Addressing Early Childhood Trauma

Courtney Ernst, a clinical behavior expert will discuss the importance of addressing early childhood trauma. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and a critical time to recognize warning signs and address trauma. Many times, children are the victims of domestic violence. Penfield Children's Center is a safe environment providing a variety of services. Penfield Children’s Center is named in honor of Dr. Wilder Penfield (1891-1976), a world-renowned neurosurgeon who strongly advocated early intervention for children with developmental delays and disabilities. His quote, “never underestimate the capacity of the very young, and never, never let them down,” has been the foundation of Penfield’s mission since 1967. His knowledge and wisdom underlie our philosophy of care for infants and young children even today. As a leader in child development, Penfield creates a positive start in life for infants and children, many of whom have developmental delays or disabilities, by providing early education, health services and family programming. To carry out its mission, Penfield delivers research-based programs at the critical time of early brain development when physical, cognitive, language, social, and self-help skills are formed.