Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

In the United States a child that is a victim of child abuse can receive coordinated services through children’s administration.  A child in our program was a victim of physical abuse as a two year old, the abuser was imprisoned and the child remained with his mother.  The child received counseling as did the mother from a community mental health agency.  The single working mother was challenged to find childcare as the child displayed very aggressive behavior toward his peers.  She accessed a birth to three screening program and the child started additional services through the public school program for developmental delays and intervention services.  The child began our prekindergarten program, where behavior was observed that initiated a team approach to discovering strategies to develop pro-social behavior.  The resources accessed were a mental health counselor, a classroom shadow, children’s administration caseworker and an educational coordinator. 

The mental health consultant was trained to observe young children in the classroom environment and recommend strategies to improve attachment, initiative, self-control and behavior concerns.  With the collaboration of the parent to have consistency at school and home, the team developed a plan to respond to the child’s inappropriate behavior.  The classroom shadow worked alongside the child to coach him through social situations and problem solving.  The practice reflects the influence of Vygotsky theory of private speech. Children talk to themselves and learn to control their actions.  The caseworker provided a funding stream for counseling and worked with the mother to encourage follow through and home visiting services.  The educational coordinator from the educational services school district provided support to the classroom teachers.  The insecure attachment and corresponding lack of emotion regulation are going to continue to create great challenges as the child enters public school.  Groves Gillespie stated, helping children cope with their strong emotions is a first step in helping them become self-regulated.  (Groves Gillespie, 2008)

Although many nations have signed the United Nations’ Committee on Children’s Rights the follow through on legislation has not resulted in the improvement of services.  One example is the worsening situation in Russia. (Roudik, 2007). The country has not been able to create a budget to support their legislation to protect children’s basic rights.  Non-government agencies are restricted as service providers. In the United States many nonprofit agencies have a mission to provide family preservation services. The Russian policy has hindered the implementation of legislative goals to support young children.  The situation was complicated by the dismantling of the previously existing traditional structures of social protection.  (Roudik, 2007, p. 3).  Health care is of particular concern.  What I learned is that keeping children thriving is a community effort.

References

Groves Gillespie, L., & Hunter, A. (2008). Emotional flooding: Using empathy to help babies manage strong emotions. Young Children on the Web, 63(5), 46-47.

Roudik, R. (2007, August). Children’s rights: Russian federation. Law Library of Congress. 155-166. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/law/help/child-rights/russia.php