Trauma is becoming an increasing problem for our youth and impacts every facet of a child’s life. Numerous young children have been a victim of maltreatment with their own parents or caregivers responsible for the trauma. From early infancy through adulthood, trauma can impact how we view the world and ourselves. Trauma can alter how we process information and how we behave and respond to an event or environment. Trauma may include loss or lack of consistent caregivers, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, different forms of neglect and more.
Early childhood maltreatment or exposure to trauma can impact the way the brain develops. As a result of reoccurring trauma, many children or adolescents may experience lifelong issues related to selfregulation, relationships, psychological symptoms, and problems with attention and consciousness, self-harm, selfesteem, identity and cognitive distortions. Stateman-Wells reports that around 26 percent of children in the United States witness or experience trauma before the age of four. This equals to about one out of every four students being exposed to or a victim of abuse.
This can be an indicator for learning or behavioral issues in the school setting. Trauma research suggests that all types of trauma can undermine a child’s ability to learn, create healthy attachments, form relationships and follow classroom expectations. Children who experience trauma are more likely to have negative behaviors, poor emotional control and slower development. Trauma can impact school performance, impair learning and create physical and emotional distress.
Children who experience trauma are two and a half more times likely to fail a grade, score lower on tandardized tests, have higher rates of suspension and expulsion and more likely to be placed in special education classes than their non-traumatized peers. Review and critique of current literature Stateman-Wells reports that traumatized children can often frustrate and overwhelm teachers. Traumatized children may have developmental impairments ranging from physical, cognitive, social/emotional, language or literacy, which can all increase negative behaviors in the classroom. Children who have experienced trauma typically have difficulty learning, playing, communicating, interacting and creating relationships.
Many times children who have experienced maltreatment have a hard time listening and concentrating. In a classroom setting students can dissociate or freeze if their stress responses are triggered. To an unknowing teacher this can appear as a student who does not engage or will not participate in the classroom activity. Dinehart et. al states that children who experience maltreatment or exposure to violence are more likely than their non exposed peers to have poor developmental and academic outcomes, high rates or high school dropout, criminal involvement, mental health disorders, and possible incarceration.
Children who underachieve academically and have poor behavior may do so as a result of traumatic events. If an educator is unaware or not informed of trauma symptoms they may misinterpret negative performance as a child with behavior problems. Teachers may also aggravate the situation further by holding a child to unrealistic expectations. Schools impact on trauma students The reviewed articles all had a common theme of school personnel supporting traumatized children to the best of their ability. This can be done in many ways.
First and foremost, it is important for educators and school personnel to work closely with families to ensure that children are receiving the help and support that they need. Schools can engage and include families in programs, have regular meetings and correspondence through email and phone. Regular contact can also help to understand the student’s home life and discover if maltreatment is still occurring. School counselors can assist in relationship building by establishing rapport with the families and student.
Teachers can create and maintain consistent daily routines for the classroom. This helps students have a sense of normalcy, which can send the message that the child is safe. Educators should tell children in advance if or when something out of the ordinary is going to occur to help them be prepared. Offer children developmentally appropriate choices, which can empower children to have ownership over their behaviors. Many times traumatic events results in a child feeling a loss of control and chaos.
An educator can help a child feel safe by providing them with choices or control when appropriate. It is important to set clear and stable limits on inappropriate behavior and have appropriate consequences that are not punitive. Try to anticipate difficult periods and transitions during the school day and year in order to offer extra support. Before school breaks such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break and summer may be a difficult time for students, as they no longer have their routine or safe place to go everyday.
Help students establish techniques to support self-regulation such as breathing or mindfulness activities in the classroom. Educators and school counselors can provide a safe place for children to talk about what has happened or is happening to them. Provide a student a place to share and feel safe. Staff should be able to recognize that behavioral problems may be related to trauma. Students can easily be re-traumatized by smell, touch, stories or events that take place in the classroom and school. Retraumatization can lead to nightmares, heightened fear, intrusive thoughts and stress.
Children involved in early care and education can reduce the risk of abuse and neglect ensuring safety of children as they are visible in the community, possibly reduce parental stress, providing role models and respite for the parents. For children who have experienced maltreatment and lack high quality early care and education can have increased struggles. Interventions Children who have experienced maltreatment typically require trauma specific care. This type of treatment should address exposure, reaction, and intervention and recovery needs of the child.
Trauma specific care requires many agencies collaboration including the school and educators. School counselors can be a part of the students support team. Evidence based practices around trauma are essential for helping out a maltreated child and for them to hopefully be successful in the future. Research is focusing more on interventions for complex trauma instead of in the past how they focused treatment more off of a diagnoses such as PTSD etc. Leenarts, et al focuses on evidence based treatments for children with trauma related issues.
Exposure to maltreatment is also associated with PTSD, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, aggressive or violent behavior and means that there are two co-occurring issues. This study suggests that trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the best treatment for children following maltreatment. Trauma focused CBT is the best treatment of children exposed to maltreatment, it is effective in improving children’s symptoms and safety skills. It was also noted that this is the best treatment for children in school and treatment can also be provided in a school setting.
Leenarts, et al suggests that treatment should be in a phase approach due to maltreatment co-occurring with another psychopathology disorder such as PTSD. The phases should include stabilization, resolution of traumatic memory and personality integration and rehabilitation. Lawson and Quinn state that evidence based treatment for children with complex trauma is just starting to emerge. Most interventions were focused not only on trauma but also PTSD. Treatment doesn’t always and should not always overlap, as they are two very different issues.
Complex trauma can be difficult to treat as a child is typically not only exposed to a single traumatic event but they are exposed to repeated traumatic experiences over a period of time, often by a person the child trusts. Depending on the age of the child different methods are more effective. For adolescents Trauma Focused CBT is the best-known approach and most well established program. This program can work individually with the child, the parent and with the parent and child together. Lawson and Quinn did identify two other models that are complex trauma focused for adolescence SPARCS and SS.
SPARCS is a group intervention and focuses on teens that are currently in a high stress environment and struggling with regulation, self-perception, relationships dissociation, numbing, avoidance etc. SS was developed to help build safety in relationships, thinking and action as well as attend to any additional issues the client may have. Studies show that a positive school experience along with supportive teachers and counselors have been found to buffer the effects of abuse or neglect. Some students can see their caring teachers as longterm supports and role models.
Educators being aware of students that have experienced trauma or being sensitive to trauma stress can provide better interventions for those students. Educators are able to be more sensitive to behavioral problems and work more closely to help the students. This allows educators to be on the same team with student. Conclusion Traumatic events can interrupt the school routine and the process of learning for students. Students who have experienced maltreatment have been shown to have lower grade point averages and graduation rates with higher behavioral issues.
These students typically have increased difficult concentrating and learning in the regular school classroom and may engage in negative behaviors. The research has shown that schools play an important role in supporting students through emotional and physical challenges they may experience in regards to maltreatment. Schools should collaborate with other agencies to provide care for the students, create a safe learning environment, and provide a space for students to discuss or talk about the traumatic events in a safe and accepting environment.
Schools should provide traumaspecific intervention to traumatized students; this may help to minimize learning and behavioral difficulties that can result when traumatic stress goes ignored. Students will not succeed if schools do not address the trauma and stress that a student brings with them every day to class Long-term detrimental effects have been well documented in those who experie maltreatment. Childhood maltreatment can have effects that last well into adulthood. If education and treatment are not initiated for the individual this can be a cycle that continues on.
These issues can be exacerbated in the school setting if the staff and teachers do not have the knowledge or tools to deal with these students. It is an important that educators and school personnel be educated in signs and symptoms of trauma and traumatic stress. In the end, what matters most is helping and creating a safe environment for these children. It is necessary to help traumatized children to process and cope with physical, emotional and psychological trauma. Children need adults who they can trust, rely on and turn to for support and encouragement.
