Brandeis tackles children's trauma

Erika Greenfield said her son, a first-grader at The Brandeis School in Lawrence, experienced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after their family lost the first floor of their Long Beach home and vehicle in Hurricane Sandy.

“He wasn’t acting like himself,” Greenfield said of her son. “He was emotional and was in the nurse’s office all the time. We were trying to figure out what was going on with him.”

After a children’s psychologist diagnosed her son with PTSD, Greenfield was told that there wasn’t a lot she could do because she couldn’t force him to talk about his problems. “Going to school wasn’t a problem but staying in school was,” she said. “He would have panic attacks if I didn’t come visit during school so I would go have lunch with him a few times a week.”

On May 13, The Brandeis School is hosting a panel discussion on child and adolescent trauma. Greenfield said the event is important because many people don’t realize how children can be affected by traumatic events such as Hurricane Sandy. “I don’t know if everyone knows what’s going on and it’s important because people don’t realize what they’ve suffered through,” she said. “I haven’t had time to deal with my own stress because I’ve been busy making sure everyone else is alright. It’s important for people to understand it’s okay to go through this and that it will pass.”

Dr. Eli Shapiro, a licensed clinical social worker based out of Far Rockaway, will co-host the panel discussion with two members of the Adelphi School of Social Work. He said it’s essential to recognize the signs of trauma and respond accordingly. “Some signs of [PTSD] occur right away and some six months after because people have been busy dealing with their insurance company and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, so they haven’t had time to reflect on what’s occurred,” he said. “If a child is responding with changes in mood, is behaviorally volatile, and has a change in interests, they should seek out mental health support.”