Trauma and Trauma-Sensitive Schools
This page features a number of external and FFF resources on childhood trauma, responding to trauma and trauma-sensitive schools. Click the "For educators" box below to limit search results to those resources that may be particularly helpful to school personnel. In addition to services and supports at schools, Virginia regional Community Services Boards offer behavioral health services for children and families. Emergency services and crisis response are among the supports offered by CSBs. Local CSBs can be found at https://dbhds.virginia.gov/community-services-boards-csbs .
Trauma Training Videos & Fact Sheets: Trauma Sensitive Approaches for Home and School
Trauma Sensitive Approaches for Home and School videos– produced by Formed Families Forward as part of our work with the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports project. Under 10 minutes in length, each video provides an introduction to critical trauma content.
The videos include:
1) Understanding Trauma
2) Responding to Trauma
3) Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools
Three fact sheets are designed to support the Trauma Sensitive Responses at Home and School video series.
Individual Fact Sheets are available as separate documents, and all three fact sheets in one document. Accessible text versions of all fact sheets are also available in English and Spanish.
Video Series
Fact Sheets for Videos 1 through 3
Video 1 Fact Sheet Understanding Trauma
Video 2 Fact Sheet Responding to Trauma
Video 3 Fact Sheet Trauma Sensitive Schools
Video 1 Fact Sheet Understanding Trauma accessible version
Video 2 Fact Sheet Responding to Trauma accessible version
Video 3 Fact Sheet Trauma Sensitive Schools accessible version
SPANISH Video 1 Fact Sheet accessible version
SPANISH Video 2 Fact Sheet accessible version
SPANISH Video 3 Fact Sheet accessible version
ARABIC Video 1 Fact Sheet
ARABIC Video 2 Fact Sheet
ARABIC Video 3 Fact Sheet
Trauma Training Videos from FFF – Trauma Sensitive Approaches for Home and School
Trauma Sensitive Approaches for Home and School videos– produced by Formed Families Forward as part of our work with the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports project. Under 10 minutes in length, each video provides an introduction to critical trauma content.
The videos include:
1) Understanding Trauma
2) Responding to Trauma
3) Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools
Self Care: How to Take Care of Yourself So You Can Take Better Care of Others
Originally broadcast live on May 9, 2023, this webinar from FFF’s Renee Myers offered an overview of typical parenting stressors, self-care techniques and approaches for making a self-care plan for the upcoming summer break.
Recording of webinar
Copy of presentation slides
Trauma and Developmental Disabilities webcast series from VCU
This series of three webcasts from VCU Autism Center for Education, presented by Dr. Ruth Brown, were made available in February, March and April 2023.
Webcast Part 1: The Essential Messages of Trauma Responsive Practices
Webcast Part 2: Understanding Traumatic Stress Responses
Part 3: Trauma Responsive Strategies for the Classroom
Critical Crossroads: Resources for Recognizing and Addressing Trauma in Children and Youth with Disabilities webinar
On March 8, 2023, FFF hosted a live webinar featuring the new Critical Crossroads videos and other resources. Provided here is a re-recording, that does not include time for the pre-and post-tests or Q & A that were included in the live webinar.
Recording of Critical Crossroads resources webinar March 2023
How Trauma Informed Care Can Benefit Children and Youth with Disabilities – Critical Crossroads Infographic
This infographic from Formed Families Forward’s Critical Crossroads resources overviews the issues around trauma impact on children and youth with disabilities.
Critical Crossroads Infographic
Trauma-Informed, Resilience-Oriented Schools Toolkit
From the National Center for School Safety and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, this toolkit offers school personnel, families and other stakeholders guidance and strategies for implementing trauma-informed and resilience-oriented schools.
3 Tips to Improve Communication with Your Youth & Young Adults tip sheet
This tip sheet provides parents and allies of youth and young adults with lived experience of a mental health condition tips be able to improve their connection with them. This tip sheet was developed as a collaboration between the family member and young adult advisory boards that work with the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research at University of Massachusetts. The tips are based on advisory board members’ real experiences.
Resources for Loss of Parents and Caregivers
October 27, 2022In October 2022, the federal Administration on Children and Families (ACF) issued a Dear Colleague letter offering resources and links for families and professionals supporting children who have been impacted by the loss of parent or caregiver
Dear Colleague Letter
Trauma Responsive Educator Project (TREP)
The TREP Project was launched in 2016 with a policy brief on the educational consequences of the chronic toxic stress of living in high crime communities. The TREP Project works to develop the individual and organizational capacity of educators and schools serving children growing up in neighborhoods that have high levels of toxic stress, such as violent crime, concentrated poverty, concentrated foster care involvement, and housing instability.
Affiliated with the University of Chicago, the Project offers professional learning courses, online resources and a Magazine.
TREP Educator website
Social Emotional Learning (SEL): What Families Should Know fact sheet
January 08, 2022This fact sheet from the Northern Virginia Family Network, of which FFF is an active member, provides an overview of social emotional learning efforts in the schools. It offers families information about how they can be involved in SEL efforts in their children’s schools.
SEL Fact Sheet
Trauma Learning Modules from Va Tiered Systems of Supports (VTSS)
These online modules from the Virginia Department of Education’s Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports project. They are designed for school personnel to support the journey to becoming a trauma-sensitive school.
The six modules are focused on the following topics:
- Module 1: Introduction to Trauma and Becoming a Trauma-Sensitive School
- Module 2: Families and Communities as Partners
- Module 3: How Trauma Impacts Learning
- Module 4: Strategies and Classroom Practices (academic, social-emotional learning, trauma-sensitive environments, regulation, cognitive problem solving, relationships, school-wide discipline, self-care)
- Module 5: Implementation and Systems (division, staff, administrators)
- Module 6: Resilience
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)
A description of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), from the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. TBRI is a an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. TBRI uses Empowering Principles to address physical needs, Connecting Principles for attachment needs, and Correcting Principles to disarm fear-based behaviors.
The 3-5-7 Model—Helping Children Work Through Grief
This article from NACAC describes the 3-5-7 Model used to treat children and youth.
The 3-5-7 Model is designed to help professionals and parents work with children and youth to address these issues of grief and loss. It is an evidenced-informed, guided practice approach that supports the work of children and parents in grieving their losses and rebuilding their relationships in an effort to achieve well-being, safety, and permanency. The model incorporates theoretical underpinnings from child development, attachment, separation and loss, trauma, family systems, and relationship development.
Addressing Student and Educator Trauma from REL Appalachia
From the Regional Educational Lab (REL) Appalachia Cross-State Collaborative, several resources from Spring 2020 on Addressing Student and Educator Trauma.
Menu of Trauma Informed Programs for Schools
Common Trauma Symptoms and Strategies for Educators
Resources on Addressing Student and Educator Trauma from REL Appalachia
Trauma-Sensitive Schools Learning Modules
Trauma-Sensitive Schools Learning Modules from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Regulation “Clip Chart” Tools
Tools for supporting elementary and for middle and high school students in self-regulation. From Heather Forbes, Beyond Consequences Institute.
Regulation Tool for Middle and High School
Regulation Tool for Elementary School
Applying a Trauma-Informed Framework to the IEP Process: From Referral to Development
This book from LRP Publications, dated 2020, takes a step-by-step approach to addressing trauma as a part of IEP development — from referral to family engagement, report writing, and IEP design and implementation. Authors offer guidance to develop effective, compliant IEPs for these vulnerable students.. The book is available for purchase. FFF has a copy, feel free to contact us to learn more about the book or borrow at our office.
Link to Book, LRP Publications
How to Address Your Child’s Concerns about COVID
This Fact Sheet from Formed Families Forward in July 2020 pulls from a number of mental health and education resources to share specific strategies and suggested language to use with preschool children, school-age students and adolescents to address concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
We thank our summer 2020 interns from GMU Clare Yordy and Austin Guske for their contributions to this resource.
Systems of Trauma: Racial Trauma issue brief from FACT Va
From Family and Children’s Trust Fund of Virginia, this issue brief focuses on defining and exploring racial trauma and cites examples of approaches used in Virginia communities to proactively address racial trauma.
Northern Post Adoption Regional Consortium
Funded by Va Department of Social Services, the Northern Post Adoption Regional Consortium offers case management, crisis supports, training, and other services for post-adoptive families. It is a partnership between The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), enCircle, Children’s Home Society and NACAC to offer post adoption services and supports.
All families who have finalized adoptions of children ages birth through 18 years and reside in Virginia are eligible for services at no cost. This includes families that have adopted domestically, internationally and through foster care.
Consortium Flyer for families
Consortium Flyer for professionals
Website
Developmental Trauma Close Up
From Beacon House UK, this article offers images and information that reviews key characteristics and impacts of developmental trauma.
Close Up report