Free Article Download- A Trauma Informed Approach to Behaviors in the Classroom is a letter to your child’s teacher- short, simple, and steeped in science- on why behavior management systems don’t usually work for children with a history of trauma, and WHAT THE TEACHER CAN DO INSTEAD!!!!
About six weeks ago, I finally started putting pen to paper on a project that’s been whirling in my brain for months. I am regularly asked for an article or some scholarly referenced material that parents can give to teachers that describes why a traditional behavioral management system (levels, colors, stop-light, clip charts, etc.) don’t work for kids who have experienced early trauma- in fact they often make behaviors worse. An abstract idea I’ve been formulating finally took enough shape that I could get some of those ideas onto paper.
This is the time of year when behaviors tend to escalate at school. Parents are met with teachers who want to do a ‘behavior contract’ or redefine the current behavior management system in place. I haven’t run across a succinct, easy-to-read, yet steeped in science article about WHY traditional behavior management systems don’t work for our kids. If there’s one out there, please point me to it!!
So, I wrote one myself. I aimed for succinct (it’s 10 pages- long enough to explain some science, short enough for a busy teacher to read), easy-to-read (I include lots of information about the brain but in a way that make’s SENSE!!!), and steeped in science. I can’t find a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal article on this subject so I made sure I cited the work of leaders in our field- Dan Siegel, Pat Ogden, Stephen Porges, Allan Schore, Deborah Gray. AND the article doesn’t just explain why behavior systems may actually make behaviors work- I give teachers an alternative!!!
You can access, download, save, print, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT with my article for teachers by CLICKING HERE. I’ve called it “A Trauma Informed Approach to Behaviors in the Classroom” but wrote it in a casual manner as a letter to the teacher.
Check back here with your thoughts!!! If you give the letter to you child’s teacher and find it helpful, please let me know!!!
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Robyn Gobbel, LCSW is a child and family therapist in Austin, Texas specializing in adoption, trauma, and attachment counseling. She is the founder of the Central Texas Attachment & Trauma Center.
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