Research shows that more than 75% of children in America are exposed to some type of traumatic life event, an event that threatens injury, harm or death to themselves or others. Traumatic events include sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, community and school violence, medical trauma, motor vehicle accidents, acts of terrorism, war experiences, natural and human-made disasters, suicides, and other traumatic losses. Any one of these trauma events can forever impact the life of a child. Yet in the past 18 months our students have been bombarded with multiple trauma triggers which exacerbated the problems they could be experiencing in school.

Part 1 of our 2-part series, the workshop Trauma 101: Understanding Trauma-Exposed Youth, is designed to offer school teachers, administrators, and staff an introductory view into the dynamics of trauma. By understanding the impact of trauma on learning and development and learning to recognize behavioral indicators, teachers and staff are better positioned to understand and empathize with students who may be suffering following a traumatic event.