Presenters: Tyler Beer ; Erica Miller
Authors: Tyler Beer, Erica Miller, Rebecca Westercamp, Elizabeth Cutrer-Párraga
Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Cutrer-Párraga
Institution: Brigham Young University
Childhood trauma is found most common inside the home. Childhood traumaimpacts between 3.3 million and 10 million children each year (Cole, 2005). Childhoodtrauma also impacts both the child and the parent. In addition, childhood trauma can lead to inappropriate behaviors in a variety of settings including in the school setting, in the community, and in the home (Cole, 2005). In the school setting, trauma impacts essential school skills like concentration, organization, memory, and language abilities (Cole, 2005). Trauma can lead to mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, perfectionism, and even suicidal behavior (Cole 2005). Children with trauma histories may experience difficulty in reading, writing, and verbal communication (Cole, 2005). This research project explores parent’s perceptions of school based support for their children with a trauma history. The online talk of 17 parents raising children with trauma were analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Study participants' online talk reflected a belief that school systems are not well informed on the effects of childhood trauma and or how to help students with trauma histories succeed. School systems may consider implementing trauma informed care to best help those students with traumatic childhood experiences. Trauma informed care is based on understanding the individual’s experience and promoting training, policies and practices that reduce re-traumatization (Berger, 2019; Maynard et al., 2019) While more research is needed to quantify benefits of Trauma informed Care, some studies have noted reductions in depression and PTSD symptoms and improvements in teacher confidence and academic and social/emotional competencies. (Berger, 2019).