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Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
- Peter Levine, PhD

THE IMPACT, IS TATTOOED ON THE BRAIN AND IN THE GENES

Our job to is promote approaches which calm, heal and protect.

TRAUMA-SENSITIVE EDUCATION PRACTICES

WHAT IS TRAUMA?

• Biological and emotional response to distressing experiences
• Overwhelms ability to cope
• Helplessness and inescapability
• Epigentics - interplay between environment genes

CAUSES...

• Abuse
• Neglect
• Failure to be responsive (enough)
• Anything that results in chronic stress

What might be traumatic
to one person or group, may not be viewed or experienced as traumatic
by another.

THIS CAN BE...

• Physical/Emotional
• Discrete events/Ongoing
• Overt/Hidden

CAN OCCUR...

• First-hand
• Witness
• Support person
• Across generations

STRESS BEHAVIOUR?

KIDS DO WELL IF THEY CAN

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LEARNING BRAIN OR SURVIVAL BRAIN

SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE

• Outwards oriented
• Avoids tasks
• Class-clown
• Non-participant (when expected to be)
• Hides or Runs away
• Defensive e.g., back-chat
• Anger/Rage
• Immobile/Uncommunicative

SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE

• Inward Oriented
• Compliant
• Quiet/withdrawn
• Just getting by
• Depressed

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LETHARGY & DEPRESSION

• Slack muscles, shallow breathing, slow heart rate, smaller pupils, may have heavier eyelids
• Withdrawn and disengaged
• May not be able to “get through to them” as frontal cortex can be offline

ACTIVE, ALERT, READY TO ACT

• Anger, shame, disgust, anxiety, excitement
• Toned muscles, increasing rate of breathing, increased heart rate, widening pupils, drier eyes, toned (open) eyelids
• Less rosy hue on cheeks, increased sweat, drier mouth
• Skin cool to the touch
• Decrease in digestion
• Should be able to engage (frontal cortex online still)

REACTING TO DANGER

• Flight
• Can’t flee - then fight
• Tense muscles. Rapid shallow breathing (top of chest), elevated heart-rate, pupils very dilated, eyes wide-open and dry, pale (blood gone to muscles), increased sweat, dry mouth, hands and feet cold to touch
• Rage, fear
• Frontal Cortex offline i.e, no point in talking to/at them

DESPERATE TO ESCAPE

• Rigid - deer in the headlights, hyperventilation (light-headedness), very rapid heartbeat, pupils either dilated or small, skin pale or flushed,cold sweat, hands and feet extremes of hot or cold to touch, bowel and bladder loose
• Terror
• Cortex disengaged and brain unable to integrate and process the experience
• May have dissociated from reality

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WHAT NEXT?

• Teach kids about feelings and how this relates to the body and brain
• Be aware of own attachment history, trauma experiences, triggers/responses
• Develop co-regulation skills - super important!
• Non-Violent Intervention training is a must
• School-wide trauma-sensitive practices

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• Develop kete of trauma-sensitive practices , e.g., emotional check-in, slow and slow voice, sit/stand at 45 degree angle, doorway clear and open, stop talking, remove others, time in not time out, empower don’t punish
• Tech to work at biological level prior to being able to teach strategies which are cognitive level e.g., Safe and Sound Protocol, Touchpoints etc.
• Compassion and connection teach and heal

TRAUMA-SENSITIVE PRACTICES HELP ALL; TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ALIKE

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Vanessa White
hellocalm@outlook.com

Free resources at:
www.hellocalm.weebly.com