Haruv institute - Leading Principles in Trauma-Informed Child Representation

Trauma-informed legal representation of infants and toddlers

Young children have different ways of showing us what they feel, doing so mostly through behavioral displays rather than words. Nevertheless, concepts such as “participation,” “voicing one’s voice,” and “representation” of young children are possible when the lawyer knows how to recognize the reaction of infants and toddlers to trauma, as these are often attributed to the age of the child and not to their life circumstances. To represent young children faithfully, it is necessary to collect information from those who meet the child on a daily basis (such as a daycare center) and observe the child’s responses to their environment and the adults who care for them. Infants respond to what happens in their lives through daily actions such as sleeping, eating, and defecating, and through their attachment patterns to adults such as clinging, avoiding, crying, and showing distress. Observing or having information indicating delays or withdrawal in the toddler’s expression of curiosity and inquisitiveness towards their surroundings can also testify to their condition. Even at these ages, it is important to identify trauma triggers in response to the encounter with the abusive adult (e.g., crying that cannot be soothed, turning their head away, etc.). When representing infants and toddlers, the lawyer must consider the long-term implications of the present risk for the child’s future development. It is desirable to anchor the legal representation in references to validated research. • Trauma-informed discourse with young children: It is possible to mediate even to very young children and babies what is happening in their lives. You can represent their voices and tell them what the lawyer is going to do in their case. Even if they do

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