Calmer Classrooms - 1

1. Calmer Classrooms - 1 The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom” Session 1: • To develop an understanding of trauma experiences and their impact on childhood development • To consider how trauma experiences may present in adolescents. Trauma is a sensitive topic – be respectful of the impact which the session might have on other people

2. To what extent is perception important in trauma? How useful was the Trauma Ranking exercise? MOST TRAUMATIC LEAST TRAUMATIC “The severity of a trauma is not determined by the nature of the experience, but rather by the personal interpretation of the experience and the individual’s own resilience.” Aqualma Murray – Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse

3. 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 I am loved I trust that my needs will be met The world is a safe place Express Un-met need Secure Attachment Cycle Calms child Response from carer Need met

4. Trauma 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’ Neglect: The on-going failure to meet essential needs Effected by parents exposure to DV, poverty and mental illness I am not loved Induces an Attachment Trauma I cannot trust that my needs will be met The world is not a safe place Trauma Science Prolonged alarm reaction Releases ‘stress’ chemicals into the brain Negatively effects the developing brain Establishes emotional defence strategies Perpetuates impulsive responses to stress Insecure Attachment Affect Dysregulation Still Face Experiment www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0

5. 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

6. Trauma Theory Neglect: The on-going failure to meet essential needs Trauma: The overwhelming feeling of helplessness caused by - sustained experiences = CHRONIC Trauma - Examples - exceptional events = ACUTE Trauma - Examples Effected by parents exposure to DV, poverty and mental illness Sustained Failure to meet the ‘Need Cycle’ I am not loved Induces an Attachment Trauma I cannot trust that my needs will be met The world is not a safe place Trauma Science Prolonged alarm reaction Releases ‘stress’ chemicals into the brain Negatively effects the developing brain Establishes emotional defence strategies Perpetuates impulsive responses to stress Insecure Attachment Affect Dysregulation Still Face Experiment www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0

7. Affect Dysregulation in Adolescents Affect – refers to behaviours or responses which might be observed or experienced Dysregulation – refers to their seemingly uncontrolled and destructive nature Dysregulated behaviours may also be rational defence strategies reacting to current or previous experiences 3 Types of Affect Dysregulation Anxious Attachment Hyper arousal Avoidant Attachment Dissociation Disorganised Attachment Mixed •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 •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 • 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

8. Calmer Classrooms The presentation and management of trauma in the classroom” Session 1: Conclusions •“The severity of a trauma is not determined by the nature of the experience, but rather by the personal interpretation of the experience and the individual’s own resilience.” •A child with “Secure Attachment” develops a biological and emotional framework for dealing with future stress and can regulate their emotions I am loved - I can trust that my needs will be met – The world is a safe place •Trauma from Neglect, Abuse or Loss can occur at any age. The earlier it takes place the more physiologically formative it will be The more psychologically embedded it will become •Affect Dysregulation – seemingly uncontrolled and destructive adolescent behaviours underpinned by trauma experiences – also offer emotional protection Session 2: We will focus on the relationship between school routines and expectations, trauma and behavioural difficulties in the classroom

10. Lifelong Effects of Early Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress - A proactive and sympathetic response to trauma based behaviours is rooted in a genuine belief in the causal link between trauma experiences and their pathological implications for behaviour. I.E. the behaviours which I am managing are - to a significant degree - beyond the control of an individual - they are hard wired into their brains. My learning here is taken from an excellent Techical Report from American Paediatric Association. 2012 Developmental neuroscience is now capable of describing at the molecular and cellular levels, how the brain functions as an integrated network of billions of neurons. This network is the biological platform for every child’s development of social-emotional, linguistic, and cognitive skills A number of long-term studies [over 20yrs+] have evidenced the link between “Adverse Childhood Experiences” and lifelong consequences for educational achievement, economic productivity, health status, and longevity. The plasticity of the fetal, infant, and early childhood brain makes it particularly sensitive to chemical influences, and there is growing evidence from both animal and human studies that persistently elevated levels of stress hormones can disrupt its developing architecture. In particular experiences of adversity in early childhood are believed to effect future reactions to stress by altering the development of neural circuits which control hormone response and reconfiguring genomes which authorise certain characteristics and behaviours and prohibit others Stress is a Physiological response which has been very well studied - key to how we feel and react to stress is the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenocortical axis and the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system, which results in increased levels of stress hormones, such as corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), cortisol, norepinephrine, and adrenaline Excessively high levels or prolonged exposures to these hormones can be harmful or actually toxic Three Types of Stress Response have been identified in very young children Positive Stress Response - this refers to a stress which is mild and brief - exposure to and then recovery from the hormone release is an essentialcomponent of building future resilience to stress - i.e. through Secure Attachments Tolerable Stress Response, in contrast to positive stress, is associated with exposure to abnormal or unexpected experiences which present a significant level of adversity or threat. Precipitants may include the death of a family member, a serious illness or injury = ACUTE Trauma Toxic Stress Response, result from strong, frequent, or prolonged activation of the body’s stress response systems. In young children this causes permanent changes in brain structures responsible for the development of linguistic, cognitive, and social-emotional skills. This lead to functional differences in the learning, memory and executive functioning [decision making] in later life [adolescence] Specifically in adolescence it will cause some children to appear to be very reactive to even mildly adverse experiences and less capable of effectively coping with perceived “future" stress - Affect Dysregulation