Trauma Fundamentals
A deeply distressing event
What is trauma?
The amygdala
What part of the brain regulates emotions?
Repeatedly missing school
What might repeated absences signal?
Using a daily agenda or visual schedule
What is building predictability?
Activities that restore energy and self-centering
What is self-care?
Early childhood ages 0-8
What is the age range most impacted by ACEs?
The sympathetic nervous system
What system triggers fight or flight?
Impaired attention, memory or engagement
How can trauma affect academic performance?
A warm greeting and calm visuals to signal safety
How can you establish safety in the classroom?
Preventing burnout and being able to cope
Why is self-care important to teachers?
Abuse, neglect, or household challenges
What is one common type of Adverse Childhood Experience?
Cortisol
Which hormone spikes during stress?
A fourth grader goes silent and stares blankly whenever the class discusses family
What is withdrawal?
A short movement or mindfulness pause
What is a brain break?
Box breathing or the 4-7-8 breath
What are breathing techniques?
Overwhelming experience vs. challenging but manageable events
What distinguishes trauma from adversity?
The prefrontal cortex (executive network)
Which brain network governs regulation?
During an assembly, a 5th-grade student tries to flee the gymnasium due to abrupt loud applause.
What is the noise that is the trigger?
Uses phrases like “tell me more” or “I hear you”
How do you use restorative language?
Team or individual check ins
How can support foster self-care?
After a thunderstorm, a 3rd grader hides under the desk saying, “it’s like last summer when the storm flooded our house”
What is a “trauma trigger?”
The brain’s ability to rewire through new experiences
What is Neuroplasticity?
Parent of a 4th grader is irate at both teachers becoming beligerent when discussing her child being bullied
Was the parent bullied as a child?
A space offering choice options when a student is de-regulated
what is a calm down corner?
After a day of back-to-back conferences, a teacher schedules a 10-minute walk around the school
What is a self-care strategy?