Raising Complex Children

This session is for parents seeking to understand their children and the impact of childhood trauma. We will discuss challenging behaviors and strategies for helping families develop resilience and find long term helpful solutions.

Trauma parenting can be extremely challenging and isolating, which leads to feelings of isolation and burnout. You are not alone, and in this session Darren & Stacey Gagnon, founders of Lost Sparrows, foster parents for over a dozen years, and adoptive parents of 5 share what they have learned. No topic related to childhood trauma, or trauma induced behaviors is off limits. Whether you are parenting toddlers or teenagers, this session should be helpful.

Instructor(s)

Stacey Gagnon is a foster mom, adoptive mom, blogger, educator, published children’s book author, a registered nurse, and an international speaker. She writes the popular blog on adoption and foster care at ransomforisrael.com. Stacey and her husband Darren founded Lost Sparrows, Inc in 2016 to alleviate the flow of children into orphanages in Eastern Europe. She also began a program to help first responders communicate with schools when children are involved with the police called Trauma Lens Care. She has traveled across the US and Europe speaking and training on the effects of trauma on children and advocating for special needs children.

Stacey Gagnon

Lost Sparrows Founder

[email protected]

Instructor(s)

Darren Gagnon is the co-founder and president of Lost Sparrows. Lost Sparrows is working to empower and equip communities to love and care for vulnerable children and families, as well as provide education around the impact of childhood trauma. Darren has a degree in Biology from Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, and was a high school teacher and basketball coach for almost 20 years. Darren and his wife Stacey have 7 children, including 5 adopted children. Darren’s years as a foster dad, along with his experience as a secondary teacher give him a unique perspective and ability to understand and communicate the effects of childhood trauma well.