Teaching the Professionals of tomorrow

Provide a Safe and Supportive Environment (Be the caring adult)

• Maintain usual routines, and warn children if you will be doing something out of the ordinary.
• Provide a safe place to talk so the child knows it’s okay to talk about what happened
• Be aware of other children’s reactions to the child and the information they share. Protect the traumatized child from peers’ curiosity and protect classmates from the details of a child’s trauma.

Understand Behavioral Challenges

• Give children choices; feeling more in control can help children feel safe.
• Set clear, firm limits for inappropriate behavior and develop logical, rather than punitive, consequences.
• Recognize that behavioral problems, even the most disruptive, may be transient and driven by trauma-related anxiety.
• Anticipate difficult times and provide additional support. Many situations may be reminders. If you can identify reminders, you can help prepare the child for the situation.
• Understand that children cope by re-enacting trauma through play or through their interactions with others. Resist their efforts to draw you into a negative repetition of the trauma.

Modify Teaching Strategies. You might:

• Shorten assignments
• Allow additional time to complete assignments
• Give permission to leave class to go to a designated adult (such as a counselor or school nurse) if feelings become overwhelming.
• Provide additional support for organizing and remembering assignments

What NOT to do…

• Press for more information or question “What happened?”
• Draw attention to the student or treat them differently

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, NCTSN.org