Strategies for Educating the Traumatized Child - Stacy G. York

Stacy York is a family therapist who deals with traumatized children. She gets much of her material from a man named Bruce Perry whose ideas she was introduced to at a conference.

Stacy York

Key ideas

Brain Development...Relationship...Modeling

Creative Intervention...Connection...safety

Children develop major areas of their brains during the first two formative years. Children who have been neglected will be developmentally younger than their years and must be treated that way...

We need to be address physiology!
Children are not developmentally ready to share their feelings and how they are. Brilliant but simple.

“if your house is built on sand, it won’t matter how much reading intervention that you do.”

“the medications not really the issue”

Sensory experience

scotphoto.photoshelter.com

Healthy way to do anger…exercise…what is ok in my classroom for kids when their angry?

Chill out couch…kids could come in and use it then would have a conversation with an adult before they went back to class. Be creative!

You can’t reason with an angry child…shut your mouth and deescalate the situation.

Interventions need to be...

• Relevant (something already connected with their world)
• Relational (safe, in the context of a relationship) 
• Repetitive and Patterned
• Rewarding (somehow self-satisfying)
• Rhythmic
• Respectful (It's not respectful to have 40 people come into an IEP meeting and speak negatively of the child.

Problem-solving...in this order...

1. Regulate
2. Relate
3. Reason

Strategies...

1. Building relationships with caregivers...do it! 

• "take the time to listen to their story..."
• Focus on the child; that's your common ground. Do not judge them. 
• Take time to connect.
• Deal directly with any problems.
• Parents are the experts on their child! 
• Be sensitive to the fact that schools are intimidating sometimes! It's our job to be approachable. 
• Find common ground. 

2. Build safety...

• Make sure the kid feels safe. 
• Be a detective! Figure out what makes them not feel safe. 

3. Build trust and relationship...

• Time is important
• What about taking the first two weeks of school to just build relationships?
• How important is building relationships at school?
• If we took the time to play and build relationships, how would it shift our year? 

4. Somatosensory breaks

• recess
• sense of smell
• music (Quantum Teaching)
• fidget toys

5. Time-out versus time-in

• you need time-out, time away
• time-in is when you are helping to regulate them externally
• how can we help kids regulate? (time-out couch)

6. Empathy

• Depending on the relationship with the kid, make a guess at what they are feeling.
• Forgiveness

7. Recognize that misbehaviors are symptoms.
8. Be proactive!
9. Treatment teams rely on each other!

• take five minutes to talk with team members
• contact teachers
• discuss what's going on and how it's going 

10. Have fun!

• positive, relational interaction
• kids talk when they feel safe and comfortable

Crisis response...

• Don't become part of the crisis
• You help! 
• You deescalate the situation.
• Be an adult.
• Kids need to learn how to respond properly to a crisis with us.

Take care of YOU! 
Think of 3 things you do for fun =)

 Stacy York, Part 1