Parenting Children with Developmental Trauma: Filling in the Gaps of Missed Experiences

This 8-week ONLINE parenting group program is an opportunity to learn about and explore the gaps in development that children are left with after experiencing trauma during their early years. The goal of this program is to help families build strong, stable connections that withstand the stress of the big feelings and behaviors that accompany developmental trauma.

Parents will gain a deeper understanding of how the foundation experiences their children missed impact the way they feel about themselves and others, particularly adults and attachment figures. Participants will have an opportunity to draw connections between missed developmental stages and current behavior and coping strategies that are problematic at home, school and community. Strategies for filling in the gaps of experiences missed from the first twelve years of life will be explored in depth. Parents will be encouraged to recognize when and respond therapeutically to children and youth with uneven development, often behaving in ways that seem much younger and older than their chronological age.

Participants will be guided in developing a customized parenting plan for their child(ren) that considers the specific impacts of their early history and what family-based interventions will ‘fill in the gaps.’ Group discussions breakouts will encourage sharing of experiences, challenges and successes to build a sense of community amongst others who understand what it’s like to navigate complex family dynamics.

This program is most suitable for families who are well past the early transition stages and are struggling with chronic behaviors that have not been resolved following a stable placement with a family committed to meeting needs. The material will be most applicable to anyone parenting children between the ages of 5 and 17.

Wednesday’s from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

January 22, 29 and Feb 5, 12, 19, 26 and March 5, 12

$680 8-week of ONLINE sessions for parenting individual or couple (one screen)

What’s included:

• 8 sessions of ONLINE live group teaching facilitated by Andrea Chatwin
• Q & A at the end of each session
• Recorded sessions for review or to catch up on missed sessions
• Program workbook for supported notetaking (digital)
• Supplementary PDF Handouts for printing or saving
• Weekly encouragement emails with links to additional resources
• Weekly opportunity to submit questions to facilitator prior to session
• Template for developing a parenting plan

Week 1 Overview of how trauma in childhood impacts the successful transition from one stage of development to the next. Parents will understand asynchronous development and be able to map out how it applies to their child(ren) or youth. They will work through a timeline of their child’s experiences and what ages and stages were interrupted. Parents will be encouraged to take an inventory of behaviors and coping strategies they are concerned about rate their intensity so that a baseline for intervention is established.

Week 2 Infant (0– 18 months) stage of development will be explored in depth to understand how this is the most significantly time in a child’s life and how trauma impacts how the tasks of this stage are needed to set kids up for relational success. Parents will be encouraged to contemplate their child’s experiences in this stage and draw connections with their current concerns. Strategies for filling in the gaps of this stage of development will be explored and discussed so they are readily applicable to daily life.

Week 3 Toddler (18 months – 3 years) stage of development will be explored in depth to understand how trauma interrupts the tasks that are supposed to be accomplished at this stage. Parents will be guided to walk through what a toddler’s experience of themselves and others is based on the responses they encountered during this stage of development. For those who started parenting in toddlerhood we will review how these first experiences with them at this later stage creates delays in attachment. Strategies for filling in the gaps of this stage of development will be explored and discussed so they are readily applicable to daily life.

Week 4 Preschooler (3 – 5 years) stage of development will be explored to understand how trauma interrupts the important learning about self and others that happens at this stage. This is often when children encounter significant other adults besides their attachment figures. Children who have healthy attachment will encounter this stage differently than those who do not. Parenting children who have experienced chronic stress, whether in neglectful or abusive situations, or because of a significant loss or transition will show gaps in their ability to interact with others. Strategies for filling in the gaps of this stage of development will be explored and discussed so they are readily applicable to daily life.

Week 5 Grade Schooler (5 – 12 years) stage of development will be explored to understand how trauma interrupts the important learning of competence and capabilities during this stage. This is when children are exposed to the most feedback from others about their abilities. Children with a healthy foundation of secure relational experiences will move through this stage with a tolerable amount of stress. Those who do not enter this stage with secure attachment will struggle significantly in their interactions with adults and peers. Strategies for filling in the gaps of this stage of development will be explored and discussed so they are readily applicable to daily life.

Week 6 Adolescence (12-18) stage of development will be explored to understand how a shaky foundation of earlier stages of development impact the child’s ability to navigate their teen years. We will explore how adolescents experience themselves when they have significant gaps in development. Parents will have an opportunity to explore how current behaviors or coping strategies are connected to missed experiences. Those who are parenting younger children will be encouraged to plan for how to enter adolescence with a strong foundation and how to account for any gaps that will still exist. Strategies for filling in the gaps at this stage or planning for this stage will be explored and discussed so they are readily applicable to daily life.

Week 7 Parents will have an opportunity to reflect on all the previous stages discussed and develop their individualized parenting plan for their child(ren). There will be time to discuss a few of the most complex behaviors that can be the most challenging to shift and what to do when there are setbacks in these areas. Parents will be encouraged to look at behaviors or concerns that they find triggering and explore their own responses.

Week 8 The last session will be spent reviewing the parenting plans that have been developed throughout the course and discuss any strategies parents are working to implement that require some further reflection or adjustment. Parents will have an opportunity to explore their own nervous system regulation so that they are ready to move forward with their new plans in a way that they can sustain. Common roadblocks to change will be reviewed so parents feel prepared for the challenges they may encounter along their journey of applying the strategies they learned through this group.

Andrea Chatwin, MA, CCC is the founder and director of A Child’s Song. Andrea has spent many years coaching and supporting adoptive, foster and permanent families to build strong connections with children who have experienced developmental trauma. Her areas of expertise include transitioning children, therapeutic parenting, responding to complex behaviors and family crisis. She has been developing curriculum over ten years to support families in understanding how to help children and youth build new pathways in the brain following missed developmental experiences. Her commitment to building strong permanent families has been the foundation of her work over the past 15 years.

Andrea has a unique way of making complex concepts related to development, trauma and neurobiology relevant and accessible to anyone committed to therapeutic parenting. Her confidence in the role of a parent as the container for healing developmental trauma has led to the development of this parenting group.

Wondering if this group is the right fit for you? Fill out the form below, and we would be happy to assist you!