Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating
condition that often follows a terrifying physical or emotional
event, causing the person who survived the event to have
persistent, frightening thoughts and memories, or flashbacks, of
the ordeal. Sometimes effects from the traumatic events can be
delayed for six months or longer, but when PTSD occurs soon
after an event, the condition generally improves after three
months. Some people with PTSD have long-term effects and often
feel chronically, emotionally numb. PTSD in children usually
becomes a chronic disorder. The event(s) that triggers PTSD may
be: Something that occurred in the person's life. Something that
occurred in the life of someone close to him or her. Something
the person witnessed. A child's risk for developing PTSD is
often affected by the child's proximity and relationship to the
trauma, the severity of the trauma, the duration of the
traumatic event, the recurrence of the traumatic event, the
resiliency of the child, the coping skills