Working with scarred children: a case study

Meet ‘Tina’, a toddler I worked with throughout 2024. I have permission from her parents to tell you about her, with a changed name.  Here is her story……

Tina was born with oesophogeal atresia, a rare birth defect where the upper and lower oesophagus are not connected. Surgery left her with a scar that is obviously causing distension in the navel and to the right of the distorted linear scar where the site of the feeding tube is tethered (stuck down to underlying structures).  I was, at first, unable to palpate the abdomen as Tina refused to be touched.                

When she first met me, even though it was in her own home, she was highly suspicious of me.  Having worked on her parents’ scars in front of her, I encouraged Tina to sit on the couch in her turn, but she was having none of it!  Eventually she sat on her Mum’s lap and I managed to work on her second scar, not shown here, on her back, which was part of the same surgery.

Before the next session Tina’s parents, who are very emotionally intelligent and aware, kept dropping in to the chat with Tina how much they liked having a ‘massage’ with Jan, and that Jan was coming back soon, etc.  I duly arrived, but Tina again rejected my friendly overtures.  I am good with children, but it was clear that she had been affected by something in her life, highly likely the experience of illness and surgery, and would take her time in getting to trust me.  I managed again to work on her minimally.

On the third session we did not bother persuading her to get on the couch, but instead she went on the breast with Mum and, again, I twisted myself into a sideways position next to them and manged to work on her leg.  And then, a wonderful moment…….as I straightened up to have a stretch, Tina simply rolled off the breast onto her back, lying on Mum’s stomach, arms and legs outstretched, just as cat or dog does when it trusts you. This was such a moving, emotional moment.

I was finally able to work properly on Tina’s abdominal scar. Afterwards, as I worked on Dad while Mum, Tina and her older sister were upstairs, we could hear quite a racket going on with laughter and the noise of boisterous movement. It turned out that Tina had decided to do ‘roly polys’ for the first time in her life and had been copying her sister’s gymnastic exercises. The changes had started. That evening when I left, Tina waved me off with a big smile.

I visited once more and her mother gave me feedback a month after that session. These are the main differences noted:

• Tina used to have reflux at night – it is much reduced now and only obvious and minimal when teething
• Tina used to have undigested food in her stools; this is now not noticeably happening.
• She has started copying her sister’s gymnastics and seems to be feeling more mobile and comfortable in her body.
• She used to be shy with everyone and took a long time to accept people. She is more confident now and interacting with other children.
• She laughs more and seems happier.

It’s hard to explain the joy that comes of helping a child in this way. I firmly believe that all children with scarring can only benefit, physically, emotionally and mentally, from being helped as early as possible. Tina’s story has only consolidated that belief.

How can we help you?
At Body in Harmony Training we train complementary therapists of all modalities in Sharon Wheeler’s ScarWork, a remarkable, light touch approach to scars and adhesions. We regularly run courses in the UK and abroad, and welcome people as ‘scar models’, for free work by the supervised students. Although we are unable to accept young children, we are happy to welcome some older children/teenagers accompanied by a parent/caregiver, after a discussion with the latter.

To find a therapist in the UK and USA click here