17/8
3:10 - 4:10
Tracey Gray. Behaviour always has a function,
there’s always a reason for it.
Types of behaviour are: Reactionary, learnt, or medical. Responses are
often fight, flight, or freeze. Understanding triggers – some students come to
school with so much baggage, could be certain topics, could be other kids, something
yet to happen, or it could be you. ACE - Adverse Childhood Experiences
The impact of Trauma can affect all domains of development. There can be damage done to a part of the brain called Corpus Callosum and this can not be reversed - similar to fetal alcohol.
Amygdala is the part of the brain where fight, flight, or freeze responses occur.
There is sequential neurodevelopmental stages: By 3-6 years most learned behaviours are set. It is extremely difficult to re-learn behaviours.
Effects on learning from Trauma is that students are in constant survival mode - they are not able to focus to the best of their ability. There behaviour tends to be fixed, repetitive, and likely to be focused on self-soothing. They tend to find it hard to make sense.
Many kids have experienced trauma or negative emotions from adults and find it hard to trust adults - regardless of their position.
Reliving, reactions, and responses - minor things can trigger kids and they can be re-traumatised by exclusionary discipline and can often be made to feel like it's their fault.
Relationships: children who have experienced trauma can find it hard to engage with others; relationships and social exchanges are stressful and scary; feelings need to be acknowledged and validated by adults. Build self esteem.
What can we do:
Become knowledgeable about the ways childhood trauma affects kids
Support children's efforts to acquire self-awareness and self monitoring skills
Integrate self-soothing activities
Collaboration with other students who can self-regulate
Monitor the length and complexity of tasks
Provide time for them, to regain their composure
Use classroom activities to foster positive relationships and social support among peers.
Self regulation is the ability to tolerate sensations, situations, and distress and form appropriate responses; demonstrate and model proper behaviours; provide hints and cues by verbally and/or physically pointing out important aspects of an academic or physical activity; monitor to determine when adult support can be withdrawn so they can learn to be independent in their responses; play games where they need to follow instructions or dance where they need to move to the rhythm.
ODD - Oppositional Defiance Disorder - often defiant, loses temper, deliberately annoys people, angry or resentful, often touchy or easily annoyed by others, spiteful or vindictive, blames others for their mistakes or behaviours. This is extremely hard to diagnose.
These children are really relationship based, like consistency, perception of control is whack, can only be diagnosed with another condition (ASD, ADHD, etc.)
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
FASD is linked to brain injury and each person is effected in a unique way. This is a brain based disability expressed through behaviour. It is permanent.
Common behaviour traits - confabulating; obsessive; inability to delay gratification; inability to learn from experience; emotional disregulation; amygdala heightened; vulnerable to addictions.
Strategies: Anticipate behaviours; deescalate when they are in a heightened state; don't reason; offer support not consequences; distract, divert, re-direct; routines and structure are important; change the environment; use visuals; one step instructions; every day is a new day.
A sheet of strategies will be by the library photocopier for us to take copies of.
