What is trauma?

Developmental Trauma-
multiple, chronic, prolonged

early onset and interpersonal in nature

What is the impact of Complex Trauma (developmental)

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• Shrinkage in prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus
• Enlargement and more activity in amygdala
• Brain waves more active in areas that create anxiety and seisures
• Cellular changes that lead to premature aging, illness, and neuro deficits

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• Prolonged high cortisol creates greater reactivity to stress
• Supercharged sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system not engaged to bring back in balance

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Moving Beyond Knowledge

Three Pillars of Trauma Care

• Felt Safety
• Connection
• Self-Regulation

Felt Safety

• Create a safe space (both physical and emotional)
• Establish predictability
• Build trust (over time)
• Offer choices
• Stay regulated

Felt Safety

• Create a safe space (both physical and emotional)
• Establish predictability
• Build trust (over time)
• Offer choices
• Stay regulated

Connection

• Seeing the student not the behavior
• Asking/seeing the need
• Relating past the wound
• Validating feelings, not behavior
• Being a container

Self-Regulation

• Regulate yourself first-co-regulation is key
• Mindfulness
• Bottom-up regulation
• Pro-active regulation
• IDEAL Response

Know your shark music

TBRI Principles

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• Connecting-Engagement and Mindfulness
• Empowering-Ecological and Physiological
• Correcting-Proactive and Responsive

Connecting:

• Calm presence
• Attuned and Aware
• Flexible responses
• Creative problem solving
• Valuing eye-contact
• Behavior matching
• Playful interaction, healthy touch

Empowering

• Transitions
• Rituals/artifacts
• Physical activity and bottom up regulation
• Student participation in choices

Correcting

• Ideal Response
• Levels of Response
• Re-direction language

Ideal Response

• Immediate (within 3-5 seconds)
• Direct
• Efficient (see levels)
• Action based
• Leveled at the behavior NOT the child

First Level-Playful Engagement

• For low level behavior (sassy, disrespectful tone etc)
• Be silly- are you asking or telling? Ooops, rewind try that again, No hurts, please try again, can you do a re-do

Level two-structured engagement

• No one in danger, but higher level
• Provide choices and compromise
• Done after playful engagement

Level three-Calming engagement

• Has escalated and child needs help calming down
• Give agreed upon opportunity to self regulate
• WAIT (why am i talking)
• State fact, don't lecture or try to convince give space and quiet time if possible

Level four-Protective engagement

• Active threat of danger or physical harm
• Clear the room, avoid speaking or touching the child if they are safe
• Allow time for self calming if possible
• Monitor pupils, and body language
• Use de-escalation techniques if student begins to self-harm or harm others

Look beyond the behavior

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