Practical Trauma Informed Strategies Beth Whittle MEd LPC
Practical Trauma Informed Strategies Beth Whittle MEd, LPC Executive Director of Counseling beth. whittle@sde. ok. gov
• Trauma-informed education is a journey, not a checklist. There is no magical program that is going to fix kids because we are not fixing kids. We’re supporting kids in being successful” • 2 - Matthew Portell Principal
ACEs and Brain Development 3 • Difficulty trusting others • Social isolation • Difficulty seeking help • Hypersensitivity to physical contact • Increase medical, emotional and mental problems • Problems with coordination and balance
ACEs and Brain Development - 2 4 • Poor affect regulation • Problems with academic achievement • Oppositional/antisocial behaviors • Difficulty planning for the future
Resilience is Greater than ACEs Resilience is not inherently in children. Parents, teachers, and caregivers can help children by… • • 5 Gaining understanding of ACEs Creating environments where children feel safe emotionally and physically Helping children identify feelings and manage emotions Creating a safe physical and emotional environment at home, in school, and in neighborhoods
Perspective • Educators can have a tendency to over focus on the need to identify students who have experienced trauma while losing sight of the fact that trauma informed practices work for ALL students. Adopting this mindset reduces the need to identify students. 6
The Brain Basics 7
Learning and Brain Chemistry Help for Billy (2012), Heather Forbes 8
Windows of Stress Tolerance Working within the window of stress tolerance the student has the ability to maintain themselves within the classroom because they have more tolerance when stressed. Their executive functions are intact and they are able to demonstrate core competencies of social emotional learning. 9
State Dependent Function Illustrates the importance of student and teacher regulation in the classroom. Students’ abilities to learn (and faculty’s abilities to teach) are not the only things affected by dysregulation. When students/faculty are operating from the Limbic Brain or Brain Stem fine motor skills and speech can be impacted due to the ways nerves are dysregulated in different areas of the brain. Dr Bruce Perry, Neurosequential Model 10
Dissociation • Dissociation is one of the most powerful forms of regulation. • Most people use this as their predominant mode of regulation. • When you consider this how would it change how you interact with a student who you perceive to not be paying attention in class? 11
Neuroplasticity • • Creating new neural pathways to stress response by utilizing new interventions in the classroom Teach students that change takes time Students CAN restructure their brains Giving them hope that stress response can change through repetition of new strategies • Backwards bike example • • 12
Neuroplasticity - 2 • • 13 Assesses trauma sensitivity, or how reactive a student is to a threat Tunes the brain to less sensitivity Balances the autonomic nervous system and creates trauma informed mindfulness Movement / Executive Function • • • ABC/123 (reintegrates brain function in the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex) Rock, Scissors, Paper, MATH! Story Starters (Ping Pong) Visualizing colors with focused breathing Rise and Fall, deep breathing for littles
Neuroplasticity - 3 If we assist students in staying in the neocortex during school we in turn teach them strategies to use when faced with adversity out of school and thus influence their ability to stay functioning when met with difficult situations. 14
Trauma Informed 101 https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=i. FFGwx. YAGy 4&t=13 s 15
Hope and Resilience ICAP as a Strategy
Fostering Hope and Resilience is bouncing back from negative events in life. Hope is wanting more out of life. • Higher hope people do better in life than lower hope people. • Hope scores more a predictor of college success than SAT • Students who are low hope are usually the first students who are kicked out of school • Higher hope kids have a greater influence on lower hope kids • Peer mentoring groups work in increasing hope 17
Protective Factors for Youth Relationships 1. Have someone who loved you unconditionally. 2. Have at least one best friend. 3. Do things regularly to help others or do special projects in the community to help others. 4. Have an adult (other than a parent) you trusted and can count on for advice. 5. A member of at least one social group and/or non-sport group. Jennifer Hayes-Grudo, 2015 18
Protective Factors for Youth - 2 Resources 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Have an engaging hobby. Regularly involved in organized sports groups or other physical activity. Live in a home that was typically clean AND safe with enough food to eat. Have a school that provided the resources and experiences you needed to learn. Were the rules in your home/school clear and fairly administered? Jennifer Hayes-Grudo, 2015 19
Application of Trauma Informed Instruction and Strategies Resilience is greater than ACEs
The Trauma-Informed School Four critical steps to implementing trauma-informed instruction: 1. Allow the student to de-escalate and regulate before solving the issue at hand. a. 21 Problem solving cannot happen in the moment. Designate a quiet space a student can feel safe deescalating.
The Trauma-Informed School - 2 2. It’s never about the current issue. It goes much deeper. a. 22 Think about what is really driving the student’s behavior. Listen and value the student’s voice, ask how you can help, and respond with empathy.
The Trauma-Informed School - 3 3. It’s a brain issue, not a behavioral issue. a. 23 My job is to help this student regulate, not simply behave. Incorporate regulatory activities into the culture of the classroom and support students in their ability to learn how to self-regulate.
The Trauma-Informed School - 4 4. Discipline is to teach, not to punish. a. 24 Discipline should happen through the context of relationship. Use consequences that keep students in school and foster the building of trust and safety.
Responding to Racial Trauma
What is Racial Trauma? A form of race-based stress, refers to Black and Indigenous People of Color’s (BIPOC) reactions to dangerous events and real or perceived experiences of racial discrimination. Such experiences may include threats of harm or injury, humiliating and shameful events and witnessing racial discrimination of other BIPOC. Although similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, racial trauma is unique in that it involves ongoing individual and collective injuries due to exposure and re-exposure to race-based stress. Comas-Diaz, L. , Hall, G. N. , Neville, H. A. (2019) 26
Intergenerational Trauma https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=95 ov. IJ 3 ds. Nk&t=452 s 27
Think of Fight, Flight or Freeze in the Context of Race • Fight • Denying racism exists • Freeze • Stay neutral “All Lives Matter” • Flight • Avoid having conversations about race altogether Considerations for educator secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. 28
Name, Notice and Disrupt Name • Don’t be afraid to name the racism, discrimination and microaggressions you witness. Notice • Listen to what members of the BIPOC population are telling you regarding their experiences and how you can help. Do not minimize. • Believe what BIPOC students tell you, do not try to explain away or deflect due to feeling uncomfortable discussing race. Help students feel heard and validated. Disrupt • Make the changes necessary so BIPOC students do not experience microaggressions and discrimination in the safe space of schools. Denita White, Tulsa Public Schools 29
Practice and Promote Culturally Responsible Teaching • Positive Perspectives on Parents and Families • Seek to understand parents' hopes, concerns and suggestions • Example: Conduct needs assessments and surveys (in the parents' first language) of what parents expect of the school community • Keep parents apprised of services offered by the school • Example: Send weekly/monthly newsletters (in the home language) informing parents of school activities • Gain cross-cultural skills necessary for successful exchange and collaboration • Example: Research the cultural background of students' families Brown University 30
Practice and Promote Culturally Responsible Teaching – 2 • Communication of High Expectations • Create an environment in which there is genuine respect for students and a belief in their capability • Example: Encourage students to meet expectations for a particular task • Example: Offer praise when standards are met • Communicate clear expectations • Example: Be specific in what you expect students to know and be able to do Brown University 31
Practice and Promote Culturally Responsible Teaching – 3 • Learning within the Context of Culture • Bridge cultural differences through effective communication • Example: Teach and talk to students about differences between individuals • Example: Show differences among the students make for better learning • Example: Attend community events of the students and discuss the events with the students • Vary teaching strategies • Example: Use role-playing strategies • Example: Assign students research projects that focus on issues or concepts that apply to their own community or cultural group • Example: Provide various options for completing an assignment Brown University 32
Practice and Promote Culturally Responsible Teaching – 4 • Student Centered Instruction • Encourage a community of learners • Example: Conduct Student-Directed Sharing Time • Create inquiry based/discovery oriented curriculum • Example: Create classroom projects that involve the community • Share responsibility of instruction • Example: Have students lead discussion groups or reteach concepts • Promote student engagement • Example: Have students generate lists of topics they wish to study and/or research Brown University 33
Practice and Promote Culturally Responsible Teaching - 5 • Culturally Mediated Instruction • Create an environment that encourages and embraces culture • Example: Employ patterns of management familiar to students • Example: Allow students ample opportunities to share their cultural knowledge • Example: Teach students to question and challenge their own beliefs and actions • Devise and implement different ways for students to be successful in achieving developmental milestones • Example: Allow students to set their own goals for a project • Research Students’ Experiences with Learning and Teaching Styles • Example: Visit the communities of the students to find out how they interact and learn in that environment Brown University 34
Practice and Promote Culturally Responsible Teaching - 6 • Reshaping the Curriculum • Develop learning activities that are more reflective of students' backgrounds • Example: Include cooperative learning strategies • Example: Allow students the choice of working alone or in groups on certain projects • Use resources other than textbooks for study • Example: Have students research aspects of a topic within their community • Example: Encourage students to interview members of their community who have knowledge of the topic they are studying Brown University 35
Practice and Promote Culturally Responsible Teaching - 7 • Teacher as Facilitator • Utilize various resources in the students' communities • Example: Ask members of the community to teach a lesson or give a demonstration (in their field of expertise) to the students • Example: Invite parents to the classroom to show students alternative ways of approaching a problem • Vary teaching approaches to accommodate diverse learning styles and language proficiency • Initiate cooperative learning groups • Learn about students' cultures • Example: Have students share artifacts from home that reflect their culture • Example: Have students write about traditions shared by their families Brown University 36
Responding to Racial Trauma in the Classroom • Recognize how what could be seen as disciplinary behavior could in fact be a trauma or grief response. Let this way of thinking guide how you intervene with students who have experienced racial trauma and discrimination. • Be mindful that ALL BIPOC students have experienced some level of microaggression, discrimination or other racial trauma. 37
Celebrate generational resiliency and JOY! 38
Further Considerations • Considerations for self exploration: • Microaggressions are the most difficult situations to address because they are not overt. How can educators create a school climate that minimizes microaggressions? • How can educators create a safe space for students to share their feelings regarding racial inequities? 39
Further Considerations - 2 • Considerations for self-exploration: • Have humility. Know that you will not get it right all the time and that is okay. You have to accept being wrong at times and the likelihood of being challenged as you learn and grow as an educator meeting the unique needs of students in an uncertain and ever changing world. • How can we as educators promote our own self exploration and challenge our own biases that may hinder our work with students of color? • Consider how systemic racism effects BIPOC students’ access to resources and subsequent postsecondary success. How can you help ameliorate these effects while students are in your buildings? • Race in America Video 40
Strategies & Safe Relationships
One Therapeutic Moment The power of “being there. ” As educators we are often conditioned to look for the “tool box. ” The tool box can be as simple as unconditional positive regard for all students. “The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love. ” Dr Bruce Perry Personal Example 42
Perspective Shift Old • He’s so defiant. • She is choosing this behavior. • What’s wrong with him? • I don’t need to call home, they won’t help. • I won’t tolerate disrespect. 43 New • He is lacking social skills. • She is reacting with adrenaline/survival skills. • What happened to him? • Calling home may help give more insight. • How can I help them learn respect, voice and choice?
Negative Beliefs I’ll never be good enough. I guess I will always just be a bad kid. Everyone in the class can do this except for me. My teacher likes everyone in class better than me. Nobody likes me or wants to be my friend. I’m stupid. Heather Forbes, Help for Billy 44
Combating Negative Beliefs – Validating Feelings • Unproductive Response - “ That’s not true, you are really smart. ” - “Don’t say things like that, it’s silly. ” - “Maybe you should just try harder. ” 45 • Productive Response - “Wow, that can’t feel good. ” - “Tell me more about why you’re feeling this way. ” - “I didn’t realize this was so big for you, I totally get it now. ”
Affirmations are a way to upgrade the negative programming in the mind (changing core beliefs) by replacing it with empowering and energizing statements. 46
Muhammed Ali was able to create his own reality through affirmations and so can an entire classroom of students. Ali’s affirmations became his core belief and thus his belief became his reality. Our belief systems are at the core of who we are, they drive us. A belief is this powerful simply because it is any perception, cognition emotion or memory that we consciously or subconsciously assume to be true. 47
Responses to Affirmations Michael Jordan Daily Affirmations When beginning affirmations in the classroom, depending on the age group, teachers and students may feel like it is cheesy at first but the power comes with repetition. 48
Affirmations in the Classroom “I refuse to believe I’m stupid any longer, I am smart and I accept that now. ” • “I refuse to believe I am unlovable any longer, I am loved and I am loveable. I accept that now. ” • “I refuse to believe I am disliked any longer. Friends like me and I accept that now. ” • 49
Mantras The use of mantras can help students move quickly to a stable point of reference when they begin to become dysregulated. It is a useful technique to group and focus a student back to emotional safety. When using mantras, preemptive work needs to be done. It is vital to practice and repeat the mantra as a class prior to any challenges. 50
Mantras - 2 Teacher: “Who’s safe? ” Class: “I am safe. ” Teacher: “All of the time or some of the time? ” Class: “All of the time!” Teacher: “Who is in charge to keep you safe in this room? ” Class: “You are in charge to keep me safe” Teacher: “All of the time or some of the time? ” Class: “All of the time. ” 51
Repetition • The effectiveness of affirmations and mantras depends greatly on repeating them often. We all constantly have self talk going on in our heads, some student’s self-talk is exceptionally negative. Giving them new thoughts at the conscious level and repeating these positive thoughts daily will eventually embed them at the subconscious level. 52
Repetition - 2 53 • Muhammad Ali was credited to have said, “It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen. ” • Neuroplasticity and rewiring neural pathways to a more positive sense of self.
Top Down vs Bottom Up Interventions In the Clinical Setting: The research of Duros & Crowley (2014) suggests that utilizing bottom up interventions that regulate the physical symptoms of trauma should be the first step in trauma treatment. Homann (2010) suggests that integrating the body into treatment for those who have experienced trauma can synchronize the endocrine system to inhibit proper functioning and with a balanced system, trauma affected clients can delve into cognitive processing. 54
Trauma Informed Self Reflection Body Based Coping Skills We all have body based coping skills that organically present themselves during a normal day. Some examples of these include massaging hands, touching face while thinking, rubbing the back of the neck. All of these strategies are helping with CNS (Central Nervous System) Regulation which is crucial in regulating and healing trauma. 55
Heart Rate Have students take their heart rates when they arrive to class or after a test. Utilize this technique to teach students about their alarm systems. Incorporate graphing to tie this regulation technique with course content. Based on what they've learned through the graphing process students can be supported in developing a regulation plan. Incorporate subsequent graphing activities to track the utilization and impact of regulatory activities. 56
Sensory and Regulatory Breaks Allow students to learn more content in a shorter amount of time, retrieve what they have learned more quickly and retain information longer. Tie teaching content to rhythm and interest. Educators can come up with their own creative strategies to incorporate this. (example, Becky Jo) Stop, move and re engage (units of change per time). Adjust teaching content into smaller doses (15 minutes). 57
Dosing and Spacing Processing each of the above happens in different areas of the cortex as well as stimulates different parts of the brain. Educators can keep students engaged and encourage regulation by alternating between them and not staying in one area for longer than about 15 minutes. 58
Body Language and Tone Student’s who experience trauma often have a hard time with direct questions because their attention is usually focused on body language and tone. Use small groups or give enough time to answer questions. 59
Giving Choices Students who have experienced trauma often also have their feelings of choice robbed from them. Giving choices is empowering and also helps foster connection. 60
Check- In/ Check Out • • • 61 The program consists of students daily checking in with a trusted adult at the start of school. Teachers provide feedback on the sheet throughout the day. Students check out at the end of the day with an adult, and the student takes the sheet home to be signed, returning it the following morning at check in. Be mindful of what information you are sending home. (trauma considerations)
Tap In Tap Out https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=q. Pts. P 7 p. Bob. I&feature=youtu. be 62
Other Strategies (Tier 1) • Zones of Regulation • Calming Room • Regulation Station • Music and Rhythm • Predictable environments • Structure and routine 63
Other Strategies (Tier 2) ● ● ● ● 64 Informal FBA/BIP (i. e. one which is not related to SPED/IEP) Structured Breaks Sensory Structured Breaks Visual Schedules Social Skills Sessions with counselor - Link to a comprehensive list of free ones online on resources slide Social Narratives Tap in Tap Out
Other Strategies (Tier 2) - 2 ● ● ● Teacher-Student Code (a. k. a. visual cue signs) Social Skills Story Books available in class Labeled Positive Praise (given based on a specific time and specific behavior) Online timer teachers can use: http: //praisetimer. com/ a. Reinforce what you want to see b. Cycle of overcorrection c. I do, You do, We do ● 65 Visual Token System
Other Strategies (Tier 3) Interventions should include: • Short, repetitive, predicted, patterned responses – Rhythmic moving – Drumming – Joint attention (mirror neurons) – Sensory integration – Music “Sensory Diet” • Working with specialist on strategies in the classroom environment that can feed brain development. – Age appropriate activities such as clapping, jumping, or rhythmic moving that does not interrupt peer environment. 66
Strategies for Trauma Informed Distance Learning Even when teaching students remotely, teachers can create safe and supportive environments that improve students’ ability to engage and learn. One simple framework that can guide traumainformed education is neuroscientist Bruce Perry’s “ 3 Rs” approach to intervention: Regulate, Relate, and Reason. 67
Regulate • Begin interactions and lessons with grounding and centering exercises that help students focus on what is happening in their mind, body, and/or surroundings. • Create structure and consistency through lesson schedules, regularly scheduled communication, and clear, concise instructions. • Create even more opportunities than usual for breaks and physical activities. 68
Regulate - 2 • Promote self-awareness by providing opportunities for students to communicate their feelings. • Promote self-regulation by providing activities and strategies for relaxing or calming activities. • Provide choices for both student input and student output, to accommodate individual learning styles, preferences, and needs. • Offer suggestions for ways to meet students’ sensory needs. 69
Relate • Consider how you perceive and respond to challenging student behaviors in the virtual space. • Model positive interactions and explicitly address the importance of positive social connections during social distancing. • Emphasize caring connections between students and the community for the purposes of student and family wellbeing — even when discussing academic content or performance. 70
Reason • Be realistic and gentle about creating a “new normal” with students and their families. • Reduce workloads for yourself and your students. • Support executive functioning and self-management skills by breaking work into smaller pieces. • Before using lessons, texts, activities, and videos, ensure that they are not activating for students and their families. 71
Trauma Informed In School Suspension The goal of ISP should be to teach students how to do things differently next time, not have punitive consequences: • • • 72 Environment Supervisor A place to regulate Flexible but structured Overcoming Obstacles
Possible Triggers Student • Loud, chaotic environments • Physical touch • Uncertainty about expectations • Witnessing violence • Changes in routine • Meeting with an adult to address behavior • Emergency vehicles/drills • Being called out for behavior • Feeling embarrassed 73
Possible Triggers - 2 Parents • Being called into school to discuss a problem • Being treated disrespectfully when arriving at school • Meetings with a lot of school staff • Not being a part of decision making for child • Privacy • Assessment process • Confusion/lack of clarity 74
Strategies for Addressing Triggers • • • 75 Give space Tone of voice and body language Listen to student to identify trigger Promote cooperation- do not block exit Do not take as personal attack
Ineffective De-Escalation Strategies • 76 Does not promote de-escalation: – “Look at me” – “Put your phone away” – Touching student – Blocking exit – Raising voice - Adding a lot of people to the room
Resources Compassion Resilience Toolkit Secondary Trauma Handout Repurposing our Pedagogy Caring for the Caregiver - Tips for Families and Educators Berkeley Best Practices Archive The Heart of Learning and Teaching How to be Trauma-Informed Locked Away Relationships One on One 77
Resources - 2 Getting Started Student Led Conferences Making the Shift We Teach Kindness Culturally Responsive Teaching Virtual and Distance SEL During COVID-19 Talking to Students About COVID-19 Engaging Families to Support Distance Learning Tools to Teach: Helpful Tips for Parents 78
Resources - 3 Family Guide to Positive Behavior Virginia DOE Equity Audit Family and Educator Guide for Hope and Resiliency Overcoming. Obstacles. org Choo. SELoveto. Thrive What Works Clearinghouse Blueprints for Healthy Minds Model Programs Guide Berkeley Best Practies Guide 79
Resources - 4 Evidence Based Module Series for School Mental Health Social Narratives Trauma Sensitive Schools Training Package Strategies for Trauma Informed Distance Learning Re-Opening Considerations for SEL and Behavioral Health Virtual Middle School Toolkit Virtual High School Toolkit Adressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom 80
- Slides: 80