Mar 6

Below are some common reactions that children and adolescents may display after being exposed to trauma. If your child has been exposed to a traumatic experience or event, seek help from a mental health provider.

Young Children (1-6 years)

• Helplessness and passivity; lack of usual responsiveness
• Generalized fear about many things
• Heightened arousal and confusion through fear and anxiety
• Cognitive confusion, seeming distracted, unable to focus or give attention
• Difficulty talking about event; lack of verbalization
• Difficulty identifying feelings or being aware of them
• Nightmares and other sleep disturbances
• Separation fears and clinging to caregivers
• Regressive symptoms (e.g., bedwetting, loss of acquired speech and motor skills)
• Inability to understand death as permanent
• Anxieties about death
• Grief related to abandonment by caregiver
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