The impact of trauma on a child’s availability to learn

We understand social-emotional learning as core to all learning events—for the simple reason that when they do not feel safe and connected, children do not learn. But modern science tells us that there are lots of factors contributing to whether a child will feel that sense of safety, or might instead be trapped in a state of survival, including neurological differences like sensory processing disorder, learned experiences like repeatedly feeling unsuccessful at school, chronic medical experiences and even disruptions to the family system such as adoption or divorce. Equally powerful, modern science tell us that just as the body can contribute to throwing a child into survival mode, so too organizing the body can be used as a lever to help improve that sense of safety as well.

At Cajal Academy, we are building on the work of the movement for trauma-informed school by integrating it with scientific understandings about how neurophysiological differences and events inform children’s social and emotional experiences. We push this through all aspects of the trauma-informed approach, from how we build connection to the factors we explore in helping a child understand their own behaviors to the personalized strategies we teach them for how to self-monitor and ultimately self-manage their own survivalist triggers (emotional, sensory, learning and otherwise). And we share the science behind it with the children themselves, giving them a scientific perspective on their struggles that helps them to understand what Carol Dweck calls “the power of yet,” and an alternative narrative to compete with the self-approbation they hear in their own minds. Here are some videos to provide a little more background on important principles behind our approach.

Here are some videos to provide a little more background on important principles behind our approach.