‘If we can support children early, we avoid the cycle of crime and addiction’
Holly Mcdonald witnessed the impact of trauma on her younger brother Cameron after the death of their grandfather.
“In the grief and upset that follows a death, he kept his feelings hidden and everyone was too upset to notice,” she said.
“Losing a much-loved grandad at 14 upset him hugely and he began drinking and got caught up in addiction. He got involved in the criminal justice system and went into care at one point.
“With support he got his life back and has just completed an apprenticeship. He is desperate to start a new job but his life could have been so much different if we had recognised the effect trauma was having on him.”
Mcdonald, from Falkirk, is using her brother’s experience of trauma to help the children she teaches and it also formed her dissertation in her teaching degree course at Strathclyde University.
During her probationary teaching year she recognised young children going through trauma. “If we can spot and support children early on, we can avoid it spiralling into a cycle of crime, addiction and an early death,” she added.
“I am passionate about taking this into the classroom because children deserve all the support and encouragement we can give.
“Many children internalise their feelings and struggle to cope with them because they don’t want to burden their stressed parents even more. Others hide what happens in their homes through feelings of shame and embarrassment.”
She says that many teachers go to great lengths to become parent figures for children struggling with chaos at home.
“There is a lot of joy in making these children feel special and included when they see others in the class with clothes and treats they rarely get.”
Cameron is backing his sister’s campaign: “When you lose someone close it is important to have that support because if you don’t, and you are a young person, you don’t know how to cope with the upset and pain. I really hope young people know how to access the help they need as it can prevent a lot of heartbreak. This happened to me, and does to thousands of others growing up.”