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Participating in a grant that did a longitudinal study of kindergarten, first and second graders, I learned about the adverse effects trauma has on small children and their families.  This grant focused on assessing the trauma the children had experienced at home and in the community.  It looked at their Adverse Childhood Experiences and assessed them for possible health problems, mental illness, and substance abuse in adulthood. The grant provided services to those children to help decrease the mental health issues that were to follow.

The results showed that when children received proper mental health services for post traumatic event and crisis situations, their behavioral and mental health improved greatly. The children’s behavior over the three-year longitudinal study showed that with proper mental health intervention at an early age, mental health disorders can be decreased. The trauma and pain that each child had experienced had be manifesting in their homes and school on a daily basis. The numerous services provided to each child decreased impact of this trauma not only on the child but in their home and in the school environment.