By Starr Commonwealth
With grief, sadness is obvious. With trauma, the symptoms can go largely unrecognized because it shows up looking like other problems: frustration; acting out; difficulty concentrating, following directions, or working in a group. Often students are misdiagnosed with anxiety, behavior disorders, or attention disorders rather than understood to have trauma that’s driving those symptoms and reactions.
For children who have experienced trauma, learning can be a big struggle. But once trauma is identified as the root of the behavior, we can adapt our approach to help kids cope when they’re at school. Starr Commonwealth Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Caelan Soma offers these tips for understanding kids who have been through trauma plus strategies for helping them.
1. Kids who have experienced trauma aren’t trying to push your buttons.
If a child is having trouble with transitions or turning in a folder at the beginning of the day, remember that children may be distracted because of a situation at home that is causing them to worry. Instead of reprimanding children for being late or forgetting homework, be affirming and accommodating by establishing a visual cue or verbal reminder to help that child. “Switch your mind-set and remember the kid who has experienced trauma is not trying to push your buttons,” says Soma.
10 Things About Childhood Trauma Every Teacher Needs to Know
5 Reasons Why We Blame Ourselves After Trauma
CSF written article Your Content Goes Here By Kaytee Gillis, LCSW-BACS As a therapist who works with survivors of childhood trauma, I find that self-blame is a common part [...]
Child-Parent Psychotherapy Resources
CSF written article Your Content Goes Here By University of California, San Francisco Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is an intervention model for children aged 0-5 who have experienced at least [...]
Caring for Caregivers Experiencing Secondary Trauma
CSF written article Your Content Goes Here By Heather C. Forkey, MD, Elaine Schulte, MD, MPH, and Luanne Thorndyke, MD Secondary traumatic stress (STS) is the emotional duress caused [...]
How to Talk About Mental Health
CSF written article Your Content Goes Here By SAMHSA Mental health is essential to a person’s life in the same way as physical health. Hesitation to talk about mental [...]
Prioritizing Minority Mental Health
CSF written article Your Content Goes Here By CDC Office of Health Equity Mental health matters! Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, [...]
Exploratory Study Associates Childhood Trauma with Brain Features in Abusive Mothers
CSF written article Your Content Goes Here By University of Fukui As sad as it is, child maltreatment continues to be a prevalent global social issue. Recent studies have revealed [...]