There is often a lack of knowledge in schools about adopted children’s life experiences and the impact that these have on the behaviours or challenges of adopted children. The truth is that adopted children will face the impacts of their early life trauma and adverse experiences, regardless of whether they end up with a forever family. It is crucial that we understand this in order build every school into an adoption friendly school.
A child’s experiences in the early years build the neural pathways in their brain, laying the foundations for future learning and development. Experiences of trauma and neglect are also built into the brain. These pathways impact how an individual will view and respond to future life experiences. Prior to adoption, children can face significant instability and adverse experiences, which change how they respond to individuals and react to events later.
Many adopted children have long-lasting difficulties that do not easily fit into our pre-existing ideas of developmental challenges. They require understanding, empathy and support to overcome these challenges and reframe their own understanding of the world. Unfortunately, this is often overlooked across educational settings. We must work together to create an adoption friendly school environment for every adopted child.
How do we do that?
Creating change is never an easy task, but is necessary to provide our children with the best possible futures. Change begins at the top in schools, as with many organisations. The senior leadership team must model and drive the changes, which will impact the ways that teachers interact with and support children. Identifying the problem is always the first step, and will lay the blueprint for how the school addresses the gaps in supporting adopted children.
Identify the needs of your school community
Adopted children often have difficulty building trusting relationships with adults, due to prior experiences with the adults in their lives. They may feel scared and find it frightening to relinquish control. Difficulty with peers is also common, if children have limited experience learning how to play and socialise. Further, the experiences of the child may limit their ability to respond appropriately in social situations.
Coping with feelings, transitions and change can be challenging for children who have experienced significant loss or change in their early years. These challenges can often present difficulty in managing their behaviour. It is important to recognise that the child is not behaving badly, but is responding to their emotions and past experiences.
Learning and using executive functioning skills can also be limited for children who experienced trauma. They may be focused on difficult thoughts or feelings, or preoccupied by not feeling safe, which can trigger a stress response for them. Limited opportunities for executive functioning development may also play a role in learning challenges.
Measurable assessment of needs
Some adopted children may require more specialized support, whilst others may benefit from universal school practices. To identify the needs of an adopted child, you may like to use the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which can be completed by a parent or teacher to assess emotional symptoms, behaviour problems, peer problems, hyperactivity and prosocial behaviour. The SDQ can be accessed here: Listening to a child’s own views of their needs is also important in understanding how to provide them with suitable support. This may be achieved by asking for a rating of their day, drawing for discussion or parent’s reports of how their children describe their day at school. You could also use props or puppets to talk to children about their needs, but only within their capacity as an educator. If you feel specialised support is required to understand the child’s needs, you can contact us here.
Implementing and assessing change
After identifying a child’s needs, goals should be identified to guide the child’s support system. Goals should be of benefit to the child and their wellbeing, not the school setting. Goals should be both important for the child and to the child. An individualised support intervention should aim to help the child meet these goals. However, relationships should be prioritised as a method of support. Children who have been adopted and experienced disruption to attachment or trauma need stable, understanding and supportive adults in their lives.
The role of adults in the school
The presence of these adults teaches them that they are loved and worthy, and also builds their trust in others. The adults also play a vital role in helping children to learn to regulate their emotions and recognise big feelings and challenging experiences, as well as the development of other skills. You can learn more about the power of co-regulation here. Whilst the child should have access to a key adult, they need support from a team of adults in their school environment to build a generalised sense of trust. The atmosphere of the school environment is also essential, and informs how we relate and interact with children. Develop a plan of how often the child’s team will meet these needs, and how effective communication will be ensured between the adults at the school and the family.
Progress can be measured using the same assessment measure first given to the child, as well as observed by teachers in the school environment.
Everyday interactions make the difference
Adults at the school may find it helpful to use the PACE model to help children feel safe and accepted. Additionally, rethinking the school’s behaviour management strategy may be appropriate, as behaviours are an expression of the child’s feelings and past experiences.
P – playful, kep tone light and open, have fun
A – accepting. Actively let the child know that you accept their wishes, feelings, thoughts and urges. Acknowledge thoughts, feelings and wishes as they are, without judgement.
C – curious by trying to understand why and helping the child to understand. Wonder and hypothesize about a child’s thoughts, feelings and motivations. ‘I wonder….’
E – empathic, by showing the child that their inner life is important to the adult, the child feels less alone and overwhelmed by their feelings. The child and adult experience and process the strong and difficult feelings together.
Other helpful strategies include reflecting the child’s feelings and statements, guessing what someone might be thinking or feeling (i’m guessing that…’, using non-verbals to show that we are listening, and normalizing the child’s feelings and thoughts.
Changes in the classroom are also important
You may also like to make some changes in the classroom to make it more trauma friendly. Ensure consistency in routine, such as a making a daily schedule on the board. Having a predictable schedule helps children to prepare for change and transitions. Plan breaks for a child that is becoming overwhelmed. Create dedicated play spaces for younger kids to provide a safe environment and avoid overwhelm.
You can offer teachers or educators professional development on trauma informed practice. If your school or childcare provider would like more assistance in supporting adopted children, we offer specialized training workshops to build educator knowledge and capacity. Please complete our contact form or give us a call today.
If your school or childcare provider would like more assistance in supporting adopted children, we offer specialized training workshops to build educator knowledge and capacity. Please complete our contact form or give us a call today.
References
Emma Gore Langton, & Katherine Boy. (2017). Becoming an Adoption-Friendly School : A Whole-School Resource for Supporting Children Who Have Experienced Trauma or Loss – With Complementary Downloadable Material. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
