Chapter 7: Supporting Students With Disabilities From a Trauma-Informed Lens of Post pandemic

Since the pandemic, many students in K–12 schools have been impacted by events that could be traumatic in nature (e.g., loss of loved ones due to COVID-19, lack of food and other bare necessities, interruption in education, and parents and families experiencing additional stress). Before the 2022–2023 school year, there were many school districts making building-level changes to help students feel physically and psychologically safer by integrating trauma-informed strategies in schools (Hoover, 2019). Many children experience traumatic events. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA, 2020), by the age of 16 years old, more than 67% of young people will have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives (SAMHSA, 2020). Therefore, it is imperative that when students with disabilities experience trauma, that there are mental health supports in place for schools to help them thrive within the academic setting. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN, 2017) noted that a trauma-informed school (a) promotes a physically and psychologically safe environment, (b) seeks to create a structured and predictable learning environment that minimizes unnecessary traumatic experiences that can be triggering for students, (c) focuses on building positive relationships among the students and the adults in the academic setting, (d) integrates anti-bullying and suicide prevention programs to support students, and (e) uses a balanced restorative practice approach to support students and to help mitigate conflict in an effective manner.