Helping Children Cope With Emotional Trauma Resulting from Neglect and Abuse

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Helping Children Cope With Emotional Trauma
Resulting from Neglect and Abuse

• Addressing Barriers to Learning Module 5
• Sponsored by
• New Hanover County Schools
• School Mental Health Team

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What is Emotional Trauma?
A type of damage to the psyche that occurs as of
a result of a traumatic event(s). It is not the
event that determines whether something is
traumatic, but the individuals experience of the
event. 3 Common Elements unexpected unprepared
unpreventable

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The Umbrella of Emotional Trauma

• Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• Conduct Disorder
• Reactive Attachment Disorder
• Affective Disorders
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• These can be an effect of abuse and neglect!

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Effects Signs of Emotional Trauma

• Social
• 1.Inability to maintain close relationships or
  
• choose appropriate friends
• 2.Withdrawal
• 3.Constantly feeling threatened
• 4.Poor social boundaries

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Effects and Signs of Emotional Trauma-Cont.

• Emotional
• 1.Depression
• 2.Anxiety
• 3.Panic Attacks
• 4.Fearfulness
• 5.Compulsive and obsessive behaviors
• 6.Irritability, anger, resentment
• 7.Emotionally numb

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Effects and Signs of Emotional Trauma-Cont.

• Behavioral
• 1.Substance abuse
• 2.Self-destructive and impulsive behaviors
• 3.Inability to make healthy lifestyle choices
• 4.Dissociative symptoms
• 5.Inconsistent versions of the truth
• 6.Running away

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Effects and Signs of Emotional Trauma-Cont.

• Cognitive
• 1.Difficulty making decisions
• 2.Decreased ability to concentrate
• 3.Feeling distracted
• 4.Memory lapses, especially about the trauma
• 5.Foreshortened view of the future

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Effects of Trauma on the Brain

• Experiences of trauma become stuck in the
  nonverbal part of the brain.
• Brain is in a state of hyper-arousal
• Memory deficits

Fight or Flight
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• Learning may be
• compromised by abuse and neglect.
• Abraham Maslow (1968)
• Hierarchy of Human Needs

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Beyond Reporting

• Aside from the fact that
• school personnel have
• close and consistent
• contact with students and
• a legal mandate to report,
• you know that children
• cannot be attentive and learn
• if maltreatment is stealing
• their energy, enthusiasm,
• sense of self and safety.

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The Legal Definition of Abuse and Neglect
Drives Policy and Protocol
Child abuse consists of any act, or failure to
act, that endangers a childs physical or
emotional health and development. Someone is
abusive if he or she fails to nurture, physically
injures the child, or relates sexually to the
child.
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Your Legal Obligation to Report
New Hanover County Board Policy 6440 All
employees of the New Hanover County Board of
Education shall report or cause to be reported
any case of suspected abuse or neglect
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How Might Abuse or Neglect Come to Your
Attention?

• Student approaches you.
• Q Do you promise not to tell anyone?
• A As long as it doesnt involve harm to
  self/others or child abuse/neglect.
• You overhear a conversation.
• You detect red flags
• You may observe physical signs and behavioral
  changes
• You may be approached by another student or adult

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What Does it Mean to Suspect?

• What information do you have?
• What is your gut reaction?
• What feels like the next step to take?
• - from suspicion to investigation
• (Time to report!)

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Alleviating the Fears of Reporting

• Partner with someone from the support staff
• Support staff can guide you through the reporting
  process.
• Notify the Principal
• Report immediately! Do not wait until after the
  students are gone.
• Respect Confidentiality

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In Preparation for Reporting

• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• How
• Strengths
• Safety Factors
• New Hanover County DSS- 798-3400

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Case Scenerios
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What Happens after a Report is Made?
.
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Another Critical R Word Resiliency

• A normal and even exceptionally positive
  developmental outcome in spite of exposure to
  major risks for the development of serious social
  and health problems.
• Risk and Resilience in Childhood
• - Mark W. Frazer

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Within your control..

• Enhance resiliency
• provide caring and support
• offer opportunities for meaningful
  participation.
• maintain high expectations
• NEVER give-up on a child
• Give them a safe place to learn and grow.
• Establish trust with students and families- treat
  them with respect.
• The 4 Cs

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Responding to Your Concerns With Respect and
Purpose

• Relationship
• Privacy and respect
• Know when to go no further
• When to refer. When to report.
• Recognize and help them recognize/acknowledge
  feelings (Interpersonal and Social Skill
  Development)

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• Address tangible goals pertaining to academics.
  (Dont avoid or excuse)
• Behaviors at school are not always about us!
  Dont take them personally. Begin
  where the client is
• Normal touching and positive affirmation vs.
  secrecy and isolation

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How to Talk With Parents About Sensitive Issues
and Concerns.

• Be gentle and careful
• Describe the behaviors or observations that
  concern you.
• Factual and specific
• When and under what circumstances are they
  observed
• Are these sudden changes? How frequent and
  intense?
• What about the behavior or observation is of
  concern
• Dont assume you have figured out the causal
  factors

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How to Talk With Parents About Sensitive Issues
and Concerns.

• Ask questions to further identify the problem and
  seek reasonable solutions
• Being right is not as important as being well
  received.
• Prepare parents for the difficult information
  that needs to be shared. (relationship, privacy)
• Be ready with information, resources, supports,
  and time. (partner with support staff)

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What More Can You Do?

• Recognize strengths, capacity and assets... and
  that of their children
• Instill hopefulness.
• Check your basic assumptions and attitudes
• Work collaboratively with community agencies

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• Students wont always remember what we taught
  them.
• But they will remember how we treated them.