Trauma informed practice

What is trauma?

Trauma is an emotional or physiological response to a distressing event or series of events that are out of our control. Everyone experiences trauma in different ways; what one person experiences as trauma may not affect another. 

Trauma and school distress: 

Traumatic experiences can be cumulative; therefore, children who have more than one traumatic event, for example, serious illness, family abuse, death of a family member or a natural disaster, may be more vulnerable. Trauma in young children can have lasting effects on brain development. The infant's brain develops from the bottom up:

- The brainstem, which controls our automatic responses such as breathing

- The limbic area, which controls our emotions and survival instincts 

-  The cortex, which controls our ability to think and problem-solve

For the brain to work effectively, connections need to be made from the bottom up and from left to right. When trauma is experienced at an early age, the lower parts of the brain responsible for survival are repeatedly activated. This can reduce the connections made between other parts of the brain. The lower part of the brain becomes sensitised, and stress responses are more easily triggered even when there is no threat.  

Behaviours that may be seen are: 

• Stress response: fight, flight, freeze

• Hypervigilance

• Separation anxiety, worry that someone at home will be hurt if they go to school

• Somatic complaints - sore stomach, headaches etc.

• Difficulty interacting with peers

• Trouble concentrating

• Finding schoolwork difficult

• Low mood, self-doubt and withdrawal