Trauma Safe Schools - Trauma safe education a neurocognitive approach to teaching and curriculum development.changaris

Trauma Safe Education: A neurocognitive approach to
teaching and curriculum development
Michael Changaris, Psy.D.

Abstract
In 2011 there were 3.4 million reports of child abuse made to child protective services.
Child abuse as Bessel Van Der Kolk said a ‘hidden epidemic. While not all children
exposed to trauma develop a full diagnosis of PTSD however many do. Symptoms of
PTSD effect both brain development and neurocognitive functioning. These disruptions
in development can lead to poor educational functioning, disruptive behavior and for
some students lead to dropping out entirely. Understanding the neurocognitive effects of
PTSD can allow educators to develop curriculum and classroom management techniques
that support students to learn more effectively. This paper explores factors that lead to the
development of theory of mind, emotional regulation, and attention. The author considers
both cognitive and affective coping strategies to manage symptoms of trauma and
principles for incorporating them into trauma sensitive education.

Trauma Safe Education: A neurocognitive approach to teaching and
curriculum development.
Millions of children every year experience traumatic events. While many of these
children are able to bounce back with minimal impact to their lives, there are others who
will display various symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma for
some children impacts the ability to learn, inhibits formation of social rapport with peers,
and interferes with their relationship to authority figures. Data indicate that these changes
also affect the trajectory of neurological development and the development of
neurocognitive skills (De Bellis, Hooper, Spratt, & Woolley, 2009). Since, like education
the brain develops by building on previous abilities, if the trajectory of neurocognitive
development is altered in childhood it can create profound effects later in life (Daniels
Frewen McKinnon & Lanius, year). In fact while children diagnosed with PTSD do not
display shrinkage in their hippocampus adults who experienced childhood trauma do
(Woon, & Hedges, 2008).
Symptoms of trauma affect a student’s ability to function effectively in education
(Theodre & Massat, 2005). However, understanding factors that increase resilience and
age-appropriate neurocognitive developmental milestones can facilitate the development
of educational paradigms effective for children who suffer from exposure to traumatic
events. Exploring what we know about age appropriate development of neurocognitive
domains, social skills and how PTSD can affect growth could facilitate the development
of curriculum, classroom interventions and educational policy recommendations.

Neurotypical development.
Neurotypical development is the process by which most brains under relatively normal
conditions develop. Since the brain is a learning context that builds its ability in
interaction with the environment there can be brains with vastly different developmental
paths.
While a genetic factors determine large amount of brain development , other factors
critical factors include experiential process. There are key periods where the brain is
primed for certain structural developments. Most theorists assume that the driver for the
developmental shifts is combination biological and environmental events. Twin studies
have found that the frontal lobe (the area of the brain used predominately for higher
cognition), basal ganglia (motor movement, emotional set point), and the cerebellum
(movement other vital processes) are the most plastic structures. These structures are
also those most influenced by experiences (Giedd, et. al. 1999).
Neilson et. al. (2005) described the social processing network model. This model divides
the processing of emotions into three major systems or what they called nodes. These are
the detection node (intraparietal sulcus, superior temporal sulcus, fusiform gyrus,
temporal and occipital regions), the affective node (amygdala, ventral striatum,
hypothalamus and orbitofrontal cortex) and the cognitive regulatory node (pre-frontal
cortex). These systems develop across childhood and are directly and indirectly impacted
by exposure to a traumatic event (Blakemore, 2008).
Young Children (0-5)
Ages 0 to 5 are important years in brain development. Brain derived neurotrophic factor
(BDNF) is highly elevated in these years (Roth, Lubin, Funk, & Sweatt, D2009). BDNF

is a key neurochemical in modulating the speed of brain development and as such the
expression of change that defines brain plasticity. During this time the brain can double
in size or shrink by half over the course of one year. The process of myelination, which is
the wrapping of nerve cells, contributes the largest amount of brain growth during this
period. Myelination is correlated with increased cognitive skills. From ages 0 to 6 the
frontal lobe experiences a rapid rate of growth--at a pace (Giedd, et. al. 1999). Key brain
structures responsible for hand eye coordination reaches maturity by age four. Dopamine
expression (a neurochemical related to learning, brain plasticity, pleasure and
motivational behavior) is important in the development of the prefrontal cortex (Roberts,
Robbins, & Weiskrantz, 1998). Dopamine plays a role in the maintenance of attention. In
young children there is an interaction between parenting style and genetics effecting
dopamine expression (Sheese, Voelker, Rothbart & Posner, 2007).
School Age Brain Development (6-12)
The total brain size changes in volume significantly over the course of childhood (Giedd,
et. al. 1999). There are several periods of intense growth in the brain followed by a period
of pruning back the connections to the most parsimonious connections needed. There is a
parabolic relationship between gray matter and development while white matter follows a
linear development completing in the 24th year. The total brain volume peeks at the ages
of 10.5 for girls and 14.5 for boys (Lenroot, & Giedd, 2006). The years from six to 12 are
key years of development in the gray matter (cell bodies). After the age of 14 for most
areas of grey matter there is a pruning or reducing of connections. Pruning later in life is
associated with academic success. It maybe an experience rich context in these years
supports a later pruning period there by academic success. Not all brain regions are

developing at the same time. Some areas are blooming (creating rich webs of
connections) when other areas are pruning (trimming back connections to the most
useful). This implies that there are time periods that are important for development of
neurocognitive skills and that if these time periods are disrupted there can be alterations
in the developmental pathway of brain tissue.
Along with different areas of the brain developing at different times there are gender
effects in brain development (Lenroot, & Giedd, 2006). Girls tend to peek in their
development of any given area 1 – 2 years earlier then boys. There is also a different
pattern in the development of the emotional regulation system for boys and girls. For
boys in the Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal cortex there is a bilateral development in childhood,
right dominance in adolescents, and bilateral presentation in adults. This is not seen in
girls. For both girls and boys there is a similar pattern of bilateral, right dominated and
bilateral development in the amygdale.
Adolescent Brain Development (13-24).
Adolescence is a time of large-scale changes in the neurochemistry. Dopamine
expression, associated with impulsiveness, desire, addiction, and sexual behaviors, is
dramatically increased in teens (Casey, Jones, & Hare, 2008). Change in dopamine
function likely contributes to some of the typical adolescent impulsive behaviors
(Wahlstrom, Collins, White, & Luciana, 2010). Adolescents have decreases in serotonin
expression which is associated with being satiated, feeling content and enjoyment of the
here and now (Spear, 2000). The combination of reduced ability to be satiated
(serotonin) and elevated appetitive behaviors (dopamine) makes them at high risk for

boredom and sacrificing long-term safety for excitement.
In adolescence the amygdale (a driver of emotional intensity) matures quicker then the
frontal cortex (which regulates and contextualizes emotional reactions) (Lenroot, &
Giedd, 2006). An implication of this finding is that the teen has a high amount of
emotional impulse with minimal ability to calm it down. The prefrontal cortex is not fully
developed until age 24. This implies the emotional limbic system may drive the
development of the frontal lobes as the adolescent learns the capacity to regulate
emotions.
Emotional Processing
In childhood there are increases in the ability to manage and regulate emotions. Children
ages 2 – 6 display a rapid increase in emotional vocabulary (Underwood, M. K. & Rosen,
2011). They display increased ability to correctly label emotions in themselves and
others. Children at this age can discuss past emotions and anticipate emotions in the
future. Children in this age group also often use emotions in pretend play. Children in the
four to five age group display increased ability to reflect verbally on emotions. This is the
time when most children begin to understand that different people can react with different
emotions to the same event. Children in this age group also begin to understand the
display rules for emotions. This coincides with the increased ability to socially regulate
emotions.
Children ages six to twelve display an increased ability to understand complex emotions
requiring the integration of primary emotions with social cognition and perspective
taking (Underwood & Rosen, 2011). There is also an increased ability to suppress

emotions that are not socially acceptable. It is at this time that children begin to using
self-initiated strategies for regulating emotions. In the adolescent years the limbic
structures and the detection structures are functioning at or near adult levels but the
cognitive control system continues to develop (Blakemore, 2008). The gap between
cognitive control and emotional responses maybe involved in the large fluctuations in
adolescents reasoning abilities.
Parenting styles effect emotional development (Gottman, 2011). There is a spectrum of
parenting styles from emotional coaching to emotional dismissing. An emotional
coaching parent supports the child’s ability to tolerate their emotions. Children with
emotionally coaching parents are better at self-soothing, tolerating negative feelings, are
more effective at focusing their attention and have fewer behavioral problems then
children with emotionally dismissing parents. Overall children with parents who are
emotionally coaching have better classroom behavior. Teachers also fall on the spectrum
between emotionally coaching or dismissive styles.
Some of the behaviors that emotional coaching parents display are: monitoring their
children’s emotions, they view negative emotions an opportunity for teaching, assists
children in labeling emotions and coaches children on how to effectively handle emotions
(Gottman, 2011). Emotional Dismissing styles on the other hand: deny and ignore
emotions and view their job as changing negative emotions.
Social Skills and Theory of Mind (ToM)
Theory of mind is the understanding of ones own mental states and attribute unique
mental states to others (Lewis, 1994). ToM is a critical neurocognitive development for

effective social relationships. There are two major classes of factors that lead to
development of ToM: internal factors and situational factors. Internal factors increasing
the development of ToM are: language abilities and executive functions. Understanding
language gives the child more ability to test a hypothesis they are making about another’s
experience (Schatz, 1994). Executive functions are the cognitive abilities to think about
emotions. A child needs to be able to think about their thinking and feelings in order to
effectively understand their own world and the inner life of another.
Situational factors that researchers find contribute increasing the development of ToM
are: having siblings; participating in pretend play; reading storybooks with adults; talking
about experiences with peers and adults; care providers who talk about thoughts, wishes,
and feelings; adults who provide reasons when correcting a child’s behavior (Jenkins,
Astington, 1996: Hughes, et. al. 2005).
Theory of mind (ToM) relates to the understanding that other humans have there own
mental states, feelings, motivations and beliefs. It also has a profoundly positive effect on
a child’s ability to function well. Children with high ToM: are better communicators, can
resolve conflicts with peers more effectively, are rated by teachers as more socially
skilled, are more popular, happier in school and their schoolwork is often more advanced.
There are pitfalls that can accompany high ToM children (Bosse, Memon, Treur, 2007).
A list of some of the most common pitfalls are: Being manipulative, teasing and bully
children more effectively, effective lying, and gaining social control thus enabling the
child to avoid learning from social mistakes.
Biopsychosocial Impacts of PTSD on Development

Experiencing a single overwhelming life event can alter the course of development.
Experiencing ongoing repetitive traumatic events has profound impacts on multiple
aspects of a child’s life (van der Kolk, 2006). The brain and mind co-develop in
relationship with the environment. If any of these factors are vastly different then the
course of development is profoundly different. Developing PTSD leads to changes in
psychological, biological, social and neurocognitive functions.
The three key domains of symptoms of PTSD are:
1. Re-experiencing: Upsetting thoughts, flash-bulb memories, nightmares, emotional
reactions, and increased physiological stress about the event or reminders of the
event.
2. Hyperarousal: a state of increased psychological and physiological arousal
including anxiety, startle responses, insomnia, fatigue, and increased aggression.
3. Avoidance and Numbing: Loss of interest in life and pleasure; Feelings of
“deadness” or “numbness” and distance from relationships; Difficulty having
positive feelings; avoidance of stressful, challenging, or social situations;
Avoidance of triggers associated with the event.
Young Children Neurocognitive Impacts
It is important to note that young children (0 to 5) display more intense symptoms of

trauma, have a greater chance of developing symptoms of trauma more incidences of
hyperactivity and depression after traumatic events (Coates, & Gaensbauer, 2009; Cook-
Cottone, 2004). Young children often do not display symptoms of numbing. They do
display what one researcher called symptoms of “new fears and aggressions.” Young
children are often misdiagnosed as oppositional defiant disorder and separation anxiety
disorder.
Young children tend to display these symptoms: re-enactment play (playing in a manor
that resembles the trauma), toy destruction, aggression towards peers, defiance toward
parents and adults (living with domestic violence is related to more aggressive and
acting- out behavior, possibly due to modeling), difficulty sleeping, night-terrors, reduced
attention span, relationally, survivors of interpersonal trauma suffer from a loss of trust
and a sense of betrayal.
The developing brain is highly vulnerable to the effects of PTSD. Some of these effects
are observable in the child some only become clear as the child matures. Subsequent to a
trauma young children display changes in the catecholamine’s (e.g. dopamine,
epinephrine and norepinephrine) (Pervanidou, 2008). Studies also indicated that there is
brainstem dysregulation leading to changes in impulsivity, emotion regulation, sleep
problems and cardiovascular dysregulation (Perry, 1994). The main structures vulnerable
in this age group are noted to be prefrontal cortex (planning, behavioral modulation,
problem solving and emotional regulation), hippocampus (learning and long-term
memory acquisition), and corpus callous (integration between brain hemispheres) (Giedd,
et. al. 1999).

Neglect leads to the development of multiple neurocognitive impacts. One study indicates
that children with high amounts of neglect had lower IQ (Glaser, 2000). The neglected
children also had difficulty with reading, math, attention, memory tasks, learning and
planning, problem solving and processing speed. The combination of PTSD and neglect
had a stronger deleterious effect on functioning then either PTSD or neglect alone. This
study indicated a negative correlation between academic achievement and PTSD
symptom severity.
School Age Neurocognitive Impacts
Many children who have been traumatized have moderate to extreme difficulty with
attention (Beers & De Bellis, 2002). Attention is a highly complex concept.
Fundamentally attention is the ability to focus one’s mind on single task. Attention
increases factors associated with synaptic plasticity (Manna, et. al. 2010).
Neurochemicaly dopamine enhances signal, increases rate of plastic changes, and
increases on task behavior (Braver, & Cohen, 2000; Berridge & Robinson, 1998).
Norepinephren increases concentration by dampening extraneous noise. Changes in
norepinephren are seen when children are in high levels of stress such as those seen in
children with symptoms of trauma (Pervanidou, 2008).
Alertness is a key domain of attention. Alertness and arousal can be changed by PTSD in
two ways. Hyperarousal (fight/flight stress) effects level of alertness. When a child is
hyperaroused they appear to bounce off the walls, have a heightened startle response,
increased aggression, and it is hard to maintain focus on a single task. Dissociation or
hypoarousal (freeze response) has a large impact on a child’s ability to learn. When a

child becomes dissociated their mind can feel foggy, unfocused and their ability to take in
new information is impaired.
Adolescents Neurocognitive Impacts.
Teens have significant neurocognitive impacts from symptoms of PTSD. The teen’s
executive functioning is at adult levels at times, however their abilities fluctuate more
then adults (Blakemore, 2008). Teens are working to develop advanced reasoning skills,
abstract thinking skills, and the ability to think about thinking in a process known as
meta-cognition. Elevated fight-flight activation and elevated freeze response reduce
executive functioning in adults (Newcomer, et. al. 1999).
Teens are capable of very complex and accurate judgments but may lack the cognitive
control to perform appropriate actions (Blakemore, 2008). Adolescents are influenced by
peers. Social skills and social awareness are impaired in teens with symptoms of PTSD.
This can lead to significant problems even for teens who had excellent social skills prior
to the trauma. Attention and concentration develops dramatically in teen years (Monk, et.
al. 2003). Teens with symptoms of trauma display difficulties with attention and
concentration, increased irritability, emotional outbursts, poor affect regulation &
cognitive emotional integration, and poor learning and memory consolidation.
Adolescents have changes in sleep patterns (Wolfson, & Carskadon, 1998). Adolescents
prefer later bedtimes and rise-times making them more likely to be sleep deprived. If a
teen is exposed to a traumatic event they can have profound alterations in their sleep
cycle (Perry, 1994). Sleep also plays a large role in mood regulation and learning. The
disruption in sleep due to symptoms of traumatic stress can have wide ranging impacts

social, emotional and academic functioning (Wolfson, & Carskadon, 1998).
Curriculum Development.
In schools, children learn social and emotional skills through curriculum, interaction with
teachers and peers and by completing assignments (Greenberg, Kushe, & Riggs, 2004).
However, these skills are not typically taught in a direct or methodical manor. A child
learning to complete math problems is learning attention, emotional regulation skills and
even at times moral development (not looking at the child’s page next to them).
Neurocognitive skills are like any other aspect of education. The skills build on each
other and develop can be facilitated through use of a loosely sequenced pattern. No one
would expect a second grader to jump from basic math to trigonometry but often the
social emotional skills are not sequenced in how they are presented to children.
Symptoms of PTSD make this difficulty even more profound. Using some basic
principles it maybe possible to create effective and developmentally sequenced
curriculum that fosters social and emotional skills along with mitigating the impact of
PTSD on learning. Examining some of these principles may elucidate this.
The first principle proposed is that development has its own pace and requires helping the
child who you are working with to achieve their next best developmental marker through
providing the right scaffolding for the right skill. If a child is struggling in math. A
teacher might notice that it is his frustration tolerance that is low (e.g. when the child gets
a problem wrong there is an explosion). The teacher can then add to their math lessons
that incrementally increase frustration tolerance. The direct focus on where the disruption
is makes the intervention more effective (Amsel, 1994).

The next principle is that development of a skill requires that the intervention works at
edges of the child’s zone of proximal development (Kozulin, Gindis, Ageyev, & Miller,
2003). Like learning math or English, learning neurocognitive skills requires identifying
current abilities and providing lessons that push the edge of the child’s current abilities.
Okay so explain what this looks like. How is the teacher to know what this zone is and
then how to use it…I’d like some explanation of what this looks like in practice.
Using the challenge resolution cycle is the next principle. The challenge resolution cycle
occurs when the attempts at learning a new skill creates stress (or challenge) and as the
stress builds, the child increases in their ability to complete the task. This leads to a
reduction of the stress as the success gives the child a small burst of positive emotions.
This process helps a student learn that they can be successful in the learning process. For
many children with PTSD this ability is disrupted. The child with PTSD has to contend
with a heightened stress response at times making their minds race or become foggy,
blank and have difficulty thinking.
The next principal is that working within optimal arousal zone creates the most effective
learning (Eysenck, 1976). The optimal zone of arousal represents a balance between the
intensity of fight-flight arousal and the rest response. If there is too little arousal a child
will be board or disconnected. If there is too much the child is overwhelmed, stressed,
panicked or dissociated. When a student is past their optimal level of arousal learning is
difficult and it is more likely that the student will act-out (Bauer, Quas & Boyce, 2002).
Children with symptoms of PTSD have small tolerance for arousal. It is possible to
identify signs of hyperarousal and to have a repertoire of skills to reduce arousal levels.

The next principal is teaching to the arousal state to students. The whole class often also
has it’s own zone of optimal arousal. A teacher can learn to monitor this cycle and adjust
educational styles and activities accordingly, at times nudging the class to a higher level
of arousal and at others reducing the arousal in the class. It is important that the style of
teaching an educator uses helps the class oscillate around optimal arousal. It is impossible
to stay in a perfectly optimal zone so allowing the change is important. The teacher can
function like a thermostat helping the class regulate their arousal levels.
The next principal is to stabilize attention through teaching. Another key disruption in
individuals with PTSD is to attention and concentration. These disruptions can make it
difficult to learn. Children who suffered traumatic events have increased levels of
negative thoughts. These negative thoughts can be highly discouraging and quite
distracting. Dopamine has been associated with key aspects of maintaining attention. It
helps the child sustain attention on a task. There are many interventions that can increase
dopamine for students (Izuma, Saito, Sadato, 2008). These fall into two classes of
interventions. The first is interventions that make the information important to the child
(salience). The second is interventions that increase pleasure or positive emotions
(rewards).
Teaching of emotional management and neurocognitive skills within curriculum.
Individuals with PTSD have significant difficulty with emotional management. These
difficulties can have profound effects such as acting out, talking back, difficulty
concentrating, drug addiction, pregnancy and dropping out. Increased emotional
management and higher levels of school attachment appear to be mitigating factors for

these outcomes. Individuals with PTSD have difficulty forming safe attachments with
authority figures. Teaching emotional management skills within curriculum could reduce
impulsivity, increase learning and positive relationships with educators and school
attachment.
The core domains of teaching emotional regulation skills are: cognitive skills or thought
based skills and emotion based skills focused on tolerating or changing the physical
response to emotions (Bush, Luu & Posner, 2000).
As cognitive behavioral therapy notes changing cognitive interpretations change
emotional reactions (Samoilov, & Goldfried, 2000). Thought based skills are skills,
which use cognitive control mechanisms to reduce, change or reinterpreted emotions or
events. There are three basic groups of thought skills that can be applied to the
educational setting. These are: a. self coaching (skills that use thinking to help tolerate
difficult emotions e.g. I have made it through difficult things before, I can make it
through this), b. next step thinking (thinking that helps a student stay on task and brakes
the task into manageable chunks e.g. now that I finished adding the first number, I carry
it over), and c. solution thinking (taking a positive approach to problem solving, e.g. what
are ways that I could find out how to spell the word orange?).
The next type of thought-based skills is based on recognizing and challenging thought
distortions. These skills are: recognizing thought distortions when they happen (e.g.
recognizing all or nothing thinking like “I never get this one right.”), challenging
distorted thinking. Educators can help students make more accurate self-statements. A
comment like I don’t know anything can be met with a series of Socratic questions that

help the child identify the distortion of magnification and develop a more accurate belief
like, “I have had problems with spelling, I am good at math, if I work hard I can do well
at spelling.” Lastly the skill of realistic thinking helps a student to learn accurate reality
based self-appraisal that is neither overly disparaging nor over blown.
The third type of thought based cognitive skill set is self-reflection and metallization
skills. These include: Reflective dialogs that help a student connect their inner experience
with events and outcomes. Empathy building dialogs where a student reflects on
another’s experience of an event and self-monitoring success. Student’s learn to monitor
the outcomes of their actions and focus on what made the attempt at a skill or learning
successful. Younger children can draw pictures or tell a story that is written down by an
adult.
Emotion based skills are skills that are aimed at developing the limbic node or the
emotional system (Gross, 1998; Neilson ET. al. 2005). These skills brake down in to
three categories as well: observing emotions, tolerating emotions, and soothing emotions.
Observing emotions allows the child to recognize the bodily reaction to the emotion
(Linehan, 1993). This skill helps build distress tolerance. For children with trauma the
bodily experience of emotions is often overwhelming so developing mastery experiences
with recognizing the emotion can be very helpful.
Tolerating emotions brakes down into four basic skills. These are: Distress Tolerance,
Acceptance Skills, Self-Soothing of Emotions, Mindfulness of Emotions. Distress
tolerance or the ability to tolerate difficult emotions. Improving the moment skills
support an individual to find constructive things to do with difficult feelings until they

pass (Linehan, 1993). Taking the long-term view of emotions is a skill that helps children
to learn that emotions change if they just wait. It is important for a child to learn the to
watch emotions as they rise up become intense and pass away. This is difficult for many
students with symptoms of PTSD. Radical acceptance is a skill that helps children learn
to accept difficulties when they occur (Linehan, 1993). This skill is just plainly accepting
a difficult situation when one cannot change the situation.
The third series of skills are the skills aimed at soothing emotions. These are skills that
help a student shift from a stress state to a rest state. The short hand for these skills are
anything that helps the student feel strong, effective, pleasure or hopeful shifts the student
from a fight or flight reaction to a rest reaction. A brief list of these skills is below:
1. Resourcing: Having the child remember or notice a positive experience. Then
asking the child to attend to the bodily experience of positive emotion (Levine, &
Mate, 2010).
2. Orienting: Look around the physical space and notice what the child sees (Levine,
& Mate, 2010).
3. Soothing in the five senses: Soothing in the five senses is a quick pneumonic for
finding a way to create relaxation response. The teacher can help students go
through finding things that make them feel good using their five senses (Linehan,
1993).
4. Vocal tone: When an individual is stressed it can be heard in the voice. The voice
becomes more monotone it looses it musicality (prosody). If a teacher uses a calm
voice with musical inflection it evokes a relaxation response.

5. Body posture: Body posture as an immediate impact on conflict and sets the tone
of communication. Some children with symptoms of PTSD have triggers for a
stress reaction related to body postures and positions.
6. Co-regulation: In social animals, relationships can be significant triggers for
stress. Social regulation techniques combine validation, empathy, attunement and
support a since of social safety. Co-regulation is the interactive regulation of
emotion between people (Efklides, 2008).
There are four steps to prepare for an effective intervention and a process for
implementing the interventions. Step one educators identifies specific neurocognitive
skill to develop. Step two the educator identifies types of experiences that develop skill.
Step three educators identify type of trauma reaction that is impacting development: A.
Re-experiencing. (Intrusive thinking and images, triggers), B. avoidance numbing.
(Dissociation), physiological symptoms. (Fight flight and learning, freeze and learning,
startle and behavioral. correction. Cool down time to regulation, positive emotions
“undoing effect”). The forth step is to identify how to provide scaffolding for the
development of the next skill level of maturity in skill development.
Managing fight-flight activation in the classroom.
For students with symptoms of PTSD there are multiple factors that can interrupt their
ability to learn. Working with setting the initial conditions can help the student be in a
mental state that allows for learning. The first step is to regulate your own reactions to the
event so that your emotional reaction is not a trigger for the child’s behavior. The second
step help the student regulate their emotional state using a soothing intervention. After

the student shifts from stress to rest, they are more able to learn. This is when to provide
the skill or education. After the skill is provided foster another soothing event. Then
allow the child to reflect on success in learning.
Classroom Management.
Classroom management is also profoundly effected by symptoms of PTSD. Children can
act-out, be quick to react, have strong emotional reactions to body posture, and feedback
about behavior. It is important for students to be able to learn from their mistakes and for
teachers to provide behavioral corrections.
Children’s and teens ability to use cognitive control (a.k.a. knowing better) is not fully
developed. There is a limited campsite to tolerate negative emotional experiences.
Behavioral correction and reflection on mistakes requires effective cognitive control.
Educators can provide scaffolding for a students cognitive control system by reducing the
strain on the system through support for emotional regulation.
There are several ways to do this. The first is to set the initial conditions by evoking a
relaxation response or reassuring the student the stability of the relationship. Helping the
student move from overwhelm to a resting state allows the cognitive control system to
function more effectively by reducing the loading on the system.
Use positive emotions to support mastery and distress tolerance (Positive emotions
reduce stress, increase how quickly a student can reduce hyper arousal and control their
behavior.) Fredrickson et. al. (2000) described the undoing effect of positive emotions.
Positive emotions can undo the impact of negative emotions.

The Attitude proposed by Daniel Hughes (2000) is an effective tool for creating the
foundation for effective trauma interventions. The attitude has these five features remain
calm (stay calm ware the poker face), firm (stick to the rules while remaining kind and
supportive), accepting (accept the child fully not the actions), empathic (Your empathy
helps the child grow empathy for others), and playful and curious (Enjoyment is key for a
child with trauma. Curiosity is the hallmark of safety).
The last and most important aspect is that relationship are built by repairing after a
rupture. The rupture creates negative emotions (e.g. giving feedback about work) the
repair reaffirms that the rupture did not destroy the relationship. For individuals with
PTSD often there are significant difficulties feeling safe in relationships. Following a
rupture with a repair can strengthen their ability to tolerate a range of emotions and
effectively tolerate feedback.

References
Amsel, A. (1994). Frustration Theory: An Analysis of Dispositional Learning and Memory. New
York, NY: Cambridge Press.
Bauer, A.M., Quas, J.A., Boyce, W.T. (2002). Associations between physiological reactivity and
children's behavior: advantages of a multisystem approach. J Dev Behav Pediatr,
23(2):102-13. PMID: 11943973.
Beers, S. R. & De Bellis, M. D. (2002). Neuropsychological Function in Children With
Maltreatment-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Am J Psychiatry 2002;159:483-
486. 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.3.483
Berridge, K. C., & Robinson, T. E. (1998). What is the role of dopamine in reward: hedonic
impact, reward learning, or incentive salience? Brain Research Reviews, 28(3)309-369
ISSN 0165-0173, 10.1016/S0165-0173(98)00019-8.

Blakemore, S. J. (2008). The social brain in adolescence. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9,
267-277. doi:10.1038/nrn2353
Braver, T.S. & Cohen, J.D. (2000). On the control of control: The role of dopamine in regulating
prefrontal function and working memory. MIT Press. Vol. XVIII, Pages: 713-737.
Bosse, T., Memon Z. A., Treur, J. (2007). A two-level BDI-agent model for theory of mind and
its use in social manipulation. In AISB 2007 Workshop on Mindful Environments. DOI:
10.1.1.76.5904
Bruce, D. P. (1994). Neurobiological sequelae of childhood trauma: PTSD in children. Murburg,
M. Michele (Ed), Catecholamine function in posttraumatic stress disorder: Emerging
concepts. Progress in psychiatry, No. 42. (pp. 233-255). Washington, DC, US: American
Psychiatric Association.
Bush, G., Luu, P., Posner, M.I. (2000). Cognitive and emotional influences in anterior cingulate
cortex. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(6)215-222. ISSN 1364-6613, 10.1016/S1364-
6613(00)01483-2.
Casey, B.J., Jones, R. M. and Hare, T. A. (2008), The Adolescent Brain. Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences, 1124:111–126. doi: 10.1196/annals.1440.010.
Cloitre, M., Stolbach, B. C., Herman, J. L., Kolk, B. v. d., Pynoos, R., Wang, J. and Petkova, E.
(2009), A developmental approach to complex PTSD: Childhood and adult cumulative
trauma as predictors of symptom complexity. J. Traum. Stress, 22: 399–408.
doi: 10.1002/jts.20444
Coates, S. & Gaensbauer, T. J. (2009). Event Trauma in Early Childhood: Symptoms,
Assessment, Intervention. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America,
18(3)611-626. DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2009.03.005)

Cook-Cottone, C. (2004). Childhood Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Diagnosis, Treatment, and
School Reintegration. School Psychology Review, 33(1)127-139.
Daniels. J. K., Frewen, P., McKinnon M.C., & Lanius, R.A. (2011). Default mode alterations in
posttraumatic stress disorder related to early-life trauma: a developmental perspective. J
Psychiatry Neurosci, 36(1):56-9.
De Bellis, M., Hooper, S. R., Spratt, E.G. and Woolley, D.P. (2009). Neuropsychological
findings in childhood neglect and their relationships to pediatric PTSD. Journal of the
International Neuropsychological Society, 15, pp 868-878
doi:10.1017/S1355617709990464
Diamond, A. (2008). Evidence for the importance of dopamine for prefrontal cortex functions
early in life. In Roberts, A. C., Robbins, T. W., Weiskrantz, L., The prefrontal cortex:
Executive and cognitive functions. (pp. 144-164). New York, NY, US: Oxford University
Press.
Efklides, A. (2008). Metacognition: Defining its facets and levels of functioning in relation to
self-regulation and co-regulation. European Psychologist, 13(4)277-287. doi:
10.1027/1016-9040.13.4.277
Eysenck, M.W. (1976). Arousal, learning, and memory. Psychol Bull, 83(3):389-404.
Fredrickson, B.L., Mancuso, R.A., Branigan, C., Tugade, M.M. (2000). The Undoing Effect of
Positive Emotions. Motiv Emot. 24(4):237-258.
Glaser, D. (2000). Child Abuse and Neglect and the Brain—A Review. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 41:97–116. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00551

Greenberg, M. T., Kushe, C. A. & Riggs, N. (2004). The PATHS curriculum: Theory and
research on neurocognitive development and school success. New York, NY: Teachers
College Press.
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review.
Review of General Psychology, 2(3)271-299. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271
Gottman, J. (2011). Meta-emotion, children's emotional intelligence, and buffering children from
marital conflict. Underwood, M. K. & Rosen, L. H. Social Development: Relationships
in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence. Guilford Press New York NY.
Huges, D. (2000). Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled
Children. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson Inc.
Hughes, C., Jaffee, S. R., Happé, F., Taylor, A., Caspi, A. and Moffitt, T. E. (2005), Origins of
individual differences in theory of mind: from nature to nurture? Child Development,
76: 356–370. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00850_a.x
Izuma, K., Saito, D. N., Sadato, N. (2008). Processing of Social and Monetary Rewards in the
Human Striatum. Neuron, 58(2)284-294. ISSN 0896-6273, 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.03.020
Jenkins, J. M. & Astington, J. W. (1996). Cognitive factors and family structure associated with
theory of mind development in young children. Developmental Psychology, 32(1)70-78.
doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.32.1.70
Kozulin, A., Gindis, B., Ageyev, V., Miller, S. (2003). Vygotsky’s educational theory and
practice incultural context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lenroot, R. K. & Giedd, J.N. (2006). Brain development in children and adolescents: Insights
from anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. Biobehavioral Reviews, 30(6)718-729.
ISSN 0149-7634, 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2006.06.001.

Levine, P. & Mate, G. (2010). In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and
Restores Goodness. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Linehan, M. (1993). Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder. New
York, NY: Guilford Press.
Manna, A. Raffone, A., Perrucci, M.G. Nardo, D., Ferretti, A., Tartaro, A., Londei, A., del
Gratta, C., Belardinelli, M. O., Romani, J. L. (2010). Neural correlates of focused
attention and cognitive monitoring in meditation. Brain Research Bulletin, 82(1–2)46-56.
ISSN 0361-9230, 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2010.03.001.
Monk, C.S., McClure, E.B., Nelson, E.E., Zarahn, E., Bilder, R.M., Leibenluft, E., Charney,
D.S., Ernst, M., Pine, D.S. (2003). Adolescent immaturity in attention-related brain
engagement to emotional facial expressions. Neuroimage.20(1):420-8. PubMed PMID:
14527602.
Nelson, E. E., Leibenluft, E., McClure, E. B. & Pine, D. S. (2005). The social re-orientation of
adolescence: a neuroscience perspective on the process and its relation to
psychopathology. Psychol. Med. 35, 163–174.
Newcomer, J.W., Selke, G., Melson, A.K., Hershey, T., Craft, S., Richards, K., Alderson, A.L.
(1999). Decreased memory performance in healthy humans induced by stress-level
cortisol treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 56(6):527-33. PubMed PMID: 10359467.
Pervanidou, P. (2008). Biology of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Childhood and
Adolescence. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 20, 632–638. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-
2826.2008.01701.x
Roth, T. L. Lubin, F. D. Funk, A. J. Sweatt, D.J. (2009). Lasting Epigenetic Influence of Early-
Life Adversity on the BDNF Gene. Biological Psychiatry, 65(9) 760-769. ISSN 0006-

3223, 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.11.028.
Ryff, C. D. & Singer, B. H. (2001). Emotion, social relationships, and health. Series in affective
science. (pp. 23-40). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Samoilov, A. and Goldfried, M. R. (2000), Role of Emotion in Cognitive-Behavior Therapy.
Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 7:373–385. doi: 10.1093/clipsy.7.4.373
Schatz, M. (1994). Theory of mind and development of social linguistic intelligence. (Ed.)
Lewis, C. Children's Early Understanding Of Mind: Origins And Development.
Lawrence Erlbaum Ass. Ltd. East Sussex, UK.
Sheese, B. E. Voelker, P. M., Rothbart M. K., & Posner, M. I. (2007). Parenting quality
interacts with genetic variation in dopamine receptor D4 to influence temperament in
early childhood. Development and Psychopathology, 19, pp 1039-1046
doi:10.1017/S0954579407000521.
Spear, L.P. (2000). The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations. Neurosci
Biobehav Rev. 24(4):417-63.
Theodre, T. & Massat, R.C. (2005). Experiences of Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress, Academic
Achievement and Behavior Problems of Urban African-American Children. Child &
Adolescent Social Work Journal, 22(5-6), Dec 2005, 367-393. doi: 10.1007/s10560-005-
0018-5
van der Kolk, B. (2006). Clinical implications of neuroscience research in PTSD. Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences, 1071, 277-293. doi: 10.1196/annals.1364.022
Wahlstrom, D., Collins, P., White, T., & Luciana, M. (2010). Developmental changes in
dopamine neurotransmission in adolescence: Behavioral implications and issues in
assessment. Brain and Cognition, 72(1)146-159. ISSN 0278-2626,

10.1016/j.bandc.2009.10.013.
Wolfson, A. R. and Carskadon, M. A. (1998), Sleep Schedules and Daytime Functioning in
Adolescents. Child Development, 69: 875–887. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06149.x
Woon, F. L. and Hedges, D. W. (2008), Hippocampal and amygdala volumes in children and
adults with childhood maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-
analysis. Hippocampus, 18,729–736. doi: 10.1002/hipo.20437

Trauma Safe Schools - Trauma safe education a neurocognitive approach to teaching and curriculum development.changaris

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (19)

Similaire à Trauma Safe Schools - Trauma safe education a neurocognitive approach to teaching and curriculum development.changaris

Similaire à Trauma Safe Schools - Trauma safe education a neurocognitive approach to teaching and curriculum development.changaris (20)

Plus de Michael Changaris

Plus de Michael Changaris (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Trauma Safe Schools - Trauma safe education a neurocognitive approach to teaching and curriculum development.changaris