Breaking the Cycle: How Schools Can Better Support Trauma-Affected Students
Understanding the hidden connection between childhood trauma, special education, and harmful school disciplinary practices
Imagine a seven-year-old who has witnessed domestic violence at home. At school, loud noises make them freeze, unexpected touch causes them to lash out, and crowded hallways trigger panic responses. Teachers, unaware of the child’s trauma history, see defiance and aggression. Eventually, the child is referred for special education services and classified with “emotional disturbance.” They’re placed in a specialized program where, when their trauma responses are misinterpreted as behavioral problems, they may face physical restraint, potentially re-traumatizing them all over again.
This scenario plays out in schools across America more often than we’d like to admit, creating a cycle of trauma that our educational system inadvertently perpetuates.
My Background and Stake
My professional experience in educational settings has involved implementing restraint-based crisis intervention protocols, including Safety Care and Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) training. This firsthand exposure to restrictive practices has informed my understanding of their frequency of use and implementation challenges within educational environments. While developing proficiency in crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques, I have observed that physical restraint interventions often complicate subsequent therapeutic rapport and emotional support with students. The prevalence of these practices in settings where entry-level staff regularly implement physical interventions underscores the critical need for empirical examination of their effects on vulnerable student populations.
The Hidden Crisis in Our Schools
The statistics are sobering. More than two-thirds of children in the United States experience at least one traumatic event by age 16 (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2019). Yet when these children enter our classrooms, their trauma often goes unrecognized. Instead of seeing survival responses, educators may see “problem behaviors” that lead to special education referrals, with research showing significant correlations between childhood trauma exposure and special education identification (Perfect et al., 2016).
Once identified for special education, particularly under the “emotional disturbance” category, these students are disproportionately placed in alternative or specialized settings where physical restraint and seclusion are used more frequently (Ryan et al., 2018). During the 2017-18 school year alone, over 100,000 students experienced restraint or seclusion, with 80% of them being students with disabilities despite making up only 13% of the school population (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2018).
When Help Becomes Harm
Here’s where the cycle becomes particularly troubling: the very interventions meant to help these students may be causing additional harm. For a child whose trauma responses include hypervigilance, fear of losing control, or physical aggression as a survival mechanism, being physically restrained can trigger the exact neurological and emotional responses that their brain learned during the original trauma.
Research shows that restraint can exacerbate inappropriate behaviors and create new associations of fear, pain, anger, and trauma (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2011). In essence, we may be re-traumatizing the children we’re trying to help and then wondering why their behaviors aren’t improving. Studies have documented this re-traumatization effect, showing that restraint use may worsen the very behavioral presentations that initially led to students’ special education identification (Knox & Burkhart, 2014).
A Different Way Forward
There are evidence-based alternatives that can break this cycle. Trauma-informed practices in schools focus on understanding trauma’s impact on learning and behavior, rather than simply managing the symptoms (Cole et al., 2013).
Key principles of trauma-informed education include:
- Safety first: Creating physical and emotional safety in all school environments
- Trustworthiness: Building consistent, reliable relationships with clear boundaries
- Choice and collaboration: Giving students appropriate control and involving them in decisions
- Cultural responsiveness: Understanding how trauma intersects with cultural and historical contexts
- Healing and resilience: Focusing on strengths and building coping skills (SAMHSA 2014)
Practical strategies might include:
- Teaching emotional regulation skills instead of relying on punishment
- Creating calm-down spaces where students can self-regulate
- Training staff to recognize trauma responses versus defiance
- Implementing restorative practices that repair relationships
- Providing mental health supports within the school setting (Overstreet & Chafouleas, 2016)
What This Means for Students, Families, and Educators
For students: Trauma-informed approaches can mean the difference between a school experience that heals versus one that harms. When educators understand that a student’s aggressive outburst might be a trauma response rather than defiance, they can respond with support rather than punishment.
For families: Understanding this connection can help parents advocate for appropriate services and trauma-informed approaches. It also helps explain why traditional disciplinary methods might not be working for their child.
For educators: Learning about trauma doesn’t mean excusing problematic behaviors, but rather understanding their root causes so interventions can be more effective. Many teachers report feeling more confident and successful when they understand trauma’s impact on their students.
The Research We Still Need
While we know these connections exist, we need more research to fully understand how trauma, special education identification, and disciplinary practices intersect. Critical questions remain:
- How often are trauma symptoms misidentified as emotional disturbance?
- What specific interventions are most effective for trauma-exposed students in ED programs?
- How can we better train educators to recognize and respond to trauma?
- What policy changes are needed to support trauma-informed practices?
Moving Forward: From Punishment to Healing
Breaking the cycle of trauma in schools requires a fundamental shift in how we think about student behavior. The goal isn’t to eliminate accountability or lower expectations, but to create educational environments where trauma-affected students can learn, grow, and thrive. When we get this right, we don’t just improve outcomes for individual students, we contribute to breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma that affect entire communities.
As we continue to learn more about trauma’s impact on learning and development, one thing is clear: our schools have the power to be places of healing rather than harm. The question is whether we’re willing to make the changes necessary to ensure every child, regardless of what they’ve experienced, has the opportunity to succeed.
References
Cole, S. F., Eisner, A., Gregory, M., & Ristuccia, J. (2013). Helping traumatized children learn: Creating and advocating for trauma-sensitive schools. Massachusetts Advocates for Children.
Knox, M., & Burkhart, K. (2014). A multi-site study of the ACEs pyramid: Sedgwick County’s traumatic experiences and their relationship to adult health and social issues. Wichita State University.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2019). Child trauma toolkit for educators. https://www.nctsn.org/resources/child-trauma-toolkit-educators
Overstreet, S., & Chafouleas, S. M. (2016). Trauma-informed schools: Introduction to the special issue. School Mental Health, 8(1), 1-6.
Perfect, M. M., Turley, M. R., Carlson, J. S., Yohanna, J., & Saint Gilles, M. P. (2016). School-related outcomes of traumatic event exposure and traumatic stress symptoms in students: A systematic review of research from 1990 to 2015. School Psychology Review, 45(4), 406-439.
Ryan, J. B., Katsiyannis, A., Counts, J. M., & Shelnut, J. C. (2018). The growing concerns regarding the use of seclusion and restraint in schools. Intervention in School and Clinic, 53(3), 129-138.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Trauma-informed care in behavioral services: A treatment improvement protocol. SAMHSA.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2014). Trauma-informed care in behavioral services treatment improvement protocol (TIP) series 57. SAMHSA.
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (2018). 2017-18 Civil Rights Data Collection: School climate and safety. U.S. Department of Education.