Are all refugee children ‘traumatised’ by their experiences?
It is important to remember that both past experiences and the present will influence how a child copes with their situation. When refugee children have gone through very difficult times it is easy to assume that all their difficulties are because they have been ‘traumatised’ by their past experiences. This can lead to ignoring other aspects of their lives such as poor housing, financial problems, tensions at home and lack of progress in learning English. After settling into school and having time to adjust, most refugee children make good progress.
