How to Manage Violent

Behaviours in the Classroom?

By Hannah Taves
EDTE 500
  What is complex trauma?
Complex trauma is early on repeated traumatic
experiences in development. Complex trauma Inhibits
Complex the neural system’s ability to return to normal but changes

Trauma the system to appear like one that is always anticipating

or responding to trauma.
  -Poor Concentration
 -Poor Attention
 -Poor Judgement
 -Highly Reactive
 -Responds to Threat if Not Present
Characteristics  -Fight, Flight, Freeze
of Complex • Fight is seen as the aggressive reaction where the child may physically,
and or verbally lash out.
Trauma • Flight can present itself as a child fleeing a situation.
• Freeze is often shown by the child not speaking, or moving. A child may
be moving from shaking, crying, irregularly breathing but will not move
places.
  -Day to day collaboration with adults present in child’s
life
 -Preventative programs for parents who are at risk of
not being able to provide for their child

 -Trauma focused therapies (here is a link to distinguish

Effective the purpose of each trauma focused
Treatment for therapy: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/m
edia-spotlight/201211/how-can-we-treat-traumatized-
Complex Trauma children )
 -Art therapy
 -Mindfullness
  -Recognize when a child is experiencing symptoms of
trauma, and respond compassionately
 -Create a routine classroom with predictable transitions
 -Be cautious of what the trauma comes from and adapt
your practice (ex: be cautious of discussing certain
What Can Be topics, consider rules of physical boundaries in
Done as an classroom like asking before giving a friend a hug).
 -Have a safety plan for the child (ex: a safe space for the
Educator ? child to go through when experiencing symptoms)
 -Take care of yourself, and remember there are people
to support you in your school!
  Bipolar Disorder
 Frontal-Lobe Damage
 Autism

Other Possible  Epilepsy

 Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Reasons for
 Conduct Disorder
Aggression  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
 Schizophrenia
 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
  Be assertive and calm when confronting a student
 Create environment changes
What to do When • Make a cool down area

Student is Being • Keep possible weapons like scissors in a teacher-controlled

area
Actively • Post classroom expectations on the wall
Aggressive? • Teach class evacuation protocol
• Provide calming tools like headphones or fidget toys
• Use a strategical student seating plan
  Reducing access to victims of the student with active
aggression
 -Avoid confrontation with the aggressor
 -Use non-verbal cues when communicating with student
like the universal signs for stop, sit, stand, or walk
What to do when  -Intervene as soon as you notice aggressive behaviour
a student is being  -Communicate expectations
actively violent?  -Wait for help and ignore student
 -Provide other options like having the student go for a
walk
 Restraint
  According to this guideline “physical restraint and
seclusion are used only in exceptional circumstances
where a student is in imminent danger of causing harm to
self or others”. It is important to note that if you have a
student in your classroom that is at high risk of frequently
being dangerous (ex: a student accompanied with a mental
health issue that I have examined in my previous posts)
that it is “expected to have been trained in crisis
intervention and the safe use of physical restraint and
Is Restraint seclusion”. Children that are frequently dangerous are also
expected to be supported by “positive behaviour supports
Okay? and interventions, behaviour plans, emergency or safety
plans, and other plans to prevent and de-escalate
potentially unsafe situations”.
 Guideline to physical restrain
seclusion: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/
kindergarten-to-grade-12/support/diverse-student-
needs/physical-restraint-seclusion-guidelines.pdf
  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201211/how-can-we-treat-
traumatized-children

 https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_silent_epidemic_in_our_classrooms

 https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/8-ways-support-students-who-experience-trauma

 http://theconversation.com/complex-trauma-how-abuse-and-neglect-can-have-life-long-
effects-32329

 https://www.everydayhealth.com/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-children-and-anger.aspx

 https://www.brainline.org/article/anger-following-brain-injury

 https://harkla.co/blogs/special-needs/autism-tantrums-meltdown-strategies

 https://www.weareteachers.com/students-with-odd/

Resources  https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=2113&language=English

 https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-conduct-disorder#1

 https://www.additudemag.com/slideshows/how-to-deal-with-an-angry-child/

 http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/schizophrenia/aggression-and-impulsivity-schizophrenia

 https://www.fasdwaterlooregion.ca/strategies-tools/sub-page-test-2/managing-behaviour

 https://www.teachspeced.ca/oppositional-defiant-disorder?q=node/664

 http://www.ascentchs.com/mental-health/aggression/symptoms-signs-effects/

 http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0306-guetzloe.html