PTSD

PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

What it is:
Stress associated with  severe adversity from things such as accidental injuries, abuse, stress, witnessing a criminal act or from experiencing natural disasters.

The severity of the anxiety can depend on the number of events and what exactly has happened during this time. PTSD effects memory. While individuals can learn strategies to cope there could be a re-occurrence. PTSD effects the language part of the brain.

Symptoms:
A sufferer of PTSD may present in a variety of different ways:
clingy
sudden mood change
avoidance
disorganised behaviour
sad/ withdrawn
intrusive thoughts
depression
flashbacks
inappropriate actions
muddling events
difficulty re-telling stories
may look like they have ADHD
act younger than their age
present with headaches or stomach aches
feel like no one loves them
experience difficulty concentrating
may show delayed symptoms: 6 months after, or even 2 years after.
1 or 2 symptoms may have an increased risk of suicide. This made me read this further information on PTSD.

Stress from a PTSD sufferer can impact on : cognitive, emotional and even physical development. Those with PTSD may consider that the world is against them.

Strategies:

Based on other disorders may not be as effective if individuals have other issues. Therefore it is important to accurately diagnose the cause. There are many simple things we can do to help sufferers cope including:

Our recently implemented water and bread initiatives are really important as it they assist the autonomic part of our brain get back into order if aroused.

It is important too be aware of the escalation cycle: every child has a different cycle. Some could be explosive or it could take time for others to escalate. Everyone begins in a calm state. This is the time for emotional coaching. When we start to get grumpy we have a trigger effect: this could arise from a misinterpretation of an instruction or a change in the environment. This is due to them being hypervigilant.

We can prevent something further happening by giving individual's time to deal with changes. Using visual schedules and reducing stimulation in the environment is significant.

Telling those who feel uneasy it's ok to feel this way and using a distraction like a job around the school, letting students do their preferred activity or implement a calming strategy may also help.

When coping behaviours don't work: make sure others are safe, decrease stimulation and avoid triggers....possibly remove them and just wait!
Acknowledge individual's when they are coming down an are on the other side. Give them more space, students may be tired and even need a rest. when they are back to calm talk to them about what happened.

Increased awareness of symptons of students who suffer from PTSD make me reflect that I need to give some students more space or time when they are stressed, however I am constantly aware of the need to balance this with keeping others safe.One of the more significant aspects of what we got from today related to this statement: We need to focus on the brain, not blame!