Three-Part School Based

Presentation Series
Molly Luplow MS, LPCS
FernLeaf Community Charter School
 Trauma Informed
Care Part 1:
What we Need to Know at School
What is Trauma?
▪ Intense and overwhelming experience
▪ loss, or threat to physical and/or emotional well-being
▪ difficult to cope
▪ feel powerless
▪ May be a single event, or repeated events over time
▪ Trauma relates to a person's ability to cope with an experience
▪ What might be traumatic for one person may not be traumatic
for another
▪ School discipline example
The Long Lasting Effects of
Childhood Trauma: Mental Health
▪ Developmentally, children are more susceptible to the effects of
traumatic incidents due to a lack of ability to cope.
▪ Trauma in children may lead to anxiety, depression, and
continued trauma throughout their lives.
▪ Traumatized children may experience reduced self confidence
and difficulties controlling intense emotions.
▪ Attention and concentration are negatively impacted by trauma.
The Long Lasting Effects of
Childhood Trauma: The Brain
▪ Most brain development occurs during a child’s early months and
years.
▪ Trauma wires the brain for stress.
▪ The student is in a constant state of worry or expectation that something
bad will happen (fight or flight).
▪ Trauma limits a child’s capacity for learning.
▪ The student has less attention free to concentrate or remember.
▪ Good News!
▪ Neuroplasticity - brain development continues throughout our life.
▪ The damage done by trauma can be repaired.
▪ Positive interactions build neural pathways in the brain.
National Child Traumatic Stress
Network: Facts for Educators
▪ 1 out of every 4 children attending school has
been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect
learning and/or behavior
▪ Trauma can impact school performance (grades,
truancy, suspension, reading levels, etc.).
▪ Trauma can impair learning (attention, memory,
cognition, focus, problem-solving, etc.).
▪ Traumatized children may experience physical &
emotional distress (headaches, stomachaches,
emotion dysregulation, intense reactions to
triggers, impulsive behavior, outbursts, etc.).
What Trauma in a Child may
Look Like ▪Apathy
▪Laziness
▪Unfocused
▪Intentional Misbehavior
▪Explosive
▪Hyperactivity
▪Flat affect
▪Tired
 What can we do at school?
▪ Relationships with Caring Adults are the BEST Trauma Buffers:
▪ Even in an unsafe home or community, where stress is frequent and unpredictable,
a caring adult is the best shield against the effects of trauma.

▪ The quality of a caregiver's interaction with a child is the KEY building block for
healthy emotional, social, and physical development.

For some of our students we are the only positive relationship

in their lives.
 Trauma Informed
Care Part 2:
Compassionate Schools: 6 Guiding
Principles of Being Trauma Informed
Quick Review
▪1 out of 4 children attending school has been exposed to a
traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior.
▪ Trauma can affect every aspect of school success (emotional
instability, lack of focus, relationships, etc.).
▪ Relationships with caring adults are the best trauma
buffers.
The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma Informed

1. Always Empower. Never Disempower.

▪ Students who have experienced trauma often seek to
control their environment to protect themselves.
▪ What you see:
▪ Defensive and Argumentative
▪ Conflicts (even minor ones) are perceived as threats to their safety
▪ Feel out of control/helpless when confronted
▪ Strong reactions are triggered
▪ What you could do...
The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma Informed

1. Always Empower. Never Disempower.

▪ What you could do:
▪ Avoid battles for power.
▪ Do not take it personally
▪ Recognize the power struggle and switch gears
▪ Classroom discipline is necessary, but should be respectful and
consistent.
▪ One helpful strategy:
▪ Connect & Redirect
▪ Connect on an emotional level, then Redirect with logic
The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma Informed

2. Provide Unconditional Positive Regard

▪ Trauma makes it hard for students to TRUST, feel WORTHY,
take INITIATIVE, and form RELATIONSHIPS.
▪ These students need unconditional KINDNESS, EMPATHY,
and COMPASSION.
▪ The UPR relationship is preventative in nature.
▪ We can help students build trust and role model healthy
relationship building.
▪ Example: If a student tells you “I hate you, you’re mean,”
you can respond with UPR “I’m sorry you feel that way. I
care about you.”
▪ This positive, caring relationship will let students know that you
care about them.
The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma Informed

3. Maintain High Expectations

▪ Teachers may be hesitant to set limits
for children who've experienced trauma.
▪ This can send a message that "you are
too damaged to behave", etc.
▪ Set and enforce limits and boundaries in
a consistent way.
▪ Maintain high expectations, but provide
the support these students need to
succeed.
The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma Informed

4. Check Assumptions, Observe, Question

▪ Trauma can affect any student, family or group.
▪ There is no one face of trauma.
▪ Trauma may look differently for each student.
▪ If we stereotype and make assumptions, we may miss seeing the student who
has been affected by trauma.
▪ “I was so surprised that this student had that going on..” or “I had no idea…”
▪ There is so much that we do not know about our students.
▪ Realize when you have made assumptions and talk with the student, ask questions.
▪ Positive Relationships with all students are key:
▪ For each student affected by trauma who we are aware of, there are countless others we
have no idea about.
The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma Informed

5. Be a Relationship Coach
▪ Think of yourself as a Relationship Coach:
▪ Role model healthy, positive relationships for
your students.
▪ How we talk to one another.
▪ How we talk about other people.
▪ What our body language and nonverbal
communication looks like.
▪ You not only show these students what a
healthy relationship looks like, you are creating
a classroom culture that is respectful and
positive.
The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma Informed

6. Provide Guided Opportunities for

Helpful Participation
▪Offer ongoing helping opportunities.
▪Making meaningful contributions to the welfare of others
improves our own feelings of self-worth.
▪Helping others can strengthen resiliency.
▪ Sometimes the most challenging students respond favorably to
being placed in a "helper" role.
▪ Strengthens the bond of trust and reliability between teacher and
student.
▪ Increases a student's level of investment in their classroom, school,
and self.
Compassionate Schools:
6 Guiding Principles Summary
1. Always Empower. Never Disempower.
2. Provide Unconditional Positive Regard
3. Maintain High Expectations
4. Check Assumptions, Observe, Question
5. Be a Relationship Coach
6. Provide Guided Opportunities for Helpful Participation
Trauma Informed
Care Part 3:
Being Trauma Informed:
What Hurts, What Helps
Quick Review
▪The 6 Guiding Principles of Being Trauma
Informed
1. Always empower. Never disempower.
2. Unconditional Positive Regard
3. Maintain high expectations.
4. Check assumptions.
5. Be a Relationship Coach.
6. Give jobs and responsibilities.
What Hurts, What Helps:
Attitudes & Beliefs
▪ What hurts?
▪ Wondering "what is wrong
with him/her?“
▪ Regarding the student's
difficulties as symptoms of a
mental health, substance use,
or medical problem.
▪ Believing there is "intent" to
be "bad" behind problem
behaviors.
▪ What helps?
▪ Wondering "what has he or she
been through?“
▪ Recognizing that symptoms
may be a person's way of coping
with a trauma or an adaptation.
▪ Understanding that behaviors
are "elicited."
What Hurts, What Helps:
Physical Environment
▪ What Hurts? ▪ What helps?
▪ Congested, noisy, & loud ▪ Comfortable, calming & offers
▪ Too hot or too cold, stuffy privacy
▪ Harsh lighting ▪ Air flow

▪ Uncomfortable furniture ▪ Soft lighting

▪ Confusing or punitive signage ▪ Furniture is clean and comfortable

▪ Cold & uninviting colors & ▪ Posters & pictures are pleasant
paintings or posters on the and convey a hopeful & positive
walls message
▪ Pleasant smells - citrus
What Hurts, What Helps:
Relationships & Interactions
▪ What Hurts? ▪ What Helps?
▪ Humiliating ▪ Kindness
▪ Harsh ▪ Patience
▪ Impersonal ▪ Reassurance
▪ Disrespectful ▪ Calm
▪ Critical ▪ Acceptance
▪ Demanding ▪ Listening
▪ Judgmental ▪ Frequent use of words like
please & thank you
 More of What Helps:
Strategies for Forming Supportive Relationships
& Being Positive
▪ Use Positive Behavior Specific Praise
▪ “I like it when you _____ .”
▪ “I love the way you _____.”
▪ “It is helpful when you _____.”
▪ Use Cause and Effect Language
▪ “I need you to ____ because ____ and here is another option ___.”
▪ “I notice when you _____ other people _____.”
▪ Use objective language when problematic situations arise SMILE, HAVE FUN, and BE
▪ “Can you think of a different way to say that?” CONSISTENT,
▪ “How can this situation be fixed?” PREDICTABLE, and SAFE
▪ “Would you like to try that again?”
 Trauma Informed Summary
▪ With 1 in every 4 students in school being exposed to traumatic
experiences recognizing and addressing this issue must become a focus in
our educational system.
▪ Trauma has the potential to affect all students and implementing a trauma
informed approach has the potential for school-wide positive effects,
including student success.
▪ Good News! Please remember:
▪ Brain development continues throughout our life, the damage done by trauma can be
repaired (Neuroplasticity).
▪ Relationships with Caring Adults are the BEST Trauma Buffers.
▪ At school, we have the opportunity to help a child affected by trauma every single
day.
 Practical Strategies
for Classrooms

What can be done at your school to support

students who have experienced trauma?
 At the Classroom Level Teachers can…
develop trauma informed relationships.
❑ Focus on supportive, positive relationships.
❑ Empower students by offering choices and praising positive
choices.
❑ Check-in with students.
❑ Identify a mentor for a student.
❑ Remember that not all children have “traditional families.”
❑ Be sensitive to the possibility that a student's’ parent or caregiver
may also be trauma survivors.
At the Classroom Level Teachers can…
create a trauma informed environment.
❑ Flexible Seating
❑ Self-Regulation Station
❑ Low/Soft Lighting
❑ Calming Music & Pleasant Smells
❑ Low Temperature & Air Flow
❑ Uncluttered
❑ Furniture is clean and
comfortable
❑ Posters & pictures are pleasant and
convey hopeful & positive messages
❑ Frequent opportunities for movement
❑ Brain Breaks/Movement
opportunities
❑ Time Outside
❑ Spaces for movement in the classroom
❑ Walking/pacing lines
❑ Movement space
 At the Classroom Level Teachers can…
create a trauma informed daily routine.
❑ Clear visual daily routine
schedules
❑ Easy to understand
Classroom & School
Calendars
❑ Process for presenting
changes in daily routine
❑ Checklists for daily activities
❑ Visuals for procedures
 Please sign up for a copy of this
presentation to share with the staff at
your school.

molly.luplow@fernleafccs.org

Acknowledgements & Resources

▪ National Child Traumatic Stress Network – Learning Center:
http://learn.nctsn.org/
▪ Compassionate Schools:
http://www.k12.wa.us/CompassionateSchools/Resources.aspx
▪ Education Law Center - Unlocking the door to Learning: Trauma Informed
Classrooms & Transformational Schools