Trauma-informed behavior support begins with understanding that all behavior is communication shaped by a student’s past experiences. When teams have the skills and knowledge to view behavior in this way, they can understand how interfering behavior communicates important information about a student’s unmet needs. This allows teams to move past reactive ways of responding to student behavior, and instead foster healing, belonging, and growth for every student. The keys below can guide school staff in the mindset work needed to support student behavior learning in a trauma-informed way.
Key 1: Behavior Serves an Authentic Purpose
All learned behavior meets a valid need for the person engaging in it. A person’s patterns of usual behavior develop over time based on which behaviors are most efficient at meeting their needs. In some cases, this means that a person may unconsciously learn very efficient ways of getting important needs met with behavioral patterns that are not safe or that otherwise interfere with their learning or relationships. Regardless, the first step in supporting a student to learn prosocial alternative behaviors is for school staff to learn the need met by the student’s interfering behaviors.
School teams may make the mistake of describing a student’s interfering behaviors as intentional, planned actions that the student is consciously using to get a desired outcome. This language should be avoided as it is not an accurate understanding of how interfering behavior is learned over time. Loaded terms like “manipulation” can create bias that hinders the student’s belonging and reconnection at school. Inaccurate beliefs about behavior can prevent staff from understanding the context, individual history, and unmet needs at the heart of a student’s interfering behavior.
Key 2: Behavior is Shaped by Past Events and Experiences
Because behavior serves a purpose, students who have experienced challenging or traumatic events often learn unique behaviors that help them meet their needs in those specific contexts. This might mean that, for instance, a student with a history of traumatic experiences may react more quickly or strongly to events that are linked to their past experiences in some way. For many students who have experienced trauma, these behaviors may have kept them safe in unsafe situations. School staff can support students to heal from these experiences by providing an environment that is emotionally and physically safe, stable, and affirms the student’s inherent worth and belonging in the school community. This creates the conditions in which a student can feel secure to learn new and prosocial ways to navigate the healthy challenges of the school day.
Key 3: Behavior is Learned, So It Can Be Taught
As described above, each student’s past experiences shape their current behaviors. Because of this, school staff should remember that the student is also capable of learning healthier alternative behaviors. This requires staff provide teaching and compassionate support for the student to learn those new behaviors. Just like with any area of learning, students may make behavioral mistakes or may have established habits that interfere with their growth. Just like with academic skills, school staff can provide high quality instruction, feedback, and support in social, emotional, and behavioral skills to support student learning.
Key 4: Punishment Does Not Teach New Behaviors
According to behavioral science, new behaviors are only learned through practice and reinforcement. It is a common misconception that a student’s interfering behavior should be given punitive consequences – and, in the short term, occasional instances of interfering behavior can sometimes be temporarily halted through the use of punishment. However, punishment cannot teach new behavior and does not lead to positive long-term behavioral change. The more a student experiences punishment at school, the more likely it is that their interfering behavior will worsen over time. Any perceived effectiveness of punishment is temporary and does not result in learning or behavioral growth. For students to achieve lasting growth in social, emotional, and behavioral skills, those skills must be identified, taught, and positively reinforced.
Key 5: Behavior Support Requires Listening to the Whole Child
All learned behavior is communication of some kind. Since behavior serves an authentic purpose, it is possible to understand that purpose – as well as the authentic need the behavior meets – by listening to what is communicated. This requires an understanding of the student as a whole child.
Behavior support from a whole child perspective acknowledges and seeks to address unmet needs that contribute to a student's use of interfering behavior. For example:
- For a student with sensory sensitivities who engages in interfering behavior when hungry, the team can support her with options for school meals that meet her sensory needs
- For a student who avoids class due to anxiety, the team can provide tools to manage anxiety, therapeutic work around building positive coping skills, and increased connection with safe adults during the school day
- For a student who feels isolated and who has difficulty making and keeping friendships, the team could provide extra support around social interaction, self-management, and opportunities for strengths-based student leadership
- For a student who feels disconnected from school due to a series of suspensions, the team works to rebuild a sense of belonging by building relationships, connecting the student to school activities and learning opportunities aligned with their strengths and interests, and preventing further disciplinary removals by proactively supporting the student in whatever need the behaviors at issue were communicating