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Papers Topic - Trauma-Informed Care Advancing Comprehensive Early Childhood Intervention
Session 4
P4.13 Trauma Informed Practices in Early Childhood Education and Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education: Preparing Those Who Care for Our Youngest Learners Children ages birth to 3 with disabilities experience trauma at high rates (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2021). Early intervention (EI) providers play a critical role in supporting these children and their caregivers. The purpose of this study was to explore how EI providers in one US state think about and use trauma-informed care. We conducted semi- structured interviews with 14 EI providers in a variety of roles (e.g., developmental therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist). We found that participants realized how trauma can impact young children and caregivers and recognized signs of trauma in children and caregivers. Participants also described a variety of trauma-informed practices that they used, mainly centering around individualizing services and being intentional. To a lesser extent, participants described how they resisted re-traumatizing children and caregivers. This study has implications for research, practice, and policy related to the provision of trauma-informed EI services. The process of building resilience in children must begin early. Early childhood educators often interact with children and families experiencing trauma. It is crucial that Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) professional preparation programs integrate trauma-informed approaches and resilience- building strategies into their curricula. However, many programs do not address the impact of trauma on teachers and their own resilience. This presentation will explore the impact of trauma on young children, families, and educators, and how ECE & EI/ECSE programs can incorporate trauma-informed practices. Using a US university's ECE & EI/ECSE program as a case study, we will demonstrate how foundational theories of resilience are embedded throughout the program. We will also discuss ways to understand and support program graduates to ensure they have the knowledge, skills, and self-resilience needed to be compassionate and effective early childhood educators and early interventionists/early childhood special educators. P4.14 When Early Childhood Systems Traumatize Children and Families Presenting Author: Catherine Corr (USA) Affiliation: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Co-Author: Mia Chudzik, Courtney O’Grady The prevalence of expulsion in early childhood settings remains a concern for the field, particularly for marginalized groups such as children with disabilities, children who have experienced trauma, and children of color. We conducted semi- structured interviews with 26 caregivers to understand their experience with expulsion in early childhood settings. We followed the steps outlined by Miles et al., (2021) to analyze the data, and used a trauma-informed lens throughout the process (i.e., coding, key findings) guided by SAMHSA’s four components of trauma-informed care. We found that participants often felt disappointed, betrayed, and traumatized by the early childhood programs, which had long-term impacts for themselves and their child. This is one of the few studies to examine early childhood expulsion through a trauma- informed lens. This lens allows us to better understand the ways in which early childhood systems may cause trauma for families and children through everyday policies and practices (or lack thereof). This study highlights ways in which early childhood practices, programs, and policies may cause trauma or contribute to the re-traumatization of children and families through everyday practices and policies. In addition, it provides suggestions for creating equity-centered, trauma-informed early childhood environments. Presenting Author: Megan Purcell (USA) Affiliation: Purdue University, Indiana Co-Authors: Shawna Harbin, Karen Ruprecht P4.12 Early Childhood Special Education Teachers' Trauma-Informed Attitudes and Practices COMBINED WITH How do early interventionists use trauma-informed care? A qualitative exploration Presenting Author: Mia Chudzik (USA) Affiliation: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Co-Authors: Emily Holden, Crystal Williams
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