When the supposed grown-ups engage in conflict, isn’t it always the children who pay the highest price? From USA Today:
Trauma severe for Iraqi children
About 70% of primary school students in a Baghdad neighborhood suffer symptoms of trauma-related stress such as bed-wetting or stuttering, according to a survey by the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
The survey of about 2,500 youngsters is the most comprehensive look at how the war is affecting Iraqi children, said Iraq’s national mental health adviser and author of the study, Mohammed Al-Aboudi.
“The fighting is happening in the streets in front of our houses and schools,” Al-Aboudi said. “This is very difficult for the children to adapt to.”….
Many Iraqi children have to pass dead bodies on the street as they walk to school in the morning, according to a separate report last week by the International Red Cross. Others have seen relatives killed or have been injured in mortar or bomb attacks.
“Some of these children are suffering one trauma after another, and it’s severely damaging their development,” said Said Al-Hashimi, a psychiatrist who teaches at Mustansiriya Medical School and runs a private clinic in west Baghdad. “We’re not certain what will become of the next generation, even if there is peace one day,” Al-Hashimi said. [full text]
Kmareka.com 
It’s time we stop viewing developmental stuttering as a symptom of “trauma-related stress”. To do so is simplistic and misleading. Developmental stuttering, a much misunderstood disorder, is devastating to those afflicted. Attributing the cause as “trauma-relatedâ€? suggests that the disorder is psychologically induced and adds to widespread misunderstanding among the general public as well as among professionals. While the cause of stuttering is not yet understood, ongoing research suggests a genetic predisposition as well as brain differences among adults who stutter. We’ve all heard stories of children whose onset of stuttering came about simultaneously with a traumatic event, but most stutterers experienced no such trauma. The onset of stuttering may sometimes be stress-induced, but it is not simply a result of stress or trauma. Stuttering is not a psychological or emotional disorder, but a physical disorder affected by psychological/environmental factors.