Behavior and Trauma - Paraeducator Pathway [Review and Reflect]

CA MTSS logo Recognizing the Impact of Trauma in the Classroom

For many youths who experience traumatic life events, the ability to manage stress becomes compromised. Similarly, after a traumatic life event, youths may find situations that were previously manageable now prompt feelings of being emotionally or physically unsafe. The school environment presents youths with several stressors that can trigger traumatic stress reactions—extreme responses to perceived threats that interfere with youths’ functioning. Youths’ stress responses can range in intensity, duration, and frequency. Traumatic stress can lead to youths’ development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Diagnostic Statistical Manual Fifth Edition (DSM-5) identifies four categories of traumatic stress reactions that can disrupt the functioning of an individual diagnosed with PTSD following a traumatic life experience: avoidance of trauma reminders, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, re-experiencing the traumatic event by having intrusive thoughts and feelings, and alterations in arousal and reactivity (e.g., hyperarousal, numb feelings, etc.). Additionally, some individuals experience ongoing dissociation—an intense feeling of being disconnected from others and oneself. While the diagnosis of PTSD requires experiencing several of these traumatic stress reactions and having substantial disruption in functioning, individuals can experience degrees of traumatic stress reactions that fail to meet criteria but nonetheless create distress for the individual. The traumatic stress reactions outlined by the DSM-5 PTSD criteria provide a framework for understanding how trauma might impact students in key domains of functioning and, subsequently, the impact of trauma on the classroom.

Trauma-Informed Classrooms, pg. 3 Links to an external site.

Trauma-Informed Classrooms Links to an external site.

 

lightbulbReflect 

Review the technical assistance bulletin by Isaiah B. Pickens and Nicole Tschopp titled Trauma-Informed Classrooms. Links to an external site. 

  • Jot down notes from your reading.