Trauma Brain & The Classroom

 

Last year around February, I got a new student.  From the very first day, I knew there was something different about this child.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but after 17 years of teaching, my instincts told me that this new student was not like the many other kids I've had over the years.  Veteran teachers will understand.... when you know, you KNOW!

The very next day, I learned that he was recently returned to the custody of his father because his home life with his mother (and mother's boyfriend) had turned abusive.  I will not go into specifics to protect the privacy of the family, but suffice it to say I knew I was dealing with a child with "Trauma Brain".  

Children who have experienced mental, emotional, or physical trauma can have chemically altered brain function that effects their personal and educational relationships.  Dr. Eamon McCrory, Professor of Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology at the University of College London describes it like this: 

Children – and their brains – adapt to survive. When a child grows up in an environment where there is abuse and neglect, their brains will be shaped by those experiences. These brain changes may not lead to an immediate mental health problem. Rather, they may help the child survive in that adverse environment. However, these same changes may make a child more vulnerable to developing mental health problems in future everyday environments. In part, this is because the brain changes can affect a child’s ability – and opportunities – to cultivate and maintain social relationships with others.

He has written a guidebook that I found very insightful and helpful as I learned more about Trauma Brain and how it effects children in the classroom and social settings.  You can find the PDF here.  There is a series of other trauma-related mental health topics at the UK Trauma Council website.     

 

So what did Trauma Brain look like in my new student?

~Extreme mood swings

~Screaming he hates me

~Task avoidance

~Low frustration/stress tolerance

~Noncompliance

~Throwing chairs and flipping desks

~Threatening to kill others

~Refusal to move

~Crawling under desk or sprawling out on the floor

~Yelling and growling

~Destructive

~Attention-seeking

~Attempts to escape the classroom

~Demands for 100% attention

~Inability to initiate tasks

Obviously, this put my classroom into a serious upheaval.  This child required so much of my time and attention, my other students had to learn how be without me.  And I must say they did this like CHAMPS!  I knew I could trust them to do the right thing while I helped him get through his meltdowns.  

So I immediately set to work to educate myself on how to best help a student like this.  There are many resources online that gave me a starting point.  I say "starting point" because the strategies I tried on Monday may not work anymore by Wednesday and I needed a whole arsenal of ideas!   

Now, I must say that I am not a trained counselor or therapist and most days I felt like I was doing more harm than good.  I needed to train myself how to deal with this child's behavior.  It was more about changing the way I approached him, than it was about changing his reactions.  Because I knew it would take months to years before this little boy was able to respond appropriately to his stressors.  

One clear and prominent thought every day was: How do I keep from escalating the situation?  I needed to take cues from the student and approach him carefully to avoid the most aggressive of his behaviors.  This list by he's-extraordinary helped remind me the best way to approach a child who is having a hard time.  

I also worked with my student to implement this Emotion Thermometer.  This design is by Social Emotional Workshop.  You can get your own blank copy at her site after you sign up with the email list.  

This thermometer was an excellent way for my student to show me how he was feeling without having to verbalize it.  He would just point to the color he was feeling.  From that point, I would be able to suggest appropriate ways for him to calm down.  

I found this kit at TeachersPayTeachers, that I was able to collect materials for and tuck into a quiet place in my classroom.  If my student ever got to the frustrated or angry point on his thermometer, I would suggest a 5 minute break at the Calm Down Corner.

It has a short social story, and picture clues to describe how they are feeling.

Inside a Nicky's Folder, a list on the left describes how each breathing choice is done.  The pockets on the right have all the choices.  The student can make three choices and stick them to the velcro dots.  Then they do each breathing choice three times.

This is the calming fidgets page.  The student chooses three ways to calm themselves and stick them to the velcro dots.  Then they use a 5 minute timer to spend calming down. 

If the student needs to calm down because they have a problem, they can turn to this page in the folder to choose the way they want to solve it.  

Needless to say, these three items were NOT the solution to this poor child's woes.  Everyday was a struggle.  I was on high alert every moment of the day.  I couldn't leave him alone with anyone.  He genuinely scared my other students.  

But........ he was also charming, and sweet, and friendly, and smart, and quick-witted, and a wonderful person...... when he wasn't being that other child.  I'm sure you've had children like this before.  

It wasn't his fault his brain literally re-wired itself in order to survive the environment of his former home.  It wasn't our job to punish him for those awful behaviors.  It WAS our job to help give him healthy coping mechanisms that will help him be more successful in stressful situations.  

So after months of meetings, observations, behavior tracking, pull-outs, meltdowns, therapy, and evaluations, we were able to get him the help that he truly needed.  In the end, he was diagnosed with PTSD, SPD, and ADHD.  And amazing as it sounds, he made me a better teacher.  I learned new ways to approach a child that is having a "bad day"; ways to help them work through that badness and move towards healing the hurt.  

~Stacy