children as witness: educating childhood witnesses … · 2014-03-23 · reaching and teaching...
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CHILDREN AS WITNESS:
EDUCATING CHILDHOOD
WITNESSES OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
Colleen Lelli, Ed.D Cabrini College April 12, 2014
Global Summit on Childhood Association for Childhood Education
International (ACEI)
Objectives:
Objective/Goal #1 Participants will be able to use
strategies in the school setting to help students learn
who have witnessed domestic violence
Objective/Goal 2 Participants will explore the
newly designed Children as Witness curriculum.
Objective/Goal #3 Participants will use the new
curriculum to make connections on how to use the
curriculum within their own educational settings.
Objective/Goal #4 Participants will address the
needs of young children (grades K-6) exposed to
domestic violence.
Domestic Violence
Systematic abuse by one person in an intimate relationship in order to control and dominate the partner
Abusive controlling behaviors can be: physical, emotional, mental, sexual, spiritual, social, and economic
Afflicts persons of all socioeconomic categories and cultures
One in 14 marriages in the U.S. suffers from repeated, severe violence
Power and Control Wheel
Statistics- Prevalence
The Massachusetts Advocates for Children (2005)
found that between 3.3 million and 10 million
children in the United States witness violence in their
own homes each year.
More than three million children view incidents of
domestic violence every year, in which more than
half of male abusers physically harm their children
(Hasseler, 2006).
Exposure to Domestic Violence
1. Direct observation
- Being caught in the crossfire
2. Overhearing
3. Finding the aftermath…
4. Becoming an additional target
5. Experiencing police intervention, medical attention (ambulance/hospital), fleeing to safety
EXPERIENCING: Awareness that violence is occurring between adult caregivers or between an adult caregiver and another adult; suffering consequences of the violence
Signs of Violence in the Home
Three to five years old:
Acts like abuser
Afraid to do anything
Limited imagination
Six to twelve years old:
Act out
Difficulty concentrating
Parentified
Shame
Effects of Domestic Violence
on Children
Traumatic experiences change children’s expectation of the world and destroy the victim’s fundamental assumptions about the safety and expectations of the world (The Massachusetts's Advocates for Children, 2005)
Children’s safety and security of interpersonal life is refined or changed (The Massachusetts's Advocates for Children, 2005)
Children may have diminished self worth and feel incapable of having a positive impact on the outside world (The Massachusetts's Advocates for Children, 2005, Kearney, 2001)
Effects of Domestic Violence
on Children
Children witnessing domestic violence experience developmental delays and have increased behavioral and emotional problems (Spath, 2003; Edelson, 1999; NACVAW, n.d., Fantuzzo & Stevenson, 1997, Barrett-Kruse, C. et al 1998, Kearney, 2001)
Children exposed to domestic violence often show symptoms in the areas of behavioral and emotional functioning, cognitive and school problems, and social relationships (Hughes, Graham-Bermann and Gruber, 2002)
Children may become defiant, or engage in parentified behaviors siblings and/or pour themselves into activities that they love (Bancroft, 2004)
Neurobiology and Domestic Violence
Many researchers (Zull, 2002; Shaywitz, 2003; DeBellis, 2005) have uncovered areas of the brain which relate specifically to learning and also to responding to trauma and violence episodes.
Studies are beginning to uncover neurobiological evidence that the ability to connect words to experience can be impeded by trauma (The Massachusetts Advocates for Children, 2005).
Research has found that Broca’s area, the part of the brain that is responsible for language, is inhibited during traumatic situations.
Neurobiology and Domestic Violence
Brain researchers also explain that growing children go
through ‘critical periods’ during which certain areas of the
brain develop very rapidly and are more susceptible than
usual to stressful experiences.
Ford (2005), found that some women with abuse-related
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have impairments in
information processing, including the ability to categorize
information and access to verbal information.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in
Children
Persistent memories of the event
Hypervigilance – can lead to aggression, impulsivity
Insomnia and/or nightmares -> exhaustion in school
Poor concentration and attention
Physical ailments
Feeling numb, detached
Anxiety, rumination
Behavioral reenactments
Pessimism about the future; depression
Childhood Trauma and Academic
Performance
Succeeding in school, including academic achievement and
social competence, poses a huge hurdle for children who have
witnessed domestic violence.
Shonk and Cicchetti (2001) found that maltreated children
show more severe academic problems than do comparison
children.
Effects on Cognition Exposure to family violence compromises:
Memory
Integration of new and previously learned material
Attention
Lower verbal and motor skills
Impaired development of self-awareness and reasoning
Effects on School Functioning
Child Witnesses are more likely to
Exhibit disruptive and destructive behavior
Be suspended from school
Be truant
Be referred to a speech pathologist
Have a GPA at or below 1.0
Use alcohol or other drugs
Impact of Trauma on Learning
Family violence has traumatizing effects that limit
children’s ability to acquire the competencies required for
school success.
Trauma is sometimes camouflaged by other behavior
problems. When children traumatized by family violence
are misdiagnosed, they do not receive the interventions
they need.
Early exposure to violence reorganizes the brain.
Curriculum Development: Creating Conversations
about Domestic Violence
Purpose: To increase understanding of domestic violence among
educators and provide awareness of the community-based
resources and interventions available to assist young children
(K-6) who are confronting domestic violence.
Approximately 12 lessons
Appendix with Community Based Resources
Will need information from advisory panel members to help
compile resources of resources/agencies which may help
teachers and schools.
Contents of Lessons 1-5
The objective for the first five lessons is to build awareness of
domestic violence.
Lesson topics include:
Myths and realities of domestic violence
Terms important to understanding domestic violence
Power and control element and wheel
Understanding domestic violence as a social justice issue
Understanding domestic violence as a human rights violation
Contents of Lessons 6-12
The objective of the last five lessons is to provide teachers with strategies for their classroom to students who have been affected by domestic violence
Lesson topics include:
How exposure to violence changes the learning process
How domestic violence influences children’s language and memory
Supporting the reading and writing process for children who have been exposed to violence
Using children’s literature to discuss feelings and domestic violence
Creating trauma sensitive schools
Children as Witness Project
www.cabrini.edu/DomesticViolence/
Questions/Comments
References
Carrion, V.G. (2011). Youth violence, posttraumatic stress symptoms & learning. California Healthy Students Research Projects, Brief No.5. Retrieved from http://www.childrennow.org .
Craig, S. (2008). Reaching and Teaching Children Who Hurt: Strategies for Your Classroom. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Coster, W. & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Research on the communicative development of maltreated children: Clinical implications. Topics in Language Disorders, 13, 25-38.
Edleson, J. L. (1999). Children’s witnessing of adult domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 839-870.
Edleson, J., Ellerton, A.L., Seagren, E.A., Kirchberg, S.L., Schmidt, S.O., & Ambrose, A.T. (2007). Assessing children’s exposure to adult domestic violence. Children & Youth Services Review, 29, 961-971.
Fantuzzo, J. W. & Mohr, W. K. (1999). Prevalence and effects of child exposure to domestic violence. The Future of Children, 9, 21-32.
Ford, J. (2005). Treatment implication of altered affect regulations and information processing follwoing child maltreatment. Psychiatric Annals, 35, 412-419.
Haeseler, L. (2006). Children of abuse and school discourse: Implications for teachers and administration. Education, 126, 534-540.
Kernic, M.A., Holt, V.L., Wolf, M.E., McKnight, B., Hueber, C.E., & Rivara, F.P. (2002). Academic and school health issues among children exposed to maternal intimate partner abuse. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 156, 549-555
Massachusetts Advocates for Children, The Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center
of Harvard Law School & Task Force on Children Affected by Domestic
Violence. (2005). Helping Traumatized Children Learn. Retrieved July 9, 2008,
from http://www.massadvocates.org/helping_traumatized_children_learn.
Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia. New York, New York: Random House
Publishing.
Shonk, S.M., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Maltreatment, competency deficits, and risk
for academic and behavioral maladjustment. Developmental Psychology, 37,
3-17.
Yates, T.M., Dodds, M.F., Sroufe, A., & Egeland, B. (2003). Exposure to partner
violence and child behavior problems: A prospective study controlling for
child physical abuse and neglect, child cognitive ability, socioeconomic status,
and life stress. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 199-218.
Zull, J. (2002). The Art of the Changing Brain. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing.
References
Colleen Lelli, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Cabrini College
Radnor, PA USA
CL724@cabrini.edu
Colleenlelli@yahoo.com
610-902-8466
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