I came to know the Attachment and Trauma Network thru one of their facebook groups. They helped my family realize that we weren't alone in our struggle with early childhood trauma. Eventually, I had the distinct pleasure of being a member of the board of directors. I see and hear everyday about the impact our organization is making in the lives of families across the country. Thank you ATN for being the great people that you are, and trusting me to be a part of your leadership team.
My personal story of childhood trauma brought me to ATN via a Google search! At that time, I was in the process of healing (which began at the age of 61) and what I found at their website helped me to understand the effects of my own developmental trauma and disrupted attachment. When I realized ATN was providing the kinds of support for parents and teachers that would have helped me as a child, I was sold! I asked if I could volunteer and began blogging, then conducted workshops at the first two Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools conferences, and am now serving on the Board of Directors. ATN literally changed the course of my life and provided an avenue to pursue my passion to help hurting children. My work as an author (BRAVE: A Personal Story of Healing Childhood Trauma & Jeannie's BRAVE Childhood: Behavior and Healing through the Lens of Attachment and Trauma), speaker, and teacher educator have been enriched and informed by this organization, but my life has been transformed by their support. It is an organization built on the importance of relationship as a key to healing and in supporting those working with traumatized children They definitely "walked the talk" in my life!
This organization literally saved my family from disrupting. What a great group of forward thinking individuals with boots in the ground, in the trenches participates.
My wife credits ATN with helping save her family. ATN gave her family the resources and network they needed to better support her sister, who had experienced a lot of developmental trauma as a baby before being adopted from China. That trauma manifested in reactive attachment disorder and other developmental challenges.
The effects of her attachment issues and developmental trauma put a strain on the family and caused problems at school (their methods triggered her issues and caused disruptive behaviors). Thanks to ATN, my sister-in-law graduated high school with honors and is an inspiring young adult representing team USA for the second time in an upcoming international swim competition. ATN gave the family the support and insights they needed to find the right environment for their daughter/sister ... and she was able to THRIVE!
ATN helps hundreds of families and has recently built out an incredible teacher training program (and annual conference with 1200+ attendees) to take their message into the schools. Thanks to ATN's efforts, children like my sister-in-law will be better supported by their local school systems and avoid some of the challenges she had to face earlier in her life. That's why I'm volunteering my time as a board member: to help ATN grow and thrive, so they can reach thousands more families and teachers establish supportive, loving environments for children affected by trauma.
I have been a foster/adopt parent of traumatized children for over 20 years. I wish I'd had a group like this from the beginning. ATN is far more than support and resources. This wonderful group of dedicated parents has become experts in the field of trauma and attachment. They have researched their children's disorders and shared their trials and triumphs with each other with the goal of helping themselves and each other. It's an educational, support, and resource system which is unparalleled for this mighty and special population of parents.
Long before I was ever on the Board of ATN I was served by it as a parent of a child who suffered from attachment and trauma issues. Adopted at 12 months from overseas we were lost as to help our child heal from her dark past. Even at the tender age of 4 the early months of her life and the lost time she had with a caring parent/caregiver had left their mark on her and if it was not for ATN we would probably still be floundering around out there trying to figure out what was wrong and how to help her. ATN's wealth of support and knowledge was the network we needed on this long journey to heal our daughter. I am happy to say she is a very compassionate and caring child now and it is in large part to what we learned through ATN.
ATN has changed my life, my family, and our view of a lot of things. We've been lucky enough to find strength and support in ATN as well as make connections nation-wide. It's awesome to have a database and network of therapists, parents, families, and resources. To be able to connect with other RAD and Trauma siblings is invaluable. There is no doubt in my mind that ATN is the best resource out there and has the ability to change millions of lives!
I have been a Board Member of the Attachment & Trauma Network for several years. I am a mental health therapist who specializes in working with traumatized children. I have been extremely impressed with all of the volunteer parents and other therapists who have devoted their lives to supporting families as they help their children heal. ATN is a wonderful organization of caring parents across the United States who are always willing to lend a hand to others in need.
I've been an adoptive parent of a traumatized child for 12 years. No where else have I found a community of other parents who provide both empathy and guidance in helping our son heal, and helping our family effectively deal with our son.
When I found ATN more than a decade ago, they were a lifesaver! To meet and have support from other parents who were raising traumatized children was invaluable. They "got it" and helped me find resources and learn to be a better therapeutic parent. So I started volunteering. ATN has grown through the dedicated efforts of stressed out, overwhelmed parents who do not want other families to have to struggle as hard as they have struggled to find help and hope. There's still so much more to do. The medical community now recognizes early childhood trauma as a public health epidemic, something those of us who have been parenting abused and neglected children already know intimately. Keep up the good work ATN -- the world needs you!
I adopted an extremely traumatized 9 yr old. Very, very few people understand what it is like to live with and parent such a chid. Even many therapists and professionals who were supposedly trained to help these kids, don't understand our kids, or the chaos they bring to our families. When you have a child who causes so much chaos, who needs to be watched 24/7, the result is a very isolated family. The attachment-trauma-network puts us in contact with other parents who understand our very unique issues. I know I for one feel a bit less isolated. The other major issue that is met here more than other places is finding resources for our kids very specialized needs. The combined experience of the parents ferreting out this information is greater than any other place I have found.
Review from Guidestar