I am heading out to beautiful Ludlow Vermont on Friday to give a talk on trauma and learning. The talk has me thinking about the needs of this population as we approach the start of school. One thing to remember boys will often to be reluctant to talk about their experiences so you need to pay attention to their behavior. Here are a few tips for teachers and student support staff for working with boys who have experienced chronic trauma:
- Boys who experience trauma are more likely to have a short fuse, to be reactive and will benefit from support around how to recognize the triggers that activate them and the physiological cues that signal they are about to have a meltdown
- When a boy is in a meltdown, help him leave the situation and decompress before you process the situation; processing will not occur in the middle of a meltdown
- Try to minimize transitions and maintain consistent schedules and routines
- Boys who experiences trauma are often hypervigilant so a seemingly innocuous gesture or statement may be taken as a threat
- Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate as much as possible with service agencies, families and community supports. Treatment is only effective when all of the supports in a young person’s life are working together and on the same page.
That’s all for now, have a great last week of summer! JB