Category: Trauma
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Isolated in Vermont: Trauma lasts a lifetime
I want to preface this by explaining that I only write this anonymously because I don’t want colleges or future employers to look my name up and read about my childhood trauma. I attended kindergarten through 4th grade in a Vermont Public School. I am now in High School. Last year a letter was written…
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It’s time to ban seclusion in New Jersey schools
Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. In June, an investigation by the NJ Advance Media led to the publication of an article, “Inside the quiet rooms.” The article stated that at least 1,150 New Jersey students had been…
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Invisible Voices: Wednesday’s Children
The school-to-prison pipeline exist for the rest of the country despite local, state, and national efforts. Why? Inadequate funding and resources for schools, harsh zero-tolerance policies, and police presence in public schools continue to create school environments in which poor and minority students have little chance of succeeding. Fatherless homes, single moms working more than…
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Invisible voices: Victims of corporal punishment in the 20th century Catholic School System
Anyone who attended Catholic school during the 1950’s, ‘60s, and ’70s will attest to the fact that no one does better punishment, seclusion, restraint, and isolation techniques better than the Catholic orders of nuns who taught in the catholic school systems across the United States and Canada. The nuns imposed corporal punishment for inattention, failure…
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Problematic Behavioral Intervention Strategies: It’s not working for the child (Part 2)
One of the key issues with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is the approach to identifying the function of behavior. PBIS guidance suggests that “staff should minimize reinforcement of the behavior.” Let’s break this down. This belief is rooted in the view that the function of the behavior works for the child. This belief…
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Corporal punishment has no place in a civilized society
The Cassville School District in Missouri has decided to bring back corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is a form of punishment intended to cause physical pain to a person in response to undesirable behavior. In the case of Cassville School District, physical pain will be inflicted on students of all ages with a paddle. According to the Superintendent,…
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Safety First: A quick start guide for parents working to keep their kids safe from restraint, seclusion, suspension, and expulsion
When I held each of my two kids as newborns, I promised to keep each of them as safe as possible. I know that the world isn’t fair and that no parent can (or should) shield their children from all of life’s difficulties, but I thought that since I had a relatively safe childhood, I…
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How proper support and a service dog named Koko helped Mason
Back in the day, I would usually start my IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings with a statement like, “Restraint should be the last resort, or things will go downhill quickly.” Every year it seemed to get worse after the first restraint would happen. It was just the beginning of a long road ahead for my…
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Moving From Nervous System States of Protection to the Nervous System States of Growth
In 1988, Dr. Nicholas Long founded Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) Institute in order to train professionals in effective, strength-based approaches to working with seriously emotionally disturbed children and youth. The “Conflict Cycle” is a part of this creation and has assisted clinicians, educators, and parents in understanding emotional contagion and the co-regulation practices that when…
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The memories will haunt me
I have been on multiple adolescent inpatient psychiatric units and, as a result, have seen the use of seclusion and restraint. I will forever live with the memories of seeing people restrained on the restraint bed and in the seclusion room. Those memories will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. While…