The Connected Child

So we've completed exactly one third of the book that has to be read before our PAT classes at Gladney in January and we've gained a wealth of information so far.  One of the things that stuck out the most was an excerpt about different behavioral patterns in children, learning what they really mean, and how to move past those behaviors to get to know the "real child" inside. I'm positive this info will be very helpful in decoding certain behaviors when our son gets here. Here it is for your reading;

Pulls away from your embrace	I’ve never learned how to process touch, so being held is terrifying. I’ve been so badly hurt by abusive adults, I’m still learning to trust. I’ve never experienced appropriate nurturing affection from an adult, so this is all new and scary to me.
Approaches strangers indiscriminately	My care givers were not reliable and abandoned me, so I desperately seek security and approval wherever I am and how ever I can as a kind of insurance. I crave interactive and physical contact because of sensory processing disorder.
Becomes easily angry	I am terrified and trying to protect myself from a situation that resembles a terrible experience I had in the past. I am so frustrated because I don’t know how to express my feelings and needs. My blood sugar level is uncomfortably low, and I don’t know how to deal with my hunger appropriately. My body feels depleted—my brain chemistry is imbalanced, but I don’t know how to solve my problem. I am exhausted and need rest. Please don’t leave me alone; I am terrified of being abandoned again. I must be in control because I’ve never known trustworthy adults before.
Want to be left alone	I don’t know how to cope with my surroundings. Everything seems new or confusing and scary. I’m on a sensory overload and need to let my body relax and recharge.
Disobeys instructions	I don’t understand all the sounds and words coming at me because I was deprived of sound and language exposure when I was young and can’t process them effectively yet. I want to be in control because adults have always proven unreliable—I feel I can only depend on myself. I have learning delays that prevent my understanding these instructions.
Flirts or is sexually precocious	This was what I was trained to do because I was sexually abused by caregivers. Inappropriate sexuality was the only way I ever got positive attention when I was younger, and I don’t know how else to please people.
Acts bullying or aggressive	I’m treating others as I was treated. I’m scared and sad. My neurochemistry is unbalanced. I’m trying to numb my emotional pain by creating pain in you.
Restless and constantly fidgety	I must stay alert and prepared to defend myself at all times because in the past there was no adult to protect me.
Hoards or steals food	I was painfully hungry and under nourished and nearly starved before, and I am haunted by the fear it will happen again.
Fears walking home alone from school	I was attacked and abused during my early years, so I feel a deep need for protection.
Can’t sleep	I must stay alert and prepared to defend myself at all times because in the past I never knew when I would get hurt by the people I lived with. My brain chemistry is on fight-or-flight overdrive and can’t shut down.