COVID-19 and Adverse Childhood Experiences: How Schools Can Respond

COVID-19 and Adverse Childhood Experiences: How Schools Can Respond

This week our guest post comes from Jason Basinger. Jason is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist in the Salt Lake City School District and is a member of the Utah Education Association Trauma Team. In this article, Jason provides insight into the impact of COVID-19 on students, and guidance on how schools can appropriately respond to childhood trauma.

COVID-19 and Adverse Childhood Experiences: How Schools Can Respond
by Jason Basinger

Recognizing that many students have a history of trauma, there is an increased need for trauma-responsive schools. Trauma refers to any experience that is deeply distressing and if untreated can lead to toxic stress and negative health outcomes. Childhood trauma, also called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), includes abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual), neglect (physical and emotional), and household dysfunction (violence, substance abuse, mental illness, divorce, and incarceration). In the 1990s, Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a survey study of ~17,000 adults which identified these ACEs and found that approximately two-thirds of the 17,000-survey sample had at least one ACE. 

There is, of course, an age-typical response to traumatic experiences. Not every student who experiences trauma will have negative outcomes. Research indicates that children who have supportive relationships experience tolerable stress, not toxic stress. The key difference between tolerable and toxic stress is how it affects the body’s stress response. Tolerable stress is temporary whereas toxic stress is prolonged activation of the autonomic nervous system—it is the “fight-or-flight” response, with tolerable stress being short-term and toxic being long-term. Having supportive family, friend, and teacher relationships can be the difference between toxic and tolerable stress in response to trauma. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic it is likely there will is an increase of trauma among children and adolescents. COVID-19, sheltering in place, and safe social distancing has altered the social fabric of daily life. With school closures and community precautions in place, all of us—including students—are living through an unprecedented traumatic event. Many families are experiencing financial uncertainty. Most have increased stress. Everyone is affected. The trauma of COVID-19 will likely have a more negative impact children who have previous ACEs and are at-risk for toxic stress.

When returning to school, students may exhibit a wide-range of trauma symptoms—some of which may appear unrelated to trauma. Symptoms of anxiety and depression may come in the form of being overly talkative, energetic or hyperactive, difficulty listening for short periods of time, less likely to follow directions, and quicker to become aggressive. These behaviors are symptoms of children who have experienced trauma. 

For appropriate response to trauma, schools may benefit from adopting restorative justice approaches. Restorative justice practices focus on restoring relationships with peers and adults. For example, instead of suspending a student for fighting, a restorative approach would provide school counseling and a supervised opportunity for the involved students to verbally resolve their conflict. Schools may be tempted to think that these problem behaviors are unrelated to trauma, when in fact they are symptoms of trauma. In a sense, those who experience trauma switch into survival mode, and tend to respond quickly and aggressively to perceived threats.

In addition to individualized responses, it is likely that there will be a need for school-wide response that is trauma focused. Appropriate school-wide responses may include the following:

1. Create a safe place: Consider not only physical safety, but emotional safety as well.
2. Establish predictability: Write out a schedule and prepare children for transitions. Predictability helps create a sense of security and safety.
3. Build a sense of trust: Follow through with your promises and in situations where changes are unavoidable, be transparent with your explanations.
4. Offer choices: Empower students by offering them choices instead of controlling every activity.
5. Stay regulated: Help your students (and yourself) stay emotionally regulated and aware of their emotions.
6. DON’T punish behaviors that are trauma symptoms.

There is a hierarchy in trauma research: trauma-informed before trauma-responsive. While there is a practicality to step-by-step actions for trauma response, it is important that schools become educated on trauma so they can better intervene and help students through trauma. It is important that schools have access to qualified mental health professionals, which can include school psychologists, licensed therapists, social workers, and school counselors. Some schools find it beneficial to have a school-wide focus on trauma, using restorative justice to focus on meaningful relationships that can be protective factors against traumatic stress.

For additional readings, consider the following: 

The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study — the Largest Public Health Study You Never Heard Of:  Part 1

The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study — the Largest Public Health Study You Never Heard Of: Part 2

The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study — the Largest Public Health Study You Never Heard Of: Part 3

Johnson, K. (2000). School crisis management: A hands-on guide to training crisis response teams. Hunter House.