Industry News
On the Peer Front
You are not alone in your journey. The number of web sites and requests for community connection is growing rapidly. Please take care in the sites you explore, particularly those with chat rooms and public blogs. The internet does not necessarily respect your privacy, but you should. Be aware, surf safely, respond slowly and in your best interest. Please also remember that while there is a wealth of information available at the click of your mouse, not all information is accurate and some information may be challenging for you depending on your stage of recovery. If you read a book, visit a web site or find information that has meaning to you or challenge for you, share it with your therapist. Be sure you have the right information at the right time and in the right context for you.
On the Research Front
We applaud the work of two organizations dedicated to the science of child development and the pursuit of policies supporting its protection. The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child is a collaboration of leading scholars in neuroscience, early childhood development, pediatrics and economics. The Council is located at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Its focus is to bring accurate science and research to the forefront, influencing public policy, legislative initiatives and services affecting the lives of our children.
References to Council articles and publications are shown below. These articles are reader-friendly and provide research results about how our brains develop in childhood and the impact traumatic stress has on the developing brain...an impact that can last a lifetime. We encourage you to review these articles and those featured by the Centers for Disease Control. As the CDC reported in Understanding Child Maltreatment, Facts at a Glance, 2008..."in 2006, over 905,000 children were victims of maltreatment, as determined by state and local child protective service agencies." Those were only the reported cases. Many cases are never reported. Our children are our pathway to the future. They are the hope and the future of our society. We owe it to ourselves to understand the results of professional research and its implications for better prevention programs. 
Children are little miracles. Please remember...hold a hand and you hold a heart. Nurture the heart and you guide the mind. Guide the mind and you open up a world of possibility. Open the world of possibility and you can change the world.
– Kate O'Mullan
Research Focus: Understanding Traumatic
Child Abuse
The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Effects of Childhood Stress on Health Across the Lifespan, 2008 (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/effects_of childhood_stress.htm). Visit this link for an exceptional, reader-friendly publication about the difference between positive stress as a developmental necessity, tolerable stress and toxic stress emanating from repetitive exposure to childhood maltreatment, including abuse and neglect. Get the facts.
How Early Events Affect Growing Brains: An Interview with Neuroscientist Pat Levitt. (http://www.developingchild.net). "Much of what represents a threat to healthy brain development involves what we call toxic stress resulting from chronic negative experiences or threats both to the immature stress-hormone system and even certain developing circuits of the brain itself. These stressors may include, but not be limited to, child abuse and neglect. And we now know that the presence of these stressors can change brain chemistry very specifically..."
Stress and the Architecture of the Brain, Dorian Friedman, (http://www.developingchild.net). "When faced with threats to physical or psychological well-being, our bodies and brains respond in a variety of self-protective ways, including the production of stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Our ability to turn this response on and off is critical to healthy functioning in society, and scientists now believe that significant adversity---and the lack of a supportive environment of relationships---in early childhood can trigger lifelong problems in regulating this stress system..."
The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do, The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, November, 2007. To print or review this publication in its entirety, go to http://www.developingchild.net). "All aspects of adult human capital, from work force skills to cooperative and lawful behavior, build on capacities that are developed during childhood, beginning at birth." "Toxic stress in early childhood is associated with persistent effects on the nervous system and stress hormone systems that can damage developing brain architecture and lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, and both physical and mental health." "The essential feature of toxic stress is the absence of consistent, supportive relationships to help the child cope."
Get the facts, explore CDC reports, Facts At A Glance (www.cdc.gov/injury.) "Child maltreatment has been linked to higher rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, smoking, suicide and chronic disease." The CDC funds Research and Development Programs, seven of which are underway for the development of effective strategies to prevent maltreatment. (Preventing Child Maltreatment, Program Activities Guide (www.cdc.gov/injury).