Reacting to Trauma

Lelli (2014) had found that neglected children and children who have witnessed domestic violence show more severe academic problems than the children in the general population. This not only is challenging from the child’s perspective but also causes additional pressure on the teaching staff. Generally speaking, teachers typically want to make a difference in all of their students lives and want their students to be successful regardless of their situations. A fairly large attribute that can be affected by a student witnessing or experiencing abuse is lack of focus on academic assignments and participation in class. This can then cause significant implications when teaching within a classroom and can make the role of a teacher significantly more complicated. Students who have experienced trauma, specifically domestic violence tend to be deprived of the specific caregiving experience that help grow their sequential memory (Lelli, 2014). As teachers we are given the opportunity to be a positive adult figure in the lives of our students by creating an empathetic, trusting and neutering environment for students to learn. Find ways to help support students with developing their sequential memory in the Application section of my blog. 

These children come to school everyday in what is called a “survival mode”. They are continuously aware of their surroundings, protecting themselves from any sign of danger. This often means that they are willing to flea at any moment with any indication that their lives may be endangered. Their ability to flea also can be shown in forms of shyness. For example,  hiding in a corner quietly. These children are protective and live their lives in a constant state of hyper-vigilance with no peace of mind or ease (Wright, 2013).

According to the YouTube video by Spirt Reins, students who have faced trauma typically handle the pressures that they have faced by either resisting, ignoring or cooperating with their emotions. Resisting the pressure will likely lead to a longer recovery process. Oftentimes however, these children will fall into survival mode. Their brain will make the decision to continue to resist and stay stagnant or they will cope and move forward through cooperation techniques.

The following is a YouTube video from a conference in 2013 discussing how the brain operates when dealing with trauma.

The Brain

The brain is an extremely fascinating organ within the body that can impact a child’s over development in a positive or negative manner. Neuroplasticity references the changes that occur in the organization of the brain based on experience (Willis & Nagel, 2014), conducted a study which linked lived experiences and neurobiology that proved this point. It was proved that during the crucial stages of development, the brain’s neural connectivity and plasticity can be jeopardized given a stressful or toxic situation (Willis & Nagel 2014). It is evident that stress caused by trauma can be directly linked to the with struggle of organizations of children’s thoughts and subsequently their students behaviour. It has also been proved by research that a child’s ability to express feelings may be impaired by the neuroanatomic changes in the brain caused by the trauma that one faces (Willis & Nagel, 2014).

Perspective of Students Dealing with Trauma

& Looking Behind the Behaviour

Quite often, students are labelled or lumped in a category that can be perceived inaccurately to who they truly are. Our own limitations of those perspectives can frequently disrupt the ability to seek the strengths in our students, especially those who have lived a traumatic life (Wright, 2013). Traumatic events open up the doors for children to feel vulnerable and unsafe which, then can lead to them having a negative view of the world. Trauma hinders one’s ability to cope with specific situations that can sometimes be out of their control (Wright, 2013).

In most cases, with every action, has some form of underlaying meaning. The behaviours that you see demonstrated by someone are often designed to protect the more vulnerable feeling or present reality (Hutchinson, 2015). It is human nature to view what is on the surface as the issue at hand however, it is our job as educators to look deep into the meaning of the behaviours being shown.

An example of this form of behaviour is the typical school-yard bully. This child can show signs of hostility, aggression yet may harbour deep fear, sadness or loneliness (Hutchinson, 2015).

Symptoms You May Witness in Students

Fight: A true act of protecting oneself when they feel unsafe or harmed.

  • Acts of physical aggression
  • Refusing to move
  • Bloating

Flea: Although physically present, students may not be mentally available while being in school.

  • Could be caused by traumatic flashbacks
  • May be the affects of living in constant fear

Freezing: Students often times appear to be freezing/cold and fall asleep in class. 

  • Would rather freeze than act in physical violence
  • Refusal of assistance
  • Dismissing feedback
  • Breaking classroom rules

Anxiety & Depression:

  • Worry
  • Fears due to limited knowledge or experience
  • Misunderstanding and misattribution
  • Separation anxiety
  • School avoidance
  • Bereavement and grief due to situations they have witnessed
  • Avoiding previously enjoyed activities
  • Withdrawals
  • Isolations
  • Failures in coursework due to difficulties with concentration on academic work
  • Outbursts of anger, severe emotion or issues with conduct due to irritability
  • Social regression and issues with development
  • Increase in use of tobacco or other forms of substance abuse
  • Decrease in overall health

Sleep Problems:

  • Difficulties falling asleep at home or staying asleep
  • Difficulties waking up in the morning
  • Nightmares