I’m in a quandary – what do I do? Last February I took my 7 and 6 year old’s out of school. The reason at that time was my eldest was struggling. Not with the social aspect of school, but with a lot of things around it. I had put it off for a long […]

I’m in a quandary – what do I do? Last February I took my 7 and 6 year old’s out of school. The reason at that time was my eldest was struggling. Not with the social aspect of school, but with a lot of things around it. I had put it off for a long while as I love my working life and I didn’t want to give that up. But seeing the effects of two early trauma’s in her life was something I could not ignore and I finally made the right decision. We’ve had our ups and downs over the last year, but mostly we’ve had a very precious gift – time. Time to work on the areas she struggles with; time to be … rest and to engage with each other. It’s something I don’t want to lose. I know that our business needs me more and she needs more education than I can give. She also needs to know that life outside of my safety net is safe and she can navigate it well without me next to her all the time. Full time school with the system as it is right now is not the answer.. so what is? Trusting that home life is enough to grow in her a strong fulfilled woman? Moving home to find an alternative school option?  Flexi-schooling sounds great, but will any head teacher here allow this? I’ve written today to a local Head – so we’ll see!

I am reminded so often of the effects of trauma.. and how it affected us and I never want to put her needs second to mine again. But making the right decision with the limited choices around us is tricky. I wish T+afa had been working in our school when we needed it most…

 

Effects on Preschool Students

Preschool students may lose recently acquired developmental milestones and may increase behaviors such as bed wetting, thumb sucking, and regress to simpler speech. They may become more clingy to their parents and worry about their parents safety and return. These young students may also become more irritable with more temper tantrums and have more difficulty calming down. A few students may show the reverse behavior and become very withdrawn, subdued, or even mute after a traumatic event. These students may have difficulties falling or staying asleep or have nightmares about the event or other bad dreams. Typically these students will process the event through post-traumatic play.

Effects on Elementary School Students

Elementary students may show signs of distress through somatic complaints such as stomachaches, headaches, and pains. These students may have a change in behavior, such as increase irritability, aggression, and anger. Their behaviors may be inconsistent. These students may show a change in school performance and have impaired attention and concentration and more school absences. Late elementary students may excessively talk and ask persistent questions about the event.