Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Lakeside

First Presenter’s Email Address

kathyv@lakeside.net

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Kathy has been working in the field of education for over 40 years as a teacher, counselor, and administrator and has been consulting and training school personnel for the past 20 years. She currently is Executive Vice President of Lakeside and works part-time as a professor in Eastern University’s graduate school counseling department. In addition to being a Licensed Psychologist, Kathy has been trained by the ChildTrauma Academy in the Neurosequential Model of both Therapeutics and Education. She has presented at regional, state, national, and international conferences. Kathy has published a curriculum for teaching trauma-informed principles to students.

Location

Session Five

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

This applies to Head, Heart, Hands, and Health- but Heart and Health stand out as teaching this information to students will improve social and emotional skills through understanding their stress response and regulating the brain from the bottom up. Students knowing this information can have a significant impact on their personal mental health and on school culture.

Brief Program Description

All students are impacted by stress and can benefit by understanding their brains, their stress response, and strategies for regulation. This presentation will provide practical principles and ideas for teaching students strategies and skills for physical, emotional, and cortical regulation.

Summary

All students are impacted by stress and can improve learning through understanding the brain and brain regulation. For students who have experienced trauma, this information is critical to their success. This presentation will provide guidelines, ideas, and strategies for teaching students strategies for physical, emotional, and cortical regulation. These principles and strategies can be taught to students individually or through group and classroom settings. Practical ideas and examples will be given along with feedback and lessons learned from the students we have taught.

More details on what will be included are listed below:

1. A brief introduction to trauma, regulation, and the brain

o Brain regions

o Brain states

2. Informal methods for teaching students throughout the school day

o Use consistent terminology

o Model behavior and regulating interventions

o Teach and use pulse

o Use brain breaks and brain-based educational activities

3. Teach through the school environment

o Visual reminders

o Furniture

o Regulation tools and interventions

4. Use/develop a structured curriculum to teach students

o Structure for safety

o Instill hope

o Use parallel process

o Utilize a variety of brain pathways

o Repetitively practice regulation activities

o Brain region-specific interventions and regulation

o Response to threat and state-dependent functioning

5. Feedback and lessons learned from students

Evidence

All of what is taught has been field-tested in teaching students in Lakeside's 4 schools and in various school districts throughout our region. The information presented is based on our own experience and the evidence-based work below:

Cox, A., Perry, B.D., and Frederico, M. (2021) Resourcing the System and Enhancing Relationships: Pathways to Positive Outcomes for Children Impacted by Abuse and Neglect. Child Welfare, Vol. 98, No. 6

Graner, S. & Perry, B.D. (2023) Translating the Six R’s for the Educational Setting (revised and updated from A ‘6Rs” Translational Template for Educators 2020). NMN Press, Houston

Van de Kolk, B.A. (2014) The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Learning Objective 1

develop an excitement regarding the impact this information can have on students and schools

Learning Objective 2

identify strategies for establishing a foundation of hope and an understanding of brain regulation

Learning Objective 3

recognize key areas and opportunities for teaching about stress and brain regulation in their setting

Keyword Descriptors

brain-based, stress, regulation, teaching students, trauma, hope, empowerment

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-5-2024 10:15 AM

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Mar 5th, 10:15 AM

Teaching Students about Trauma, Stress and Brain Regulation

Session Five

All students are impacted by stress and can benefit by understanding their brains, their stress response, and strategies for regulation. This presentation will provide practical principles and ideas for teaching students strategies and skills for physical, emotional, and cortical regulation.