Motivational keynote speaker Derek Clark knows the reality of growing up in a very dark home life full of horrific child abuse and parents that abandoned him at a psychiatric hospital at age 5. He would then spend the next 13 years of his life in the San Francisco bay area foster care system.

Derek is a top keynote speaker on childhood trauma and states:

“Many children are living in toxic stress environments. Their homes should be a place of love, but many are growing up in survival mode. Then, when that child comes to school, you wonder why he/she is having behavioral issues. We must look beyond the behavior as their behavior is telling their story. When we face this situation, we need to think of the critical needs of the child.  As a professional, we need to change our responses and vocabulary. Instead of focusing on “what’s wrong with this child?”, we should focus on this question, “What’s happened to this child?”.

The world today is full of childhood trauma and toxic stress. In many cases, the home life is the source of the child’s trauma. Many of these children suffer from traumatic stress after being exposed to neglect, sexual, physical and mental abuse. As a result, many children will be placed into the foster care system. Survival mode is very, very stressful, especially for a child that can’t process their trauma as an adult. Anyone who has gone through childhood trauma knows how scary this reality can be.

The negative outcome from their toxic home environment results in emotional and behavioral outbursts. These precious children do not have a positive role model. How can these children be expected to develop the coping skills they need if their own parents are not modeling it for them? They need a caring adult with a positive foundation that will show them what a healthy relationship looks like.

The terrific news is there is hope for professionals working with these kids. Derek Clark is survivor that thrives now. As a small child, Derek was exposed to terrible physical and mental abuse. He knows what it’s like to be a child suffering from PTSD. He was abandoned by his mom (dad was in prison) and placed into the foster care system for 13 years. Derek compassionately understands the importance of professionals working with grieving children. One adult can make a world of positive difference in their life.  

As someone who has lived it, Derek knows the importance of having an adult connection.  Derek says the key is to have a caring and compassionate adult walk the child through the healing process so they can run toward their destiny and not to their history.

Derek Clark is an inspirational and motivational speaker who transforms audiences with his courageous story of overcoming brutal adversity. His passion is to share his strategies for helping others achieve greatness. Derek has become a top trauma informed keynote speaker and his transformational story of hope in the face of hopelessness will inspire your employees, conference attendees and training events. You can find out more about Derek at www.IWillNeverGiveUp.com