Category: Trauma
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Seclusion Prevented My Son from Reaching His Potential
Every child deserves to be treated with dignity and deserves to be safe regardless of their race, socio-economic status, or cognitive/physical abilities. All children need love and kindness to thrive in the world. Abraham Maslow created the following hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation.” In order to move up…
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A Trauma-informed Lens on Behavior
Students who have experienced trauma may not always display behaviors that immediately evoke empathy. Managing and expressing emotions can be challenging for these children due to the impact of trauma on their brains. The trauma alters their brain’s instinctual response to “fight, flight, or freeze,” making emotional regulation difficult.
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What About the “Other” Children?
What about the other children? The very problem with this question is that it is coming from a place that only holds space for neurotypical children who don’t appear to need more support. I say appear because there are so many children who are simply better at masking but would absolutely benefit from the same…
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The Six C’s Approach to See Children Differently
Individuals with neurodivergent brains have different experiences. Neurodivergent brains learn differently, think differently, and exist in the world differently. These differences can challenge the neurodivergent individual when trying to learn, thrive, and live in an environment not designed for them and their unique needs. This different way of being in the world can create experiences…
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Please Stop Publicizing Classroom Disruptions
I have been concerned about a trend on social media for a while. I haven’t written about it because while I knew where I stood philosophically, I have been trying to understand how people who are probably well-intended people could be participating in this behavior. I know you have seen videos and pictures of large…
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Elizabeth’s Story: You can’t be trauma-informed and cause trauma
Having a child with a disability or special needs comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. But for some of us parents, there is another looming fear, which is the fear that your child will be seriously injured or killed at school through the use of restraint or seclusion. In Pennsylvania, the PA…
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A Letter to the Burlington School District Board
My name is Brian Dalla Mura, and I am writing to express my deep concern and strong desire for the Burlington School District Board to establish a subcommittee dedicated to reviewing and revising its discipline and restraint and seclusion policies.
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A Last Resort?
Today, I want to share a more typical example of what we see leading to the use of restraint and seclusion – noncompliance. First, a trigger warning: what you are about to read will be difficult and upsetting. We will review an actual report, which we redacted to protect the victim’s identity. The report we…
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Myths Behind Restraint and Seclusion – A Literature Review
Federal data indicates that in the United States upwards of 100,000 students are restrained and secluded (R&S) every year in public schools (Kim, 2022). The OCR defines restraint as the act of, “restricting the student’s ability to move his or her torso, arms, legs or head freely” (Office of Civil Rights, 2016) which includes restriction…
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Stranger Danger: Restrained at Daycare
Much of what I have learned about autism over the years has been to help my son feel more comfortable and successful in a world that can feel overwhelming to him. I’ve also learned that it’s important to share our story – it’s not always easy for me to put our experiences and feelings into…