Abstract:

Children with out-of-family care experience (residential, foster and kinship care) have experienced traumatic events: neglect, poor care, deprivation, violence, withdrawal from their biological family, inability to form a deep genuine attachment with at least one adult. In order to build a caring and supportive society around them (e.g. in the context of the education system), it is necessary to raise awareness of the dramatic impact of trauma on all areas of child development. The latest achievements reveal previously unknown aspects of brain development, changes in brain chemistry and brain activity that occurs as a result of abuse and trauma. In recent years, scientists have discovered changes to the brain's biological structures, including changes to DNA related to history of an early trauma. Unfortunately, these changes in brain and biology tragically alter the belief system of a child who has come from difficult places. Because the closest adults hurt them, children are often confused and unable to understand how to build and maintain friendships, how to connect with their peers and adults, and how to understand who to trust. For people around them, the behaviour of these children is often incomprehensible and it looks like intentional disobedience. From the child's point of view it is a struggle for survival by applying strategies that have worked before. It is therefore important to be aware of the risk factor and the role of fear in behaviour. Recognizing all these potential risk factors, educators are often able to refute behavior and learning problems. For example, a child who was adopted at birth but who has significant problems at school could have experienced prenatal stress, including potential drug exposure, which could be the cause of these problems. Armed with such knowledge, educators are able to create an inclusive environment for children with different emotional needs.

The article displays risk factors and their impact on behaviour, proposes a strategy for identifying children's needs and ways of building a connection based on Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) principles (Purvis, Parris & Cross, 2011), which are gradually being used in the childcare system in Latvia.

Keywords:

Emotional trauma, out-of-family care, inclusive enviroment, connection principles.