Play as Protection: How Fun Build Resilience in Children Experiencing Adversity
This session makes the case that play is not optional; it is essential. When children and youth experience trauma, especially in families marked by instability, violence, or homelessness, opportunities to play, laugh, and engage in joy can become lifelines. Blending personal story with research on ACEs, brain development, and resilience, the presenter shows how play, independently or with family, acts as a supplement to therapy and a protective factor against long-term harm. Participants will be inspired to rethink how their roles as service providers, caseworkers, program managers, and decision-makers can prioritize play in funding, programming, and direct care. They will leave with a renewed understanding of play as a trauma-informed, culturally responsive intervention that helps youth not just survive, but thrive.