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//Developmental Issues for Young Children in Foster Care//. (2012). Retrieved August 14, 2012, from American Academy of Pediatrics website: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/5/1145.full


 * 1) Most of these children have been the victims of repeated abuse and prolonged neglect and have not experienced a nurturing, stable environment during the early years of life.
 * 2) Pediatricians, as advocates for children and their families, have a special responsibility to evaluate and help address these needs.
 * 3) Such experiences are critical in the short- and long-term development of a child's brain and the ability to subsequently participate fully in society.
 * 4) Decisions about assessment, care, and planning should be made with sufficient information about the particular strengths and challenges of each child.
 * 5) Keeping a family together may not be in the best interest of the child, alternative placement should be based on social, medical, psychological, and development assessments of each child and the capabilities of the caregivers to meet those needs.
 * 6) Pediatricians have an important role in assessing the child's needs, providing comprehensive services, and advocating on the child's behalf.
 * 7) Developmental issues important for young children in foster care are reviewed, including: 1) the implications and consequences of abuse, neglect, and placement in foster care on early brain development; 2) the importance and challenges of establishing a child's attachment to caregivers; 3) the importance of considering a child's changing sense of time in all aspects of the foster care experience; and 4) the child's response to stress. Additional topics addressed relate to parental roles and kinship care, parent-child contact, permanency decision-making, and the components of comprehensive assessment and treatment of a child's development and mental health needs.
 * 8) More children are entering foster care in the early years of life when brain growth and development are most active.
 * 9) Children with attachment disorders and an inability to trust and love often grow up to vent their rage and pain on society.
 * 10) During the first 3 to 4 years of life, the anatomic brain structures that govern personality traits, learning processes, and coping with stress and emotions are established, strengthened, and made permanent.
 * 11) The nerve connections and neurotransmitter networks that are forming during these critical years are influenced by negative environmental conditions, including lack of stimulation, child abuse, or violence within the family.
 * 12) It is known that emotional and cognitive disruptions in the early lives of children have the potential to impair brain development.
 * 13) A child develops attachments and recognizes as parents adults who provide “… day-to-day attention to his needs for physical care, nourishment, comfort, affection, and stimulation.”
 * 14) Abused and neglected children (in or out of foster care) are at great risk for not forming healthy attachments to anyone.
 * 15) Having at least 1 adult who is devoted to and loves a child unconditionally, who is prepared to accept and value that child for a long time, is key to helping a child overcome the stress and trauma of abuse and neglect.