Customer Reviews
Inside I'm Hurting-a review from the perspective of a long-term teacher and adoptive mother. - By: Ms. Karen Elizabeth Lomas, 22 Aug 2007 
Louise Bomber's book is an insightful, inspirational, clear & practical manual which entirely fulfils its aims. Born out of the knowledge & skill acquired through her experiences as both a teacher & a therapist, as well as a genuine desire to improve the educational, social & emotional experiences, of children who suffer Attachment Difficulties, she emphasises throughout that all of us involvedin their support must be `gentle with our strength, strong with our gentleness.' She stresses the need for open , regular communication & non-judgemental collaborative support between all the adults involvedin supporting & nurturing these children.
Her style of writing is an echo of her watchword for how to handle this group of children: She metaphorically takes the reader's handin a way which inspires & fuels hopein being able to make a positive difference to the lives of children who have suffered trauma & abuse, whilst at the same time being realistic about the demands & stress which can occurin being the Key Adult for one of these children.
After an explanation of the three main types of Attachment Disorder & their possible causes, she takes the reader, step by step, through practical ways of supporting these children during all the key aspects of school, explaining when & why these children may experience difficulties. She includes the day to day access of the curriculum & gives a lot of emphasis to the all important beginning of the day, particular aspects of the school year, year to year transitions, including primary to secondary, as well as examining key eventsin the child's personal lifein terms of their impact on potential learning & the additional preparation needed to support the child at these times.
As well as strategies for the person she describes as the `Key Adult' assigned to work alongside a particular childin lessons, she also includes sections on other areas of school life : These include dealing with peer questioning about the extra support being given to a pupil & the crucial task of supporting the child's social interactions which she recognises should be integral to the Key Adult`s work with the child & not simply an extra.
She makes an especial plea to recognise the particular problems of the adopted child by placing them on the SEN register & understanding that their trauma is far from over once they are placed with a permanent family.
Her book is aimed at teachers, learning support staff ,including learning mentors, but she also makes reference to parentsin terms of the home-school collaboration as well as other agencies including CAMHS, Child & Family & Educational Psychologists. I would recommend it to anyone involvedin any capacity with the support & nurture of children with an Attachment Disorder. Furthermore, if such highlighting of awareness & these practical & clearly effective strategies are not yet included as a part of the annual INSET programmein schools, it is my belief that it is time that they were.
Review by Karen Lomas, BA Hons, PGCE (Former teacher with 25 years experience & adoptive mother of an 11 year old daughter with a severe Attachment Disorder)
A remarkable achievement - a jargon free and very practical account of how to include young people with attachment difficulties - By: Derek Wilson, 31 Jul 2007 `Inside I'm Hurting; Practical Strategies for Supporting Children with Attachment Difficultiesin Schools' by Louise Bomber (Worth Publishing 2007) is an outstanding new book. The author is a teacher/therapist workingin Brighton & Hove, UK & her passion is to support schoolsin becoming genuinely inclusive towards children who have experienced trauma & loss. One of the achievements of this book is that it manages to write about this work without taking a `medical model' approach to the behaviour of children who have had these experiences. As the author says - `we don't want children to acquire more labels'. She does however describe the children she writes about as having `attachment difficulties' but crucially, notes that `their difficulties stem from relationship' & it therefore follows that modification of their patterns of relating can also come from relationship. This is a very different discourse from that which sees these children as having various types of `attachment disorder' each requiring it's own type of `treatment'. This shift of perspective allows the author to then write about how the child who has experienced trauma & loss is likely to view the world & the peoplein it & to give those working with such children a wealth of insights & clues into what kind of person they should best try to be to meet that child's needs & help them learn & practice new ways of beingin the world. Louise Bomber achieves this with practical clarity & a complete absence of jargon - her translation of the psychotherapeutic terms `transference' & `counter transference' into everyday language are the best I have ever read. Each chapter is full of quotes from teachers & support assistants who have used her insights and, within each of the key themes she explores, there are examples of useful scripts adults might usein difficult to manage situations
EXcellent Book - By: Sheila Warner, 19 Jul 2007 This book is excellent. I highly recommend it for anyone working with children with attachment difficulties. It is very easy to read, gives good insight into attachement difficulties & provides excellent practical advice
