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Domestic violence pre being taken into care/pre adoption presumably ????Not a bad idea but not sure to what extent domestic violence is a stand alone issue in the traumatisation of children. Therefore I do not understand why you are considering a 1 day course on the impact of that alone. Furthermore, I would be intrigued to know how many of our children are adopted from care due to DV alone.

Our children came from a domestic violence backround, alongside neglect. They can be very violent with each other and violent with us, as well as the furtiture, walls etc. Their fights can escalate until they both appear to be terrified (?retraumatising each other?)They are also very fearful if anyone shouts or if they see people arguing or fighting outside. They play out serious violence on their dolls. They can be physically aggressive and intimidating in an attempt to get their own way or as a retalliatiion to real or percieved threats. I assume these are manifestations of witnessing domestic violence. I think a course outlining the impact of domestic violence would have been most helpful to us prior to adopting our children. Now, I am looking for ways to help them overcome these impacts, and I think that would take more than one day.

I agree connect4. I think it would be rare for the children who have witnessed DV to not also have been neglected. Neglect is so often the root of our children's developmental trauma .My boys are exactly the same as your children in terms of their violence /aggression and damaging house and home.What is interesting with my boys isthat EJ lived with the neglect and DV for 13 months, BJ was in uteuro, listening to all the DV, feeling the physical effects on the DV and floating around in cortisol fuelled placenta - he went straight to FC's at 12 hours old - but the damage done to him was huge, although not as great as EJ who also had to live/survive through the neglect too.I day would not be enough.

Hi,I think we would be interested actually. DV wasn't supposed to have been a big part of the children's pre adoptive past, but actually it turns out from the files it was a big part.I'm interested in the aspect of what it does to development to be a witness to DV and the different typesAlso. What this can look like in older children.Pear tree

I think that sounds like an important course and discussion. My children did not suffer from DV, as far as I know. I am sure that where children have suffered, there are definite repercussions that being adopted by a new loving family do not solve. Have you ever run a course on the impact of domestic violence on the adoptive family, from an adopted child ?My AS is highly abusive and violent, and it has had the most terrible impact. The way we deal with that violence is so complex and difficult, and there is very little guidance or support.