Calmer Classrooms - 2
The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom
Session 2:
• To consider how the structure and expectations of the
school day impact on a student who has experienced
trauma
• To understand and explore school Behaviour as a
language of communication
Trauma is a sensitive topic
– be respectful of the impact which the session might have on other people
Resilience and Attachment
• Emotional resilience is not innate.
• It is dependent on forming a secure
attachment with parents
• However, the desire and capacity to form a
secure attachment is innate.
I am safe
& loved
Calms
child
Secure
Attachment
Cycle
Need met
Express
Un-met
need
Response
from carer
I am loved
I trust that my
needs will be met
The world is a
safe place
Trauma
Neglect:
The on-going failure to meet essential needs
Theory
Trauma: The overwhelming feeling of helplessness caused by
- sustained experiences = CHRONIC Trauma Examples
- exceptional events = ACUTE Trauma - Examples
Sustained Failure to meet the ‘Need Cycle’
Induces an Attachment Trauma
Prolonged alarm reaction
Releases ‘stress’ chemicals into the brain
Effected by parents exposure to
DV, poverty and mental illness
I am not loved
I cannot trust that my needs will be met
The world is not a safe place
Trauma
Science
Negatively effects the developing brain
Establishes emotional defence strategies
Perpetuates impulsive responses to
stress
Still Face Experiment www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0
Insecure Attachment
Affect Dysregulation
The impact of trauma on a developing brain
This is the brain scan of a Romanian Orphan, institutionalized at birth, who suffered
severe emotional deprivation in infancy. The temporal lobes [circled] are highly
inactive. These are the areas of the brain which regulate emotions and receive
input from the senses
Still Face Experiment www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0
Affect Dysregulation in Adolescents
Affect – behaviours or responses which
might be observed or experienced
Dysregulation – seemingly
uncontrolled or destructive
Dysregulated behaviours may also be rational defence strategies;
responding to current or previous experiences
3 Types of Affect Dysregulation
Anxious Attachment
Hyper arousal
Avoidant Attachment
Dissociation
• Need constant
reassurance
• ‘Parentified’: fixated on
home
• Low Attendance
• Hostile if they don’t get
attention
• Concerned that engaging
in tasks will lose the
teachers attention
• Don’t need anyone
• Perfectionists – cannot
finish work
• Cannot ask for help
• Cannot accept ‘not
knowing’ or that ‘others
know’
• Difficult to like – reflects
how they feel about
themselves
Disorganised Attachment
Mixed
• Manipulative and controlling
• On edge – high levels of
stress and anxiety
• No head space for learning
• Aggressive responses to
control or exposed weakness
• Bullying others who they
perceive as vulnerable
• Extreme emotions- not
capable of managing
Calmer Classrooms
The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom
Session 2:
• To consider how the structure and expectations of the
school day impact on a student who has experienced
trauma
• To understand and explore school Behaviour as a
language of communication
Trauma is a sensitive topic
– be respectful of the impact which the session might have on other people
A
Skills for
School
Dysregulation
Type & Presentation
Anxious Attachment:
Hyper Arousal
•Need constant reassurance
•Fixated on home
•Low Attendance
•Hostile if they don’t get
attention
•Won’t engage in case they
lose teacher attention
•On edge - No head space for
learning
•Extreme emotional reactions
Avoidant Attachment:
Dissociation
•Don’t need anyone
•Perfectionists
•Can’t ask for help
•Can’t accept ‘not knowing’ or
that ‘others know’
•Difficult to like
•Tests and Rejects friendships
•Manipulative & controlling
•Bullying others who they
perceive as vulnerable
B
C
How does the
dysregulated
behaviour impact
on school life?
Student that
appears to fit
this
presentation
D
E
Example
behaviours/situations
you have experienced
What might the
student have been
communicating?
A: Skills for School
What skills do students need to successfully complete a day in school?
SOCIAL SKILLS – PRACTICAL SKILLS – COGNITIVE
SKILLS
Before School
On Arrival
In Lessons
Social Time
After School
Task A: “Skills for School”
•Record as many “School Skills” as you can think of in
Column A on the Table.
•Consider experiences across the whole school day
B: What skills would students with Dysregulated
Behaviour find difficult?
Dysregulated Behaviour
Anxious Attachment
Hyper arousal
Avoidant Attachment
Dissociation
• Need constant
reassurance
• ‘Parentified’: fixated on
home
• Low Attendance
• Hostile if they don’t get
attention
• Concerned that engaging
in tasks will lose the
teachers attention
• Don’t need anyone
• Perfectionists – cannot
finish work
• Cannot ask for help
• Cannot accept ‘not
knowing’ or that ‘others
know’
• Difficult to like – reflects
how they feel about
themselves
Task B: “Skills vs Dysregulated Behaviour”
For the Skills identified in A;
Consider how trauma and neglect might effect students’ ability
to manage everyday school skills.
C & D: How does the “Skills vs Dysregulation”
mismatch fit with your experiences?
Task C&D: Tallis Students
C: Which Tallis students can you identify with dysregulated
behaviour?
D:For one of these students discuss and record an example
behaviour/situations you have experienced
Behaviour is a Language of Communication
What about you?
Think of an example when you have experienced behaviour as a
form of communication
• When I got on the tube...
• In a meeting...
• At the cinema….
Consider:
•What was being communicated by the behaviour?
•What did your behaviour communicate?
•Was it different to the what was said?
E: What is the Student Communicating
The
experience
of trauma
A situation or
skill that is
compromised
Dysregulated
behaviour
What could the student actually be trying to communicate?
Task E: “Behaviour is a language of communication”
For the example chosen in D Consider;
-the context
-the particular “School Skill” which was being compromised
-the student’s particular type of dysregualtion
Calmer Classrooms
The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom”
Session 2: Conclusions
• Childhood experience of trauma may be physiologically formative and
psychologically embedded.
• The structure and expectations of the school day require a skill set which may be
compromised in children who have experienced trauma
• The behaviours we experience may communicate more than the direct the
language used.
• Children who have experienced trauma are very sensitive to the behaviour of
adults and what it means to them
NEGLECT
& TRAUMA
DYSREGULATED
BEHAVIOURS
“Understanding the experience of the abused and
neglected child assists us to develop compassion,
patience and empathy.
It is a key intervention in itself”
Calmer Classrooms (2007 )