When Behavior Is a Signal
Child safety and adversity-responsive practice for educators and child-serving organizations: understanding what drives behavior, and responding without lowering standards.
The challenge
Disruptive, withdrawn or inconsistent behavior takes up enormous staff time, and the usual responses often make it worse. At the same time, adults who work with children need to recognize warning signs and know what to do about safety concerns.
Participants will be able to
- Recognize how adversity and stress can show up in a child's behavior and learning
- Respond to challenging behavior without excusing harmful conduct or lowering expectations
- Recognize warning signs and respond appropriately to a disclosure
- Strengthen the policies and practices that make organizations safer for children
- Apply the Pause, Interpret, Respond, Refer framework in classrooms and programs
The framework participants take home
Pause
Notice a stress response before reacting to it, in yourself and in the other person.
Interpret
Ask what may be driving the behavior, without guessing at anyone's history.
Respond
Use communication that lowers the temperature while keeping standards and boundaries.
Refer
Know when and where to connect someone to the right support, and stay in your role.
Best for
School districts and administrator associations, special-education teams, school counselors and social workers, early-childhood programs, youth organizations and other child-serving institutions.
Formats
45–60 minute keynote, 90-minute training or half-day implementation workshop. In person or virtual. Continuing-education (CE) credit may be available for a small additional fee through the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT), which is accredited to provide CEs by the American Psychological Association (APA) for psychologists; the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), which accepts APA CE credit for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs and LEPs; the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program (IVAT provider #1857) for social workers; the California Board of Registered Nursing (CEP #13737) for nurses; and the State Bar of California (MCLE provider #11600) for attorneys. Please ask about CE for your specific event when you request availability.
Trauma-aware leadership is not about identifying who has experienced trauma. It is about designing communication, policies and responses that work better for everyone.
Common questions
Does this mean excusing bad behavior?
No. The aim is to understand what's driving behavior so the response actually works, while keeping expectations and consequences clear.
Is there content for special education?
Yes, including a session on the child in the IEP process.
Do you cover child sexual abuse prevention?
Yes. The companion program, Safe Adults, Safer Systems, focuses on prevention, recognition, reporting and organizational safeguarding.