Calmer Classrooms - 2 The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom

1. Calmer Classrooms - 2 The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom Session 2: • To consider how the structure and expectations of the school day impact on a student who has experienced trauma • To understand and explore school Behaviour as a language of communication Trauma is a sensitive topic – be respectful of the impact which the session might have on other people

2. Resilience and Attachment Emotional resilience is not innate. It is dependent on forming a secure attachment with parents However, the desire and capacity to form a secure attachment is innate. • • • I am safe & loved I am loved I trust that my needs will be met The world is a safe place Express Un-met need Secure Attachment Cycle Calms child Response from carer Need met

3. Trauma Theory Trauma: The overwhelming feeling of helplessness caused by - sustained experiences = CHRONIC Trauma - Examples - exceptional events = ACUTE Trauma - Examples Sustained Failure to meet the ‘Need Cycle’ Neglect: The on-going failure to meet essential needs Effected by parents exposure to DV, poverty and mental illness I am not loved Induces an Attachment Trauma I cannot trust that my needs will be met The world is not a safe place Trauma Science Prolonged alarm reaction Releases ‘stress’ chemicals into the brain Negatively effects the developing brain Establishes emotional defence strategies Perpetuates impulsive responses to stress Insecure Attachment Affect Dysregulation Still Face Experiment www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0

4. The impact of trauma on a developing brain This is the brain scan of a Romanian Orphan, institutionalized at birth, who suffered severe emotional deprivation in infancy. The temporal lobes [circled] are highly inactive. These are the areas of the brain which regulate emotions and receive input from the senses Still Face Experiment www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0

5. Affect Dysregulation in Adolescents Affect – behaviours or responses which might be observed or experienced Dysregulation – seemingly uncontrolled or destructive Dysregulated behaviours may also be rational defence strategies; responding to current or previous experiences 3 Types of Affect Dysregulation Disorganised Attachment Mixed Anxious Attachment Hyper arousal Avoidant Attachment Dissociation • Manipulative and controlling • On edge – high levels of stress and anxiety • No head space for learning • Aggressive responses to control or exposed weakness • Bullying others who they perceive as vulnerable • Extreme emotions- not capable of managing •Need constant reassurance •‘Parentified’: fixated on home •Low Attendance •Hostile if they don’t get attention •Concerned that engaging in tasks will lose the teachers attention • Don’t need anyone • Perfectionists – cannot finish work • Cannot ask for help • Cannot accept ‘not knowing’ or that ‘others know’ • Difficult to like – reflects how they feel about themselves

6. Calmer Classrooms The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom Session 2: • To consider how the structure and expectations of the school day impact on a student who has experienced trauma • To understand and explore school Behaviour as a language of communication Trauma is a sensitive topic – be respectful of the impact which the session might have on other people

7. B C D E A How does the dysregulated behaviour impact on school life? Student that appears to fit this presentation Dysregulation Type & Presentation Example What might the student have been communicating? Skills for School behaviours/situations you have experienced Anxious Attachment: Hyper Arousal •Need constant reassurance •Fixated on home •Low Attendance •Hostile if they don’t get attention •Won’t engage in case they lose teacher attention •On edge - No head space for learning •Extreme emotional reactions Avoidant Attachment: Dissociation •Don’t need anyone •Perfectionists •Can’t ask for help •Can’t accept ‘not knowing’ or that ‘others know’ •Difficult to like •Tests and Rejects friendships •Manipulative & controlling •Bullying others who they perceive as vulnerable

8. A: Skills for School What skills do students need to successfully complete a day in school? SOCIAL SKILLS – PRACTICAL SKILLS – COGNITIVE SKILLS Before School On Arrival In Lessons Social Time After School Task A: “Skills for School” •Record as many “School Skills” as you can think of in Column A on the Table. •Consider experiences across the whole school day

9. B: What skills would students with Dysregulated Behaviour find difficult? Dysregulated Behaviour Anxious Attachment Hyper arousal Avoidant Attachment Dissociation •Need constant reassurance •‘Parentified’: fixated on home •Low Attendance •Hostile if they don’t get attention •Concerned that engaging in tasks will lose the teachers attention • Don’t need anyone • Perfectionists – cannot finish work • Cannot ask for help • Cannot accept ‘not knowing’ or that ‘others know’ • Difficult to like – reflects how they feel about themselves Task B: “Skills vs Dysregulated Behaviour” For the Skills identified in A; Consider how trauma and neglect might effect students’ ability to manage everyday school skills.

10. C & D: How does the “Skills vs Dysregulation” mismatch fit with your experiences? Task C&D: Tallis Students C: Which Tallis students can you identify with dysregulated behaviour? D:For one of these students discuss and record an example behaviour/situations you have experienced

11. Behaviour is a Language of Communication What about you? Think of an example when you have experienced behaviour as a form of communication • When I got on the tube... • In a meeting... • At the cinema…. Consider: •What was being communicated by the behaviour? •What did your behaviour communicate? •Was it different to the what was said?

12. E: What is the Student Communicating The A situation or skill that is compromised Dysregulated behaviour experience of trauma What could the student actually be trying to communicate? Task E: “Behaviour is a language of communication” For the example chosen in D Consider; -the context -the particular “School Skill” which was being compromised -the student’s particular type of dysregualtion

13. Calmer Classrooms The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom” Session 2: Conclusions • Childhood experience of trauma may be physiologically formative and psychologically embedded. • The structure and expectations of the school day require a skill set which may be compromised in children who have experienced trauma • The behaviours we experience may communicate more than the direct the language used. • Children who have experienced trauma are very sensitive to the behaviour of adults and what it means to them “Understanding the experience of the abused and neglected child assists us to develop compassion, patience and empathy. It is a key intervention in itself” Calmer Classrooms (2007 ) NEGLECT & TRAUMA DYSREGULATED BEHAVIOURS