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on the rise, it is quite possible that you will encounter a young client who has been a victim of emotional, physical, sexual, or verbal abuse, or some type of domestic violence. Benson describes one of her current clients who was exposed to drugs in utero and witnessed domestic violence as a baby. "The client has a lot of mood-regulation issues—one minute he is joyful, the next minute he is destroying the house in a rage—and has been diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder." On a positive note, the client has responded well to massage. "I found that he liked massage by accident, actually," Benson says. "He was lying on the floor, rolling around and flailing his legs and arms, until his foot landed gently on my knees. I instinctively reached down and began massaging his foot, and all of a sudden, his movements became much calmer, his eyes lit up, and his body was relaxed. His grandmother looked at him and said, 'Oh my goodness! Look at how calm he is!' Since that time, I have been encouraging Grandma to massage his back and feet on a routine basis." Most families will recover over time, particularly with support. The length of recovery, however, will depend in part on how frightening the event was and other contributing factors such as whether they needed to evacuate, if they lost their home, or if there was extensive loss within their community. C Natural Disasters and Terrorism Earthquakes, explosions, fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis all fall into the category of natural disasters; man-made events like terrorist attacks can have similar effects. We often concern ourselves immediately with the children who have been directly exposed to, or impacted by, such an event. It is important to keep in mind that children who are exposed to these events through the media or by overhearing adult conversations may also show many of the same symptoms and behaviors. Dealing with Childhood Trauma Children's responses to trauma are unique and can be distinguished from those of adults. Young people lack the strength and cognitive emotional inhibitors necessary to cope effectively with the impact of trauma. Responses to traumatic events include physical hyperarousal, hyperactivity, and hypervigilance. Many children also experience emotional numbing or reactivity, constricted emotions, abnormal startle responses, and neuroendocrine abnormalities. Traumatized children may not possess the ability to regulate emotions, thereby compromising behavioral arousal. A child's perception may not be realistic. He may lack the capacity to differentiate between threatening and nonthreatening situations, and be reactive to sensory triggers reminiscent of some aspect of the trauma, such as sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touch sensations. When we are upset, we go into the fight-or-flight response, a system designed to enable our whole body to respond to danger. For children, freezing is a signature of trauma, wherein they simply may freeze and become unresponsive. Some of the most common traumatic stress reactions in children include avoidance, re-experiencing, and heightened arousal. Avoidance Children often try to avoid things that remind them of the traumatic event. They may withdraw from friends and social activities. Many times, children will block out information and negative details; their emotional responses may feel detached, they may be unable to express a wide range of emotion, and their expressions may be flat. Re-Experiencing Nightmares about traumatic events are common occurrences. Children may show evidence of reliving aspects of the events by acting them out, participating in repetitive play, or behaving as if the experiences are happening again. Heightened Arousal After a traumatic event, children may show disorganized behavior, agitation, and elevated responsiveness, as well as increased sensitivity to sights, sounds, or other stimuli. Nervousness, irritability, and sleep problems, accompanied by being easily startled and crying frequently, are common presentations. In addition to common responses, long-term childhood stress and trauma may put children at risk for anxiety and depression. Trauma and sensory deprivation in the child-parent relationship may be an underlying cause of a number of emotional disturbances in children including aggression, anxiety, attachment disorders, attention deficit disorder, depression, and sensory-integration dysfunction. Research has indicated that the long-term consequences and „ and didn't have friends. Massage helped me to feel better in my body. Sydney, 14 www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 63