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SHINE A LIGHTThis project intends to shine a light on the social/emotional issues that impact students with disabilities in and outside of the classroom. The project will help to build cultural awareness as it relates to the social and emotional issues that impact students with disabilities. By building awareness among teachers, the project intends to develop a more welcoming school community for students with disabilities and their families.

+Initial Quick WritePurpose: To gage the learning and monitor the effectiveness of the PDs and the case study activities.

You will have 5 minutes to write about why you selected the student you chose for your case study, discuss your immediate concerns regarding the student, talk about what you hope to learn, and briefly describe what you believe are some of the student’s social emotional challenges.

*When the timer begins please start writing (please try to write for the duration of the time).

*Try to refrain from discussion until after the quick write is over, at which time you will have 3 minutes to share your thoughts with a table partner.

+Statement of Confidentiality

Although this project will enable me to explore the social emotional issues that children with disabilities face, in order to respect the privacy of my student and his/her family, I will make every effort to refrain from discussing my student by name. Additionally, at no time will I be discussing my social emotional findings with other students or parents of other students.

________________________Teacher name________________________Teacher signature

+Workshop Schedule and Agenda

Jan. 21, 2014-Looking at the Roots of Special Education (Special Education Overview and Project Opening)

Feb. 18, 2014-Trauma and the Brain; Select student for case study

March 25, 2014-Signs, Signals, and Reactions of Trauma; Quick write and statement of confidentiality; Explore the cum; Explorations with case study

April 22, 2014-Psychological 1st Aid/Teacher Self-Care; Case study discussions; Student interview results; Final quick write

+The Brain (Let’s review)

5 regions of the Central Core

3 regions of the Limbic System

5 lobes of the Cerebral Cortex

Trauma affects all parts of the brain

Neuroplasticity allows for recalibration

As teachers, we can help a child overcome trauma

+Agenda

Watch a video to connect the importance of understanding how the brain works and working through trauma

What is child traumatic stress?

Common signs and signals of a stress reaction

Working to stop the cycle of traumatic stress

Effective ways to treat child traumatic stress

+A Short Video for Thought

http://youtu.be/zLp-edwiGUU

Brain

Power:

From

Neurons

to Networks

How does your understanding of the brain help you when viewing this video?

+What is child Traumatic Stress?

Child traumatic stress is when children and adolescents are exposed to traumatic events or traumatic situations, and when this exposure overwhelms their ability to cope.

When children have been exposed to situations when they feared for their lives, believed they could have been injured, witnessed violence, or tragically lost a loved one, they may show signs of traumatic stress.

The impact on any given child depends partly on the objective danger, partly on his or her subjective reaction to the events, and partly on his or her age and developmental level.

+How do Children Respond to Traumatic Stress?

Depending on their age, children respond to traumatic stress in different ways. Many children show signs of intense distress.

Even though the event may be over, one may now be experiencing or may experience later, some strong emotional or physical reactions.

It is very common (in fact quite normal) for people to experience emotional aftershocks or flashbacks when they have passed through a horrible event.

+Signs and Signals of a Stress Reaction can be Organized into 4 CategoriesPhysical

Cognitive

Emotional

Behavioral

+Common Physical Stress Reactions(List signs your student displays.)

Fatigue Vomiting

Nausea Grinding of teeth

Muscle tremors Weakness

Twitches Dizziness

Chest pain Profuse sweating

Difficulty breathing Chills

Elevated Blood Pressure Shock symptoms

Thirst Fainting

Headaches Increased heart rate

Visual difficulties

+Common Cognitive Stress Reactions (List signs your student displays.)

Blaming Poor problems solving

Confusion Poor abstract thinking

Poor Attention Loss of time, place or person orientation

Poor decisions Disturbed thinking

Heightened or lowered alertness

Nightmares

Poor concentration Intrusive images

Memory problems Increased or decreased awareness of surroundings

Hyper vigilance Difficulty identifying familiar objects or people

+Common Emotional Stress Reactions(List signs your student displays.)

Anxiety Loss of emotional control

Guilt Depression

Grief Inappropriate emotional response

Denial Apprehension

Severe pain (rare) Feeling overwhelmed

Emotional shock Intense anger

Fear Irritability

Uncertainty Agitation

+Common Behavioral Stress Reactions(List signs your student displays.)

Change in activity Inability to rest

Change in speech patterns Antisocial acts

Withdrawal Nonspecific bodily complaints

Emotional outbursts Hyper alert to environment

Suspiciousness Startle reflex intensified

Change in usual communications

Pacing

Loss or increase of appetite Erratic movements

Alcohol consumption Change in sexual functioning

+Working to Stop the Cycle of Traumatic Stress While some children “bounce back” after adversity, traumatic

experiences can result in a significant disruption of child or adolescent development and have profound long-term consequences.

Repeated exposure to traumatic events can affect the child’s brain and nervous system and increase the risk of low academic performance, engagement in high risk behaviors, and difficulties in peer and family relationships.

Traumatic stress can cause increased use of health and mental health services and increased involvement with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Adult survivors of traumatic events may have difficulty in establishing fulfilling relationships, holding steady jobs, and becoming productive members of our society. Fortunately, there are effective treatments for child traumatic stress.

+Effective Ways to Treat Child Traumatic Stress

Education about the impact of trauma.

Helping children and their parents establish or re-establish a sense of safety.

Teach students skills to cope better with distress and to learn social problem solving skills.

Give students an opportunity to talk about the traumatic experiences in a safe, accepting environment.

Learn to notice and name the child’s experiences.

+Effective Ways to Treat Child Traumatic Stress (cont.)

Validate their emotions which will help to connect with them on a personal level.

Tune in and understand the message the student is really sending through their behavior.

We will review above further at the next PD: Psychological First Aid.

+The Case Study

Exploring the cum

Student interviews (will be conducted by Anne-Marie, Ms.Temores, and Mr.Sanchez)

Prompts

You will have the first 20 minutes during your grade level rotations to explore the cum and answer the prompts (may require making phone calls or speaking with student).

Try to briefly answer as many of the questions as possible over the next month (by April 22nd).

+The Social-Emotional Case Study Prompts What are the student’s family strengths and support

systems?

What is the situation like at home? Are there any stressors?

Is there a history of any traumatic experience?

Who does the child live with?

Is your student able to problem solve?

Does the child have adequate supervision after-school?

How many hours is he/she alone per day?

Does the student have medical needs met (dental, eye, physical)?

+The Social-Emotional Case Study Prompts (cont.) How much screen time does your student have per day?

How much exercise does your student get per day?

What does your student find humorous?

Does your student have access to healthy food? Does he/she bring a snack? What does he/she bring?

Is your student impacted by poverty? How do you know?

Does your student get adequate sleep (no less than 9 hours per night)?

What were the first 3 years of your student’s life like?

+The Social-Emotional Case Study Prompts (cont.) Does your student ever get to interact with nature?

How much time does your child spend reading in class per day?

How much time does your child spend reading outside of class per day?

Is homework a positive experience or is it a negative and stressful experience for the child and the family?

Does your student ever have opportunities to leave the neighborhood?

How does your student interact with other students in the classroom and on the yard?

Has your student’s family had problems with law enforcement?

+The Social-Emotional Case Study Prompts (cont.) What is your student’s relationship with his/her parents?

Does your student have siblings? What is his/her relationship with the siblings?

Does your student participate in outside curricular activities?

Over the course of a week, what is your student’s general mood?

Has your student ever been hospitalized? Explain.

Does your student have any ongoing health concerns (physical or mental)?

Are there any other questions that you think when answered would help to create a bigger picture of the social emotional issues impacting your student?

+Exploring the Cumulative File

Attendance record Have there been excessive absences? When did

these occur?

Teacher comments Are there any behavior/attention related patterns? Are there any change in patterns?

Previous schools Has student changed schools or classrooms?

Birth certificate Who was present at the birth? Where was the child born?

+Exploring the Cumulative File (cont.)

Enrollment documents Does student have siblings? What were their ages

at time of enrollment? What are their ages now? Who are the adults listed on the enrollment form?

IEP and SST documents Review all IEP and SST forms. Look for information related to the student’s

social emotional learning and development What types of interventions and services has the

student received?

+Exploring the Cumulative (cont.)

Report cards Grades, teacher comments, do parents typically

attend conferences? Are there any patterns? Do you see any change in

patterns?

+Closing Thoughts

By looking deeper at the social emotional issues that may be impacting our students with disabilities and using what we have learned about brain function and trauma we can use our intent to start addressing each student’s social emotional learning, which as research shows, has a direct impact on academic learning.

As the video suggests, we will work on “paying attention to paying attention.” By peering through the lens of our case study students we can ask ourselves, “What does life and learning look and feel like through the eyes of our students?”

+References

Bryan, T., Burstein, K., & Ergul, C. (2004). The social-emotional side of learning disabilities: A science-based presentation of the state of the art. Learning Disability Quarterly, 45-51.

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child development, 82(1), 405-432.

Zins, J. E., & Elias, M. J. (2007). Social and emotional learning: Promoting the development of all students. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 17(2-3), 233-255.