Tagged With "Mindful at Work"
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3 Ideas to Update Your Self-Care Plan [gmichelle.com]
With the concept of self-care receiving more buzz than ever before, more people are practicing routines and activities to better care for themselves. At the same time, self-care is included more in our marketing, as it is being used to promote products, services and many, many, many spa services. While getting a manicure or taking a warm bath are certainly helpful self-care ideas, we want to be mindful of how our practice of caring for ourselves is actually helping us. As we reviewed how to...
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5 Ways Trauma-Informed Care Supports Children's Development
Happy Friday! Below is an excerpt from an article by Child Trends about how trauma-informed care supports children's development. I think it's a nice overview for the trauma-informed work that you're doing - why it's so important, and how it connects to the broader initiative. To see the full article click here . TIC helps service providers, parents, and systems recognize and respond to the needs of children who experience trauma. Each child reacts to trauma differently, but experiencing...
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A Guide to Creating “Safe Space” Policies for Early Childhood Programs [CLASP]
From the Center for Law and Social Policy Early childhood programs play an important role in the lives of young children and their families. But in our current immigration policy climate, families across the country are questioning whether it’s safe to attend or enroll. Providers can take steps to protect families’ safety and privacy by implementing policies that designate their facilities as a safe space from immigration enforcement. This guide explains federal agency guidance related to...
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ACEs Champion Julie Kurtz Gives Every Child (and Adult) a Voice
Julie Kurtz hasn’t stopped creating ways to build and promote resilience in herself and others who have experienced trauma since she left her family home for college at age 18. Although she experienced four types of adversity during her childhood, the CEO of the Center for Optimal Brain Integration has traveled a complex journey to mitigate those adversities by recognizing her own internal resilience, building skills to buffer her toxic and traumatic stress, uncovering her voice through...
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ACEs Connection Webinar: The trauma toll on pediatric immigrants, refugees and their families
The trauma toll on pediatric immigrants, refugees and their families Date: Friday, December 14, 2018 Time: 10:30-11:30 am Pacific Time/1:30-2:30 Eastern Time Central American asylum seekers, including a Honduran girl, 2, and her mother, are taken into custody near the U.S.-Mexico border in June in McAllen, Texas. John Moore/Getty Images Please register here for this webinar. News accounts say it all: “Families Are Still Being Separated at the Border, Months After ‘Zero Tolerance’ Was...
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ACEs Presentations for Parents of Young Children
Follow this link to see the community forum post below, and follow people's responses: https://www.acesconnection.com/topic/aces-presentation-for-preschool-parents-experiences-tips-etc I work at an Early Learning Center that serves Head Start and ECEAP preschool families. We are looking to bring ACES and Resiliency to parents, but want to do so in a way that is strengths-based and does not leave families feeling at a loss for what they can do to move forward from ACES they and their families...
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ACES Science 101 (FAQs)
What are ACEs? ACEs are adverse childhood experiences that harm children's developing brains so profoundly that the effects show up decades later; they cause much of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence. ...
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Apply now to Showcase your work at the San Francisco National ACEs Conference in October 2018!
Applications due June 18. Application link included in this post
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Armstrong: Building a Supportive Classroom Community in Early Childhood
As an educator and researcher who specializes in early childhood and also works with older grade levels, I’ve used National Bullying Prevention Month to reflect on ways bullying progresses as children age. I’ve been wondering what can be done in early childhood to prevent bullying in later grades. I’ve reviewed the literature on bullying, including sites that provide suggestions on how to prevent and address bullying , but figuring out how to get started can be overwhelming as it involves...
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Breaking the Silence on Early Child Care and Education Costs: A Values-Based Budget for Children, Parents, and Teachers in California
By Elise Gould, Marcy Whitebook, Zane Mokhiber, and Lea J.E. Austin, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, July 23, 2019. What this report finds: California’s child early care and education (ECE) system is underfunded, and California policymakers have not been willing to acknowledge the true cost of creating a comprehensive ECE system. Proposals for ECE reform have focused primarily on improving access and affordability for families but have ignored the elephant in the room: Early...
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BUILD Initiative Blogs and Webinars on Early Childhood: Immigration and Trauma
Recent changes in immigration policy are presenting new and intense challenges to infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families, and the teachers and programs that work with them. Families and programs are experiencing increased trauma due to the immigration climate. With funding from the Irving Harris Foundation , the BUILD Initiative is organizing a series of webinars and blogs in partnership with the Center for Law and Social Policy for providers, state policy leaders, and advocates.
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Burnout is an official medical diagnosis, World Health Organization says [cnn.com]
Ryan Prior, CNN , May 27, 2019. It's a feeling of extreme work stress that's long been embedded in the cultural lexicon, and now it might be codified in your medical records as well. Burnout is now a legitimate medical diagnosis, according to the International Classification of Diseases , or the ICD-11, the World Health Organization's handbook that guides medical providers in diagnosing diseases. Burnout now appears in the ICD-11's section on problems related to employment or unemployment.
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CA to reimburse for only one of three ACEs screeners
California health care providers will soon begin to learn how many of the 13.2 million California children and adults in the state’s MediCal program have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). But the state’s proposed decision to reimburse only one of three recommended options for screening children has drawn mixed reactions from pediatricians. “If we have mandated legislation that only looks at one screening tool, it really limits the opportunity to improve that screening...
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Calming Your Anxious Mind Through Rhythmic Movement
5 Rhythmic Movement Practices That Can Calm Our Anxious Mind
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Care for Yourself, So You Can Care for Others
December can be a busy and stressful time for everyone. Please see the message below from the Office of Head Start, reminding you to take care of yourself and giving some helpful daily tips- Safe Foundations, Healthy Futures Campaign Care for Yourself, So You Can Care for Others December 2018 December can be a particularly hard time to take care of yourself. You may be busy, over-scheduled, stressed about finances, or worried about family. This month, the Safe Foundations, Healthy Futures...
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COVID-19 and State Child Care Assistance Programs [clasp.org]
From CLASP, April 8, 2020 The bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was passed by Congress and enacted on March 27, 2020, includes resources specifically targeted to individuals and families with low incomes affected by the public health and economic crises. The package includes a number of provisions of particular importance to children and families and those who work with them, including policymakers and other stakeholders in child care and early...
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Data-for-Equity Research Brief [nichq.org]
Child care offers a safe space for children to grow and learn while their families are at work, making it a critical resource to support healthy development. However, child care is unaffordable for the majority of working parents, especially for low-income and black and Hispanic working parents. This research brief provides insight and analysis about the challenges families face in affording childcare, which can exacerbate inequities in early childhood health and development. [For more on...
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Dr. Marrow at Echo Changing the Paradigm Conference
I wanted to give the heads up to our ACESConnection friends about Dr. Monique Marrow who is one of the keynotes at Echo's March 21 & 22nd Frontiers of Resilience conference. Dr. Marrow will be speaking on “ Addressing Trauma in System-Involved Youth ," drawing on her extensive experience as a child psychologist in the juvenile justice system. She talks about the ' invisible suitcase ' that system-involved youth carry - a suitcase full of thoughts and perceptions about the world that have...
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Early childhood educators learn new ways to spot trauma triggers, build resilience in preschoolers
A hug may be comforting to many children, but for a child who has experienced trauma it may not feel safe.
That’s an example used by Julie Kurtz, co-director of trauma informed practices in early childhood education at the WestEd Center for Child & Family Studies (CCFS), as she begins a trauma training session. Her audience, preschool teachers and staff of the San Francisco-based Wu Yee Children’s Services at San Francisco’s Women’s Building, listen attentively.
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Emergency Child Care for Foster Families [saccounty.net]
By Sacramento County, SacCounty News, January 9, 2020 To recruit more loving families for children in foster care, Sacramento County is making it easier to find and afford childcare services for resource families. The Emergency Child Care Bridge Program’s goal is to increase the number of resource families for children in foster care by helping families find the right child care provider, connecting families to long-term child care subsidies, and by providing vouchers to pay for childcare...
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Five Things You Wish Your Community’s Early Childhood Programs Knew [CitiesSpeak.org]
By NLC Staff on May 10, 2019 Cities, towns, and villages are places of innovation and solution finding. If you want to improve early childhood wellbeing—local leaders are key partners. The Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) Learning Community is a program of Boston Medical Center’s Vital Village. The learning community’s goal is to support local early childhood coalitions and build their capacity to work together with the broader community to improve the wellbeing of our...
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Free online training for Early Child Educators (English and Spanish): Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns
This free, one-hour training offered by the CDC provides tools to help child care providers work with families to monitor children's development, share concerns with families, and help families get connected to services and support that can make a real difference. This training is available in English and Spanish, and is approved for continuing education credit. To learn more, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/watchmetraining/index.html
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Free Trauma Webinar
Therapists can be challenged to know the right tools when working with families with trauma histories. Dr. Scott Sells, the author of Treating the Traumatized Child: A Step-by-Step Family Systems Approach , is offering a free webinar on using feedback loops. Webinar: Convert Trauma Undercurrents Into Feedback Loops: How to Draw Out “Before” and “After” Feedback Loops for Your Clients Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2018 Time: 1:00-2:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time Cost: Free To register, Click here...
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Free Webinar: How Boosting Emotional Intelligence Improves Your Ability to Effectively Lead Your ECE Program
How Boosting Emotional Intelligence Improves Your Ability to Effectively Lead Your ECE Program October 3, 2018 11 AM Pacific Time Presented by Barbara Kaiser Author, Consultant, Trainer EQ or Emotional Quotient, otherwise known as Emotional Intelligence, is the ability to recognize emotions to guide thinking and behavior, and adapt accordingly. It requires regulation of your own emotions and the ability to gauge the emotions of others, especially in the workplace. To be an effective high EQ...
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[Free Webinar] Teaching personal safety in early childhood: Tools for preventing abuse
They say it takes a village to raise a child. This proverb could never be more true than now. To create safe villages for children, every responsible adult—from parents & caregivers, to teachers, staff, aides, specialists, and administrators—needs to work together to understand and teach children the principles of personal safety within the context of developmentally appropriate practice. Join this powerful webinar to learn practical, actionable information, strategies and skills to...
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FREE WEBINAR: Trauma-Informed Advocacy: Practical Tools for Working with Vulnerable Populations
Working at the intersection of trauma, health equity, and law, attorney Sarah Hess will join the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative in this free webinar to talk about ways advocates from all disciplines can use a trauma-informed approach to help their clients thrive...
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Free Webinar: Using Culturally Responsive Practices to Ensure Equity for All Children
The State Performance Plan Technical Assistance Project (SPP-TAP) invites you to a Webinar on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m. (PST) Please join SPP-TAP as we welcome Dr. Rosemarie Allen for the upcoming webinar, Using Culturally Responsive Practices to Ensure Equity for All Children focusing on learning environments that are culturally affirming for students in preschool through early elementary grades. Proposed Audience: SPP-TAP invites school and central office personnel to...
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From Compassion Fatigue to Healing Centered Engagement: Turning Trauma Informed Values into Action
To pave the way for a truly strengths-based approach to full healing and recovery for both service users and burned out staff, we must educate them on (1) the central role of primal body responses to trauma (past and present), and (2) the early development of adaptive thoughts and behaviors in response to
traumatic experience.
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Governor Newsom announces Nadine Burke Harris to be CA's first-ever surgeon general
Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the appointment of Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, a national leader in pediatric medicine, to serve as California’s first-ever surgeon general. There is overwhelming consensus in the scientific community around early warning signs and childhood determinants of serious health outcomes. As surgeon general, Dr. Burke Harris will urge policymakers at every level of government and leaders across the state to consider the social determinants of health, especially...
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Growing Resilient Kids
Resiliency is defined as the ability to bounce back from stressful events we encounter in life. When something we encounter is so overwhelming to us that we become stuck in it, that is one definition of trauma. Resiliency can be viewed as the antidote to trauma. In fact, when we effectively process trauma we have experienced, we often come out the other side far more resilient than before. Our nervous systems have a higher stretch capacity, so to speak. How do we help our kids stretch and...
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Healing Trauma Virtual Summit
Good morning, everyone! I wanted to share this Healing Trauma Summit with you - it's online, free, and there are different speakers presenting a wide range of topics. It starts today and continues every day until next Wednesday, June 13. A recording of each presentation is available on the website 24 hours after it ends. Some of the topics I think might be most relevant to your work: Understanding and Transforming the Legacy of Intergenerational Trauma - Wednesday, June 6 1:00PM Treatment of...
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Hey, am I alone here? NO we are here to help!
Do you ever think, wow .... Am I the only one doing this work? And, how come it is so hard to find the resources I need to do my job? And, isn't there a better way to share and collaborate? YOU are not alone - and YES there are amazing people and communities that want to collaborate and share what they've learned! Where do I find these people? On ( clickable ) ACEs Connectio n ! Sign up for ACEs Connection and start collaborating with parents, professionals, well known researchers, and many...
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In the Arena with NOW Podcast Episode, "Cultivating Leaders of Color in Early Care and Education" (27 min)
The Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) is excited to share the third episode of In the Arena with NOW , a podcast series that lifts up the voices of community leaders who are “in the arena” -- in classrooms, playgrounds, Congressional halls, hospitals, and neighborhood streets -- working to make sure that all children and families can live healthy, thriving lives. In our third episode, we speak with members of the California Consortium for Equity in Early Care and Education...
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Marin Community Clinics in California screen babies for ACEs, provide support in effort to prevent trauma
When Marin Community Clinics (MCC) first considered screening their patients for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) they already had decided that if they were going to prevent children from acquiring ACEs, they had to take a radical approach.
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Mental Health and Resilience Month Part 1: Self-Care
Hello, everyone! Since June is Mental Health and Resilience Month, I'll be posting weekly resilience tips or resources. Hopefully these are helpful not only as you begin work in trauma-informed care, but in creating balance for your life in general. I thought I'd start us off with some information on self-care - you've probably all heard of it, and it's gotten a lot of attention recently, but what exactly does it mean? (Even if this is all familiar to you, reminders are always helpful!) See...
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Mental Health and Resilience Month Part 3: Declutter Your Mind
Happy Friday! For this week's mental health and resilience tip, I wanted to give resources on ways to declutter your mind. Some of them are more literal (#6 - declutter your workspace), but most of them are figurative ways to help you feel less stressed and more centered. My personal favorite is #5 - breathe. Taking a slow, deep breath actually lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, which signals to your brain that you're calm, which then makes you feel calmer! You can read the list...
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Mindfulness Stress Reduction Techniques for Healing
Whether you're healing from illness, trauma, or other difficult times, these mindfulness stress reduction techniques can support your healing.
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Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs [migrationpolicy.org]
A child’s early years are a time of exceptional growth, and ones that can be profoundly affected by traumatic experiences. Research has firmly disproven the idea that infants and toddlers are “too young” to be affected by such experiences, leading to an increased awareness of the need for trauma-informed services for children. Early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs have the potential to play a central role in identifying and addressing the effects of trauma, with lifelong...
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Moving Toward Neuroscience-Based Social Work
Early Registration Now Open! September 21, 2018 Corning, CA Super Early Bird rate $129 now through June 30th . Plus, the first 25 to register using the EarlyEarly discount code get an extra $10 off the Super Early Bird price (a $30 savings over the regular registration fee). Last year's conference in Southern California was so well received, this year we are offering the event in Northern California! The revolution in brain science has important implications for our understanding of human...
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My hopes for a trauma-informed California
Every evening, I try to engage my daughter in reflection, gratitude, and hope. I try to practice the same, but tonight, I felt the need to share with you all. Today I had the opportunity to attend the Toward a Trauma-Informed Northern California Summit 2018 – it was an incredible experience. We were welcomed with a moving, informative, and engaging keynote speaker, Dr. Isaiah B. Pickens , who laid the foundation for what would be a day of growth, reflection, connection, and peer support. He...
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New Community Manager
Hello! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself as the ACEs Connection Community Manager for the California Bridge Program. Some of you might know me from my time as Research Associate at the Network from 2012-2015. I’m very excited to be back in this new capacity, working in Communications and Trauma-Informed Care. I have a BA in Psychology and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, and am passionate about children’s well-being - particularly low-income children - and the effects...
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New Health Resiliency Stress Questionnaire debuts for pediatricians, family practice, internal medicine...but anyone can use it
There's a new ACEs-resiliency survey in town! It came out of a conversation between two physicians having a conversation on a bus. Here's the story about how it was developed, and how to use it. Pilots were done in a pediatric clinic, internal medicine, addiction treatment center, group therapy, and psychiatric practice. It's now being used in two community clinics.
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New Report: Holding Policymakers Accountable for Kids' Well-Being
New Report: Today’s shifting political sands have put kids at risk, and it’s urgent that policymakers put kids’ needs front and center. We all have the power to hold policymakers accountable for prioritizing the needs of children, and our friends at the child advocacy group Kids Impact have charted a course on how. In their new report, “Accelerating Policymaker Accountability for U.S. Kids’ Well-Being: Charting the Course & A Call to Action,” they help define a collective “True North”...
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OCAP grants announced - Deadline EXTENDED TO DEC 28th
The Office of Child Abuse and Prevention ( OCAP ) recently announced a funding opportunity that may align with the work of California based ACEs champions. Please see the details below, the OCAP Grants link, and the attached document for further details. Copied from the website : The Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) administers federal grants, contracts, and state programs designed to promote best practices and innovative approaches to child abuse prevention, intervention, and...
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Organizing Your ACEs Initiative: Steps to Growing A Resilient Community
The information below is to be used as guidance for how local ACEs initiatives can structure and organize themselves. We’ve gathered this information from experiences in communities and on ACEs Connection; we've pulled examples of things that work & lessons learned along the way. We want your input — in the comments section, please share with us things we have missed, examples of what’s working for you, and any lessons you have learned and would like to share with the members of ACEs...
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Overcoming Childhood Trauma: How Parents and Schools Work to Stop the Cycle [kqed.org]
Many people have experienced some kind of trauma in their childhood, such as loss of a caregiver, substance abuse in the home, homelessness or abuse. There are ten types of “Adverse Childhood Experiences” that were identified in a study conducted in the 1990s. The total number of childhood traumas someone has experienced determines their ACE score . About 2/3s of the people in the groundbreaking study had at least one ACE, but the researchers also found higher rates of adult physical and...
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Parent Handouts: Understanding ACEs, Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs (English)
Please see the main post for these parent handouts in the ACEs Connection Resources Center. These two flyers ( Understanding ACEs and Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs ) can be downloaded, distributed, and used freely. One is brand new and the other is a revision. Both flyers were made with generous support from Family Hui, a Program of Lead for Tomorrow. Translations of these flyers are in progress and will be shared by Family Hui and updated on ACEs Connection when available.
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Parent Handouts: Understanding ACEs, Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs (now available in English, Dari & Spanish)
The updated parent handouts are now available in Spanish as well as English and Dari. Here's the blog post with links to all three versions of each flyer. All versions of the Understanding ACEs and Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs parent handouts can be downloaded, distributed, and used freely. Both flyers were made with generous support from Family Hui, a Program of Lead for Tomorrow, who is responsible for making the Spanish and Dari translations available. These are updates of the...
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Raising The Organic Unity Of Child-And-Community
“When a child displays a behavior problem, the first place to look for the cause and for the solution is to the child’s environment.” Maria Montessori We cannot truly separate the child from the community. In our efforts to “fix” child behavior or heal the child from the traumatic impact of adverse childhood experiences, we need to relate to the community as an extension of the child’s physical and psychological constitution. An organic unity operates here. There is more than just a...
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Sesame Street in Communities Takes on Trauma
Just this morning, Sesame Street in Communities announced its initiative to support foster children, foster parents, and the providers who serve foster care. Further, more trauma related topics will be addressed soon. The upcoming programing is detailed in today’s The Atlantic article “For-Now Parents’ and ‘Big Feelings’: How Sesame Street Talks About Trauma: ‘The Muppets can often do what humans can’t. They’ve got this special power.’ ” “ "Through its Sesame Street in Communities...