Trauma-Responsive Strategies

Quote

Oprah Winfrey, in What Happened to You (Perry & Winfrey, 2021)

"In essence, it's approaching people with the awareness of "what happened to you" is important, that it influences your behavior and your health. And then using that awareness to act accordingly and respond appropriately- whether you're a parent, teacher, friend, therapist, doctor, police officer, judge."

Recognizing The Signs

Common Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Young Children

clinginess
excessive crying
inability to be soothed
severe separation anxiety
avoidance of people, places, or experiences that are reminders of the traumatic event
difficulties feeding/eating, sleeping, or toileting
jumpiness/easily startled
anxiety, depression, withdrawn, lack of interest/curiosity
cognitive symptoms: memory, concentration, learning
physical symptoms: stomachaches, headaches, fatigue

It is important to note that behaviors which are often labeled as 'challenging' may be a symptom of experiencing a traumatic event.

Additionally, noticing one or more of these signs does not mean that you can conclusively determine if a child has experienced a traumatic event. Only qualified clinicians may diagnose trauma. However, the following strategies benefit all children by creating an optimal learning environment.

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Trauma-Responsive Strategies

Trauma-responsive strategies are designed to help children return to a regulated state, avoid re-traumatization and maintain a calm atmosphere that is conducive to learning and healing.

Looking for a place to start? Use this checklist to assess trauma-informed practices in your classroom.

Trauma-Informed Care Checklist

Recognizing The Signs

Common Stress-Response Triggers

New experiences, places, or people
Sudden or loud noises
Harsh tone of voice, scolding, yelling
Bright, unnatural lighting
Lack of personal space
Unpredictability or changes in routine
Feeling of loss of autonomy
Lack of trusted adult figure in the room

1 Rhythmic Regulation

Just as human beings are social creatures, we are also dependent on rhythm to maintain balance and regulation in our lives, both internally and externally. Even before birth, children experience and are attuned to the rhythm of their mother's womb. In this way, rhythm helps us to feel connected to those around us.

Rhythmic regulation addresses dysregulation in the body and restores a calm state which allows for higher brain functioning. Certain rhythmic activities also provide opportunities to connect physically with children- rhythmic connection supports our sense of belonging and shared enjoyment.

Examples of rhythmic regulation: rocking, swaying side to side, kicking a ball back and forth, coloring together while sitting side by side, dance, music, massage/healing touch

Identifying and reducing environmental triggers is a tricky component of trauma-informed care because triggers are specific to each individual and their experience with trauma. Traumatic stress responses may be triggered by a number of seemingly mundane aspects of a child's life.

Children who have experienced traumatic events become sensitized to the world around them in ways that might not be clear to the outside viewer. Responsive relationships with children help us learn and understand their unique experiences, we become attuned to their emotional responses and can respond appropriately.

Check out the Trauma-Informed Care Checklist as a starting place for for fostering supportive healing environments for young children.

2 Identify and Reduce Triggers

3 Reflective Listening

Thinking back to the 3R Model: regulate, relate, reason, or as we said: Body > Heart > Mind, reflective listening addresses the heart, or emotional dysregulation.

Children, whether they've experienced adversity or not, are prone to Big Feelings as they learn to navigate their emotional responses. We can help this process by making space for big emotions to be felt, discussed, and processed.

Young children are incredibly perceptive to the tone and rhythm of our adult voices, this is especially true for traumatized children. Reflective listening is simply providing a calming presence and restating what the child is saying to you. Reflective listening is a powerful regulation tool because it validates the child's experience and reinforces a trusting relationship between yourself and the child.

4 Conflict Resolution

Trauma-responsive conflict resolution is critical in avoiding re-traumatization. Understanding that certain behavioral responses may be the result of trauma allows us to respond appropriately in a caring manner that supports healing and helps children develop problem-solving skills and frustration tolerance.

When faced with a challenging event or interpersonal conflict, children may respond in ways that seem unexpected or inappropriate for the situation. If children are overwhelmed by an experience or emotion, we may recognize certain stress responses: fight, flight, fawn, and freeze. These responses are our clue to pause, co-regulate, and help children restore their sense of safety before addressing the conflict itself.