Trauma and Attachment in the classroom

Maryam Nazir Educational Psychologist

AGENDATo provide opportunities:

to reflect and deepen understanding about attachment and supporting attachment with adults in school

to explore how resilience can be encouraged and built on in the school environment

to consider interventions and ways of working with SB that will enhance his views and experience of learning

Barriers to learning and emotional well being (Geddes 2006)

BARRIERS TO LEARNINGSuccess in school can be undermined by:

Inadequate capacity to tolerate frustration, disappointment, uncertainty and/or change

Anger with people or things who are perceived as ‘letting you down’

Low self-esteem

Insensitivity to the feelings of others

Lack of trust in others

EMOTIONAL WELL BEING Secure attachments can lead to:

A capacity to tolerate frustration and uncertainty

A sense of personal agency

A sense of self as worthy of affection and respect

A capacity to relate to others with sensitivity and respect

Childs Early History?

SB

Traumas

Losses

Places

People

Neglect

In utero trauma

Parental mental health

Early Attachment

Development

LDs?Brain

Development

Early relationships

Behaviour

Causes of early disruptive attachments? Pre-birth experiences Primal wound Separation Loss Neglect Unpredictability For LAC children- Abuse

Activity case study

Child’s strategies for survival

‘Crazy lying’ Stealing Verbal abuse Tantrums Aggression Hoarding Sullen/stubborn

Answering back Running away Rapid mood swings Soiling/bed wetting Blankness Disturbed sleep Self-talk

Resilience

Lack of exposure to an early attachment figure and poor resilience factors play a significant part in the individual’s ability to emotionally regulate their feelings and respond to their environment.

So how can we support and develop resilience in school?

School Environment

Build self-esteem. Value effort. Positively notice every day. Tangible record of success. Value your child. Support friendships. Make things interesting & fun. Rhythmic activities.

School Environment

Safe, predictable, respectful, enjoyable, clear & calm expectations.

Adult set the emotional tone. Relaxing and calming environment. Consistent, reliable, predictable behavior

management. Cooling off areas.

Resilience Factors outside Home

High quality environment offering validation. support and positive belief systems.

Positive school experience. Positive home school liaison. Healthy relationships with peers. Empathic adults at school and at home.

Interventions Child with a “Difficulty in

school”

Help the child up

•IEPs•Teach•Therapy

Bring problem down•Avoid •Differentiate•Circumvent

Approaches in school:

Bring the problem down Avoid problematic situations. Structure and organise time.   Use visual aids.  Make requests brief.   Prepare for a change in routine. Set up an “Office” table

Help the child up Avoid punishments (and punitive language) Pay attention to “target” behaviour Nurture appropriate behaviour Build relationships Build partnership Build on his strengths

‘Working Assumptions’

Perhaps…. A child’s behavior is a defense linked to survival? Challenging behavior gives a feeling of

empowerment? A child with problem behavior is attempting to

solve a problem rather than be one? Behavior is an attempt at communication. A re-enactment?

Tips : communicating with the child/young person

Use proactive statements - “I can see that you need some help”.

Teach the concept of behavioural choice - “You are choosing not to get changed for PE”.

Re-affirm choices, to help teach cause and effect. For example, “You chose not to finish your work today, so we’ll finish it at playtime.”

‘Read’ children’s behaviours and non-verbal (body) language, in order to gauge their emotional state.

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Communicating with the child with attachment issues

Name children’s feelings for them - “You’re looking happy and relaxed today”.

Acknowledge that children may be unable to talk about their own feelings and behaviours, and they really may not know why they are feeling angry. Avoid asking why they behaved in the way they did.

Allow alternative ways of expressing feelings or recalling events (e.g. drawing, writing a story).

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Communicating with the child

Recognise the child’s need for control and explicitly set up opportunities for choice.

Create win-win situations - e.g. if a child is refusing to wear a coat, offer some limited autonomy: “Do you want to wear it or are you going to carry it?”

Avoid threats of removal and exclusion. If removal from the room is necessary, try to put it positively “Let’s go and see Mrs X”.

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Tips : Supporting attachment

Arrange a ‘personal space’ for the child, to be used at times of potential stress. Include a special activity that is known to be calming.

Make good use of routines and prepare the child for any changes (e.g. school trips, supply teachers).

Arrange for a named adult or older child to be available at playtimes and lunchtimes.

Use consistent, appropriate consequences for unacceptable behaviours.

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Final tips - for yourself, the child’s parents and the class

Avoid taking the child’s difficult behaviours personally.

Remain calm and in control of your own emotions. Seek help from colleagues when necessary. Teach the other children in the class to ignore

inappropriate behaviours. Keep in close contact with the child’s parents. Record and share the child’s progress, rather than

the negative incidents.

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Therapeutic Stories

Create a narrative for the child by helping them with their feelings through stories

What do I need to do?

Meeting of basic human needs Respond to the meaning of

behaviour rather than react to difficult feelings

Attunement/ Mind mindedness Emotional energy Willingness to reflect and adapt

And finally… Remember you can’t fix it overnight. Trust cannot be forced. It takes a team to parent/school a hurt

child and research in this area suggests that the child responds to empathic adults and a positive nurturing school environment.

Further Reading Cairns, K & Stanway, C. (2005): Learn the child, BAAF Adoption + Fostering

Archer, C. 1999 : Next Steps in Parenting the Child Who Hurts. Jessica Kingsley Press, London

Hughes, D.A. 1998 : Building the Bonds of Attachment : Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children. Jason Aronsen Press, Northvale and London

Hughes, D.A. 1997 : Facilitating Developmental attachment : The Road to Recovery and Behavioural Change in Fostered and Adopted Children. Jason Aronsen Press, Northvale and London

Fahlberg, V. 1994 : A Child’s Journey Through Placement. BAAF, London

Thomas, N.L. 1997 : When Love is Not Enough : A Guide to Parenting Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder. Obtainable from Amazon.com

Archer, C & Burnell, A. (eds) 2003 : Trauma, Attachment and Family Permanence : Fear can stop you Loving. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London and New York.

Sunderland, M, Armstrong, N (2007): Therapeutic Stories: Speechmark Publishing

A teacher’s response has crucial consequences …it creates a climate of compliance or defiance, a mood of contentment or contention, a desire to make amends or to take revenge ….Teachers have the power to affect a child’s life for better or worse, a child becomes what he/she experiences. While parents possess the original key to their offspring’s experience, teachers have a spare key. They too can open or close the minds and hearts of children.

Haim Ginott