A Year after Katrina: Recognizing the Signs of PTSD in Children; Clinical Experts Recommend Heightened Awareness of Children's Behaviors to Anniversary

Philip A. Saigh, Ph.D., a Professor of Psychology and Education atTeachers College, Columbia University, and author of the Children'sPTSD Inventory, a PsychCorp brand diagnostic instrument published byHarcourt Assessment, Inc., said indicators of PTSD may includeincreased occurrence of traumatic thoughts, images, or nightmares;regression in children's behavior; increased irritability, anger, andfeeling jumpy; and finding it hard to concentrate and do schoolwork.Children also may avoid visual triggers - activities, places, orpeople - that spark recollections of the trauma.

"Clinicians and counselors may play a key role in helping parentsand teachers by identifying children with PTSD," said Dr. Saigh. "Inaddition to indicators that are specific to the child's behavior, akey consideration for clinical experts is to understand that theabsence of parental support is a risk factor for PTSD."

Once diagnosed accurately, PTSD is treatable. Single case, grouptime series, and experimental studies have shown that cognitivebehavioral interventions incorporating imaginal exposure techniqueseffectively reduced distress on a number of standardized tests withdocumented psychometric qualities.

"It is normal for children to experience grief associated with theanniversary of Hurricane Katrina, but also may be a prime opportunityto see an emergence of PTSD among children and adolescents as they arefaced with negative triggers, such as news footage from last year'sstorm damage and devastation, weather reports, back-to-schoolpreparation, or other sensory input reminding children of pasttrauma," said Christina Sparks, Ph.D., clinical measurement consultantfor Harcourt Assessment.

Clinical professionals should refer to various valid and reliabletools and resources to diagnose and treat disorders, such as PTSD.Following Hurricane Katrina, Harcourt Assessment provided freeChildren's PTSD Inventory kits and also aided with replacingassessment tools and record forms to school districts and otherclinical settings in the areas hardest hit by the storm. Thisinstrument continues to aid practitioners as they either diagnose orrule out PTSD in children and adolescents ages 6-18.

Dr. Geralyn Datz, a psychologist and behavioral medicinespecialist from Forrest General Hospital Psychology Services inHattiesburg, Miss., and recipient of a free kit, said, although theanniversary of Katrina often brings to mind negative responses, italso can offer opportunities to heal and demonstrate that a communityis on the path to recovery. According to Dr. Datz, there are adaptiveways to mark this date, such as honoring local heroes and recoveryefforts.

About Harcourt Assessment, Inc.

Based in San Antonio, Harcourt Assessment, Inc. is a leadingprovider of high-quality assessment instruments and testing programspublished under two brand names -- Harcourt Assessment(R) andPsychCorp(TM) -- used by educators, psychologists, speech-languagepathologists, occupational therapists, human resource professionals,admissions and credentialing professionals, and businesses, helpingthem improve the lives of individuals of all ages. The company is aunit of Harcourt Education, which is the global education brand ofReed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE: RUK and ENL). Reed Elsevier is aworld-leading publisher and information provider operating in thescience and medical, legal, education and business-to-businessindustry sectors. Visit Harcourt Assessment on the Web atwww.harcourtassessment.com.