ABSTRACT
This chapter explores two angles of trauma: first, how it impacts a child developmentally; and second, how many educators who have their own personal trauma histories can be affected personally and professionally. D. Cicchetti and P. W. Howes found that children exposed to early environmental distress, including maltreatment, deprivation, poverty, and trauma are more at risk for delays in social, emotional, and behavioral areas, which can result in problems later in life. Children who have experienced maltreatment have a difficult time decoding facial expressions that depict emotions. Most researchers contend that cognitive development takes place in the frontal and pre-frontal cortex of the brain. Plasticity, or neuroplasticity, is the brain’s ability to reorganize neural pathways when an individual engages in a new experience when new skills are needed to function effectively. The deleterious effects of trauma are often the underpinnings of a child’s maladjustment to all environments.
