The first post in this series explored how invasive medical procedures can cause PTSD in children. The post listed four factors that increase the likelihood of PTSD developing. The factors are: Timing Anesthesia Age of patient Previous Trauma History As promised in Part 1 of the series, this post will address the general principle behind the occurrence of PTSD and how it can be successfully treated. General...

When our son was born in 1982 and flown 750 miles away for life-saving surgery, we asked the medical professionals if the surgery and recovery would somehow affect him later on. “No,” we were told repeatedly, “he’s too young to remember. Besides newborns don’t feel pain.” Even though the opposite has been proven true since our son’s surgery, the news hasn’t...

For 26 years, my son lived with PTSD caused by early medical surgeries and invasive procedures. Since was successfully treated at the Intensive Trauma Therapy Institute in December of 2008, I’ve been researching the topic. There’s good news and bad news concerning the topic. Bad News, Good News When our son was born in 1982, we asked doctors and nurses about how the separation from family,...

When most people think of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they think of returning war veterans. If they think of PTSD in children at all, it is associated with children in war zones or kids who are victims of sexual or physical abuse. But new research shows that the crippling mental health effects of PTSD can also be caused by medical procedures, divorce, adoption, and natural disasters. National...

In the previous posts in this series, I briefly described how I prayed scripture for Allen, my son, during his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). WebTV4Women Radio Interview with Linda Goldfarb Instead of writing the whole story here, which would make this a ten part series, I encourage you to listen to Linda Goldfarb’s recent radio interview with me at WebTVforWomen.tv. (The...

If your child endured invasive medical procedures or prolonged hospitalization at a young age, she’s at risk to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But the Intensive Trauma Therapy Institute in Morgantown, WV has made great strides in treating children with PTSD quickly and effectively. Treating Traumatic Stress & Dissociative Disorders 17th Conference This year’s conference...

The first post in this series discussed general ways to pray for kids with special needs. As promised the second post provides specific ideas of how and what to pray. How to Pray Finding time to pray while caring for a child with special can be almost impossible. Nevertheless, God commands us to pray, and whatever he commands us to do, he also enables us to accomplish. With that provision in mind,...

A recent radio interview with Dr. John Rich caught my ear the other day. He was explaining why he wrote the book, Wrong Place, Wrong Time. After watching  young black men stream through Boston City Hospital’s ER with gunshot and knife wounds, he started listening to their stories. Wrong Place, Wrong Time He learned that many of the young men were just in the wrong place at the wrong time –...

As I’ve mentioned in previous DifferentDream.com posts, (PTSD Treatment Can Change Your Child’s Life, PTSD and NICU Parents: What About You?, and Critically Ill Kids and War Veterans Have What in Common?) war veterans aren’t the only people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It also affects children who have endured invasive medical treatment, and  PTSD can affect...