3 Witnessing or Experiencing Violence

Response Strategies:

For children 6 years old and younger, signs and symptoms may also include:

Response Strategies:

- Make them feel safe and have a welcoming environment:
Educators can help make their classrooms physically, intellectually, and emotionally safer by establishing good norms and community agreements like: being mindful of others boundaries, respecting others privacy, and respecting others traditions, promoting positive behavior, and addressing any incidents of bullying or discrimination.

-Addressing Cultural Differences:
Incorporate multicultural education into the curriculum, recognize important cultural events and holidays, and provide opportunities for students to share their cultural traditions.

- Remain consistent and predictable:
Providing consistency and predictability through your demeanor, fairness (being equitable), class norms and expectations, shared agreements, use of protocols, pacing, accountability, and scheduling can help put students at ease since they tend to be on high alert.

- Develop a trauma-informed team:
It’s important for school leaders, counselors, teachers, and organizations that provide services, to come together, be trauma-informed and support these students and their families. They can provide counseling services, community resources, tutoring, housing assistance, etc. 

- Language support: 
Offer students with bilingual materials, or an in-person interpreters in class. It may also helpful to provide students with technology such as an ipad that has a lot of translation apps and services for them to use throughout the lessons. 

- Distraction and learning difficulties, resulting in a decline in academic performance.

- Social challenges, which may make students feel lonely, avoidant, or unfriendly toward others.

2. Family Member Divorce
- Emotional instability, often characterized by feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety, or guilt.- Academic issues, potentially affecting their grades due to emotional distress.

- Social challenges, making it difficult for students to engage with peers regarding family-related matters.

- Disruptive behavior, such as truancy, defiant actions, or seeking attention.

3. Family Violence and Abuse
- Psychological trauma, possibly resulting in conditions like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

- Social isolation, making students feel lonely, avoidant, and mistrustful of others.

- Emotional issues, including anger, guilt, or self-blame.

- Behavioral problems, such as aggression, defiance, or self-harming tendencies.

Response strategies：

1. Positive relationships. Where possible, it is critical to help these students feel safe and trusted so they can learn to develop social intelligence and make positive connections with others. Teachers may be the only people who can help these students learn what healthy, supportive relationships look like. Building relational trust involves the simple teaching practice of sharing your own life with your students, understanding your students as individuals, and role-modeling yourself as a reliable and stable adult. Keep in touch with students to check in on them regularly and ensure they receive the necessary support.

2. Peer Support, Collaboration, and Mutuality.Students are encouraged to respect, support, and celebrate one another. Foster a sense of belonging in “our classroom” by working with students to designate a class name, logo, or mural. Make each student a "helper," but always ask the student's permission before assigning this role. Students are encouraged to participate in social activities and develop supportive relationships with their peers.

3. Develop an "exit" plan. If a student feels excited or overwhelmed in class, offer her a way to make room. Designate a space in the school building or outside, and if she needs time to rest or regulate her emotions, you will know where to find her. You can also provide a box or set of sensory calming tools (plasticine, coloring, puzzles) that students can use

4. Avoid re-trauma. Minimize potential trauma triggers such as loud noise and physical contact. Recognize the student's response to the trigger and respond in a traumatized way that communicates to the student that they are safe and that you are there to support them, and provide options to guide them to a safe or quiet area if applicable. Try to keep your schedule and rules consistent to avoid surprises. Talk to students one-on-one as regularly as possible and let them know they can come to you for support.

5. If your student shares what he went through, be neutral and try not to be biased. Develop an opinion that what he goes through is not so bad and can be especially harmful to him. Remember that what matters is not your perception of the situation, but how the child feels. Most likely, the situation he went through made him feel vulnerable, scared, and out of control. Remind yourself that what really matters is how your child feels. In addition, many children mitigate what they go through because they feel embarrassed and afraid that someone will know the truth.

Children age 3-6
-Have difficulties focusing or learning in school
-Develop learning disabilities
-Show poor skill development
-Act out in social situations
-Imitate the abusive/traumatic event
-Be verbally abusive
-Be unable to trust others or make friends
-Believe they are to blame for the traumatic event
-Lack self-confidence
-Experience stomach aches or headaches

Strategies:
Teachers can create a safe and nurturing environment, which can impact student to learn and heal. 

1)   Build trust and rapport: welcoming, nonjudgmental atmosphere, be consistent, reliable and empathetic. 

2)   Understand trauma: educate oneself.

3)   Proved structure and predictability: establish clear routine, expectation in class and minimize surprises.

4)   Foster emotional regulation: deep breathing, mindful techniques, and a quiet safe space.

5)   Offer choice and control: allow student some control over their learning process.

6)   Use trauma-informed language: be mindful of language, tone and avoid harsh criticisms. Use positive and affirming language.

7)   Work with school counselors, social workers and special education staff. Share information about the students needs and progress to ensure coordinate approach.

8)   Avoid triggers: loud noise, specific topic and reminders of the event.

 

Parents: positive, caring, and protective, who can help shield children against adverse experiences. Encouraging children to talk about their experiences and provide reassurance that the adults in their lives are working to keep them safe.

Response Strategies for Teachers: Supporting a student who has experienced the death of a loved one is crucial for their well-being. Strategies for teachers:

 

 

Students how passive, withdrawn, and aggressive behavior patterns with their parents, less positive social interaction,

during free play, anger toward the parent,

avoid interactions with other children,

poor peer relationships,

low self-esteem and self-compassion,

shame, humiliation, self-blame, and feelings of worthlessness

Response Strategy:

1.Positive relationships. It is critical to help these students feel safe and trusting where possible, so they learn to develop social intelligence and seek out positive bonds with others. Building relational trust such as smiling, sharing parts of your life with the students, getting to know the students as individuals, and using yourself as a role model of a reliable and regulated adult.

2. Positive physical space. Putting up positive visuals and quotes can inspire creative thinking and teamwork. A dedicated space that students can visit when they need to regulate their stress response. The corner can include a bean bag, mindful coloring books, squeeze toys, noise-canceling headphones, and more.

3. Positive priming. Use brain breaks to build positive energy and emotions such as joy, happiness, and wonder (e.g., clapping games, thumb wars, laughter yoga, racing around the desk).

4. Using character strengths. Students need opportunities to identify, recognize, practice, and use their character strengths, which include qualities like kindness, humor, creativity, and bravery.

5. Building resilience. Teach resilience strategies that help a student affected by trauma to gain a better understanding of their situation and to counteract the negative messages of shame they often internalize.

Source:
https://www.parentingforbrain.com/childhood-emotional-neglect/#:~:text=Child%20emotional%20neglect%20(CEN)%20is,attention%2C%20or%20competence%20are%20ignored
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_ways_to_support_students_affected_by_trauma