Safe Schools
Barry Turner
About Trauma
Traumatic experiences shake the foundations of our beliefs about safety and shatter our assumptions of trust.
Because they are so far outside what we would expect, these events provoke reactions that feel strange and “crazy.” Perhaps the most helpful thing I can say here is that even though these reactions are unusual and disturbing, they are typical and expectable. By and large, these are normal responses to abnormal events.
Trauma Symptoms
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the most common diagnostic category used to describe symptoms arising from emotionally traumatic experience(s). This disorder presumes that the person experienced a traumatic event involving actual or threatened death or injury to themselves or others and where they felt fear, helplessness or horror.
Three main symptom clusters in PTSD are:
Intrusions, such as flashbacks or nightmares, where the traumatic even are re-experienced.
Avoidance, when the person tries to reduce exposure to people or things that might bring on their intrusive symptoms.
Hyperarousal, meaning physiologic signs of increased arousal, such as hyper vigilance or increased startle response.
Many of the reactions displayed by children and adolescents who have been exposed to traumatic events are similar to behaviors that mental health professionals see on a daily basis. These include:
- The development of new fears
- Separation anxiety (particularly in young children)
- Sleep disturbance, nightmares
- Sadness
- Loss of interest in normal activities
- Reduced concentration
- Decline in schoolwork
- Somatic complaints
- Irritability
Trauma Facts for Educators
Fact: One out of every 4 children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior.
Fact: Trauma impacts school performance.
- Lower GPA
- Higher rate of school absences
- Increased drop-out
- More suspensions and expulsions
- Decreased reading ability
Fact: Trauma can impair learning.
Single exposure to traumatic events may cause jumpiness, intrusive thoughts, interrupted sleep and nightmares, anger and moodiness, and/or social withdrawal--any of which can interfere with concentration and memory.
Chronic exposure to traumatic events, especially during a child's early years, can:
- Adversely affect attention, memory, and cognition
- Reduce a child's ability to focus, organize, and process information
- Interfere with effective problem solving an/or planning
- Result in overwhelming feelings of frustration and anxiety
Fact: Traumatized children may experience physical and emotional distress, which may include:
- Physical symptoms like headaches and stomachaches
- Poor control of emotions
- Inconsistent academic performance
- Unpredictable and/or impulsive behavior
- Over or under-reacting to bells, physical contact, doors slamming, sirens, lighting, sudden movements
- Intense reactions to reminders of their traumatic event:
- Thinking others are violating their personal space, i.e., “What are you looking at?”
- Blowing up when being corrected or told what to do by an authority figure
- Fighting when criticized or teased by others
- Resisting transition and/or change
Fact: You can help a child who has been traumatized.
- Follow your school's reporting procedures if you suspect abuse
- Work with child's caregiver(s) to share and address school problems
- Refer to school counselor and school psychologist when a child shows signs of being unable to cope with traumatic stress
(NCTSN The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Schools Committee. October 2008)