers, Government / Ministry Workers & Adoption Agency Employees

Government assigned email REQUIRED

*Requires Government Assigned Email*

The study of neurobiology gives professionals insight into infant and child development. It helps us understand the way children and youth view the world and behavioral presentations that may have presented as complex and confusing will make sense. When professionals who are making decisions for children and families are grounded in their knowledge of how the brain develops, how experiences impact this development and what children need to heal and recover from the interruptions they experience we are in a more powerful position to meet the needs of children and families. This information may very well lead to a new way of assessing and planning that has the potential to profoundly impact outcomes for children and youth. 

Free Video Series