1. Recognize PTSD in Preschool-Aged Children
Because very young children lack the vocabulary and communication skills to express their reactions to and memories of trauma, it might be difficult for you to recognize PTSD in them. However, if you know or suspect that a child has been exposed to trauma and you detect the presence of one or more hallmark signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, you should take the child to a qualified doctor or child psychologist.
Some of the symptoms you might notice in young children include signs of separation anxiety or a pronounced fear of strange people and unfamiliar surroundings. While sleep dysfunction can signal potential problems in child development, it frequently accompanies PTSD as well. The most easily recognized signs of early childhood PTSD are seen through play. Children exposed to trauma tend to reenact the traumatic event, and they often return to symbols of that trauma again and again.
2. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in School-Aged Children
While adults often display psychogenic amnesia and develop a sense of fatalism and a foreshortened future after experiencing trauma, school-aged children have differing psychological reactions. Rather than completely omitting memories of trauma as adults do, preadolescent children tend to misplace the traumatic event when asked to retell the happenings in sequence. Whereas adults tend to lose interest and hope for the future, children of this age group refer to the past. They display a tendency towards a psychological phenomenon called "omen formation," in which they come to believe in retrospect that there were signs that the traumatic event was impending.
As with preschool-aged children, kids in this age range also compulsively engage in play that symbolizes the tragic event. However, because of their more advanced abilities, they might also express traumatic memories, directly or indirectly, through drawing and writing.
3. Signs of PTSD in Adolescents
Post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescents is functionally identical to the condition as seen in adults. This includes the common symptoms, such as hypervigilance, flashbacks, recurring nightmares, traumatic reenactments and the development of depressive and anxious disorders. Adolescents may turn to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate painful memories of the trauma. They also may display the characteristic aggression and impulsiveness seen in adult PTSD patients.
