Structure & Consistency 

Providing emotional consistency and clear interpersonal boundaries signals safety for children who have experienced trauma.

 Be Predictable  

Providing structure & consistency in your own responses will help children regulate as their own internal structure for regulation may not be available. Keep regular routines, warn of disruption to routines, and give time and supervision for transitions. 

Maintain High Expectations  

Provide consistent expectations, limits, and routines.  Limits are most useful when they are immediate, related, age-appropriate, proportional, and delivered to the child in a calm and respectful voice.  When setting limits, name the inappropriate behaviors and follow through with consequences.

 Give Choices 

 Give back control by giving choices.  “You can finish that work standing up or sitting down”.  “Do you want to wear your coat or carry it to the playground?”

• Display a visual or pictorial class timetable.

•  You may want to include pictures of students doing the tasks. 

•  Set up a shadow board outlining what students will need for each lesson or subject.  

• Position clocks in view in the classroom and refer to them with cues, such as “We are half way through reading, when the big hand is on the 10 we will have recess.

•  This can encourage students to stay on task as they can visualize progress and an end point. 

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Triggers may be managed by maintaining classroom structure and consistency as the classroom becomes a more predictable space. Alert children to any changes in the classroom to provide the students time to adjust. 

Classroom Routine  

• Check-in at the start of each week and term: “What do you remember from last week? What stands out? Why? What would you like to be the same this week? What would you like to be different?”  

• Predictable structure. Structure provides a sense of safety, signals to children if they are safe. Avoid overly rigid environments, try finding a balance.  

• Discuss future activities which will take place in the next lesson, tomorrow, next week, etc.  Establish a routine to create consistency and predictability. 

• Do things at the same time and in the same way as often as possible.

• Inform children of any changes – explain how and why things will change.  

• Inform students if the room or other elements of their environment is being changed or moved around.  

• Stability helps children regain a sense of trust and control in their lives. It also reassures them that an adult is in charge and will help to keep them safe.  

• Safety and stability are necessary for children to be able to function from the neocortex. 

Discipline may bring up many difficult and intense emotions for children who have experienced trauma, and these children may react to discipline in a variety of ways. 

In order to set boundaries and maintain expectations, use discipline as a way of showing children what type of behaviors are safe to express while in school, while also giving them the opportunity to try learn new behaviors. 

Consequences Rather Than Punishment  

It is important to follow inappropriate behavior with natural consequences rather than punishments. Example: “Instead of going outside for recess, I want you to stay with me and we will put back the books that were spilled on the floor”. 

 Understand misbehaving as attention-seeking behavior – so give the attention rather than punish it. Once attention is given the child will most likely move on.  If possible, give choices for consequences.  A behavior modification program (ie. stickers) is often not effective for children affected by trauma.