June 3, 2019, KQED Public Media, San Francisco: Strategies Schools Can Use To Become More Trauma-Informed https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/53092/strategies-schools-can-use-to-become-more-trauma-informed Many teachers are working to modify their classrooms and schools to offer a more supportive environment for students who have experienced trauma in their lives. They're taking heed of research showing that adverse childhood experiences like poverty, neglect, and exposure to violence affect children's brains and may have a negative impact on learning and behavior. "For me being trauma-informed has so much to do with mindset, accepting that different people come into a school setting with incredibly varied life experiences," said Lindsey Minder, a second grade teacher profiled in an Edutopia video introducing trauma-informed practices. "Some of those life experiences may be traumatic. And the way in which that plays out in my particular classroom could look a number of ways. And by me having that lens it makes it less about are they doing 'the right thing' or the 'wrong thing' and more about, 'where is that behavior coming from? Why is that happening?'" While dealing with all the issues kids bring to school can be overwhelming for teachers, the upside is that they are well positioned to make a big impact on students' lives. Positive relationships with caring adults can help buffer students from the effects of trauma and chronic stress, making trauma-informed schools "healing places."… A formalized teacher practice like this one, with norms that assume the best in students, help school staff work as a team to support students, no matter their needs. Everyone will experience adversity at some point in their life, so while these strategies may be particularly important for students struggling right now, they're also supporting children who will need these skills later in life.
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Loss of Brain Trust features over 9,000 news stories published worldwide since January, 2017
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
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What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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