Trauma Module 3: Creating Safety

Summary

This module explores how trauma affects a child's sense of safety and their behavior in school. It highlights how trauma shifts a child's worldview, making them constantly vigilant and reactive to perceived threats. The video discusses practical strategies to create a safe environment, such as building trusting relationships, establishing predictable routines, and providing sensory tools to help students regulate their emotions. It emphasizes the importance of calm and empathy when handling students in crisis and concludes with the vital role of relationships in supporting students who have experienced trauma.

Takeaways

• 😀 Trauma alters a child's worldview, making them hypervigilant to perceived dangers.
• 😀 Sensory reminders of trauma can trigger the body and brain to re-experience emotional and physiological responses.
• 😀 Children may react to threats that aren't visible to others, making their behaviors seem confusing.
• 😀 Establishing trusting relationships and a predictable classroom environment can help children feel safe.
• 😀 Creating spaces within the classroom where children can retreat to re-establish equilibrium supports emotional regulation.
• 😀 Regulating activities like breathing exercises, self-talk, and sensory tools help children manage emotional states and focus on learning.
• 😀 Fidget boxes with items like coloring books or squishy toys can help children regulate their emotions during distress.
• 😀 Music can be used to help students shift emotional states, as it has the power to reduce anger or frustration.
• 😀 In moments of crisis, it's important to remain calm and focus on safety; talking or reasoning with the child is often ineffective.
• 😀 Safety plans and functional behavior assessments (FBAs) are essential for managing students who frequently experience crises.
• 😀 Building and maintaining strong, trusting relationships is critical for creating a sense of safety and emotional stability for traumatized students.

Q & A

What impact does trauma have on a child's worldview?

Trauma can significantly alter a child's worldview, making the world feel unsafe and unpredictable. This shift in perception leads children to remain vigilant for potential threats, even in situations where there is no actual danger.

How do sensory reminders trigger trauma responses in children?

Sensory reminders, such as sounds, smells, or sights associated with a traumatic event, can trigger the body and brain to re-experience the emotional and physical responses linked to that trauma, like heightened startle reflexes, increased heart rate, and feelings of fear.

Why might a child perceive threat or danger even when there is none?

A child who has experienced trauma may have heightened sensitivity to sensory triggers that cause their body to react as if there is immediate danger. This can result in overreactions to seemingly harmless situations, which can be confusing for others around them.

What are some daily strategies to help children feel safe in school?

To help children feel safe, educators can foster trusting relationships, be consistent and reliable, create predictable routines, and build a strong community in the classroom. Additionally, using community circles, inclusivity, and conflict resolution strategies can enhance the feeling of safety.

What types of classroom spaces can help children who have experienced trauma?

Classroom spaces can be created to provide a sheltered, calming environment. This includes soft cushions, visual barriers, and materials like books, stuffed animals, or puzzles that children can use to re-establish emotional equilibrium or distract themselves from stressful thoughts.

What are some examples of regulating activities that help children calm down?

Regulating activities include sensory tools (like stress balls or coloring materials), grounding exercises, slow breathing techniques, positive self-talk (e.g., repeating calming mantras), and practice with these strategies before crises occur to help children learn how to self-regulate.

How does music help children regulate their emotions?

Music can be a powerful tool to shift a child's emotional state. Listening to music can help them reframe or reduce feelings like anger or frustration, by providing a sensory experience that diverts their attention and influences their emotional response.

What should educators do when a student is in emotional crisis?

When a student is in crisis, educators should remain calm and avoid reasoning with the student, as they are not able to process logically at that moment. The focus should be on ensuring safety for everyone, using a calm voice, and guiding the student to a predefined safe space.

Why is it important not to take angry statements personally when a student is in crisis?

During a crisis, a student's emotional state is heightened, and they may react with anger or frustration. These reactions are often driven by fear or survival instincts, so it's important not to take them personally and to remain empathetic and understanding.

How can functional behavior assessments (FBAs) help traumatized students?

Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) are useful tools to identify the triggers and underlying reasons for a student's behavior. This information can be used to create personalized safety and support plans, which help address the student's specific needs and prevent future crises.