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Writer's pictureAlfred White

How trauma and stress affect a child’s brain development, by JACKIE MADER

According to: The Hechinger Report


How trauma and stress affect a child’s brain development

The Trump administration’s child separation policy could have long-term consequences for migrant children taken from their parents, by Jackie Mader


Pediatricians and child development experts are concerned about the long-term effects that the Trump Administration’s family separation policy could have on migrant children who are separated from their parents. This separation can cause “toxic stress” that impedes the brain’s development, which could lead to long-term mental health and physical health issues.


Research shows that when children are exposed to negative experiences like neglect, mental illness in the household, trauma or abuse at a young age, the brain’s ability to build circuits that allow different regions of the brain to communicate and process information can be impeded. If those circuits are weak, the development of executive function needed to regulate behavioral control, impulse control, which allow children to focus and follow directions, can be hindered.


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