How does Trauma

Impact Cognitive
Development?

Madison Bradbury & Emily Riggs

What exactly is cognitive
development?
o Cognitive development means how
children think, explore and figure things
out. It is the development of knowledge,
skills, problem solving and dispositions,
which help children to think about and
understand the world around them.

o Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory:

• Sensorimotor stage (0–2 years old)
•Preoperational stage (2–7 years old)
•Concrete operational stage (7–11 years old)
•Formal operational stage (11 years old
through adulthood)
 What is Trauma?
o Trauma is the lasting emotional
response that often results from
living through a distressing event.
o Childhood trauma is a traumatic
experience that occurs from ages
0-18. It has an enormous impact
on one’s development, perception
of the world, and even one’s https://www.preventchildabuseillinois.org/childhood-trauma

psychology.
How does childhood
trauma affect cognition?

• More neural connections are formed in the

brain regions associated with fear, anxiety,
and impulsivity as children experience
traumatic stress, while neural connections in
the brain regions associated with logic,
planning, and behavior control are under-
produced.
• Continuous traumatic exposure can cause
numerous organ systems to experience
chronic "wear and tear," which can result in
long-term behavioral and physiological
issues.
 How does trauma affect a
child's developmental
process?
Traum can affect a child developmental process by causing:

• Difficulty with attention and focus

• Learning disabilities
• Low self-esteem
• Impaired social skills
• Sleep disturbances

Traum is strongly linked to: https://www.additudemag.com/how -does-

trauma-affect-the-brain-chronic-stress-adhd/

• Depression
• Substance use disorder
• Anxiety
• Eating disorders
• Exhaustion
• Confusion
• Does trauma affect
multiple parts of the brain?

• Toxic stress causes permanent damage on

the brain, focusing on the amygdala,
prefrontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate
cortex.

• Amygdala: Emotions
• Hippocampus: Memory
• Prefrontal Cortex: Regulating your emotions
and impulses
• ACC: Attention allocation and mood
regulation.
How this information can be
useful to us as future
teachers

With knowledge about how trauma affects

children's development, educators are better
positioned to attend to the needs of all
students.

Teachers are likely to build deeper connections

with kids, feel more confident around them, and
experience less disruption in the classroom if
they have awareness of the effects of trauma on
children.
 Resources:
• Help Me Grow MN. (n.d.).
https://helpmegrowmn.org/HMG/HelpfulRes/Articles/WhatCognitiveDev/index.html

• What Is Child Trauma? (2020, June 22). Center for Child Trauma Assessment and Service
Planning. https://cctasi.northwestern.edu/child-trauma/

• Supporting Brain Development in Traumatized Children and Youth.

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/braindevtrauma.pdf.

• Walden University. “How-Trauma-Affects-Child-Development-and-Behavior.” Walden University,

Walden University, 25 Mar. 2021, https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-programs/ms-in-
early-childhood-studies/resource/how-trauma-affects-child-development-and-behavior.