This presentation addresses the complexities, challenges, and joys of working with 0-5 years and their caregivers from various refugee backgrounds. The child may be affected by direct traumatising events, perinatal stresses,... [ view full abstract ]
This presentation addresses the complexities, challenges, and joys of working with 0-5 years and their caregivers from various refugee backgrounds. The child may be affected by direct traumatising events, perinatal stresses, disrupted attachment, the parents’ trauma, forced separation from significant others, and past deprivation. Children may be impacted by the caregivers’ ongoing stressors, feelings of guilt, and difficulties with appropriate limit setting. Clinical and research data indicate that these complexities may result in delays in many developmental areas, at a critical period of brain development.
Integrative developmental interventions aim to enhance the child’s trauma recovery and development, strengthen the parent-child relationship, enhance the parent’s knowledge, skills and confidence, and prepare the child for participation in preschool or school. Improvements are seen in the child’s development across several areas, as measured through observation and early development assessment tools.
Some parents require ongoing therapy before they can fully engage in strategies that address the child’s specific recovery goals. Cross-cultural differences in child rearing may reduce the parents’ involvement in interventions that incorporate Western evidence based approaches. Other challenges include the physical resources required for work with this age group, engagement of fathers, countertransference, and the need to support the child’s experience of separation and transitions.
The results can be very rewarding, as the child’s development progresses, and gains are made in regulation, resilience, communication, relationships, and participation in mainstream early child programmes. This can be complimented by the caregivers’ increased parenting skills and confidence.
Longitudinal studies are needed to identify the child’s changing needs at later developmental stages, and evaluate the long term effectiveness of early interventions for this client group.
