Assuring Positive Educational Experiences
For Children in Out-of-home Care
In the following video, educational specialist Laura Phipps explains why traditional approaches often do not solve the behavior problems of children with a history of trauma.
Although they may appear to be in control, at least initially, traumatized children can have significant difficulty controlling their emotions and behaviors. And just because a child can respond appropriately one day does not mean he can do so every day. An adult’s expectation of the child may be beyond the child’s emotional, behavioral or relational skill level.
When a traumatized child is unable to comply with the adult’s expectation...
The child’s stress level is elevated...
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increasing the child’s emotional dysregulation...
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increasing the child’s need to repeat or intensify the behavior...
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resulting in the adult increasing the negative consequences...
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increasing the child’s sense of shame...
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further increasing the child’s dysregulation and frightening sense of being out of control...
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leading to more significant behavioral outbursts...
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leading to a more negative response from the adult.
“The more anxious a child feels, the quicker the child will move from anxious to threatened, and from threatened to terrorized.”
Helping Traumatized Children Learn, pg. 36
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