Differential "State" Reactivity

A child with a brain adapted for an environment of chaos, unpredictability, threat, and distress is ill-suited to the modern classroom or playground. It is an unfortunate reality that the very adaptive responses that help the child survive and cope in a chaotic and unpredictable environment puts the child at a disadvantage when outside that context.

When children experience repetitive activation of the stress response systems, their baseline state of arousal is altered. The result is that even when there is no external threat or demand, they are physiologically in a state of alarm, of "fight or flight." When a stressor arises, perhaps an argument with a peer or a demanding school task, they can escalate to a state of fear very quickly. When faced with a typical exchange with an adult, perhaps a teacher in a slightly frustrated mood, the child may over-read the non-verbal cues such as eye contact or touch.

Compared to their peers, therefore, traumatized children may have less capacity to tolerate the normal demands and stresses of school, home, and social life. When faced with a challenge, for example, resilient children are likely to stay calm. Normal children in the same situation may become vigilant or perhaps slightly anxious. Vulnerable children will react with fear or terror.