Given the increasing societal prevalence of potentially traumatic events, including those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that many students you work with have been impacted by traumatic stress. “Trauma” is not a special education eligibility category under IDEA, so how do we think about the influence of trauma when conducting evaluations for students referred for special education? Trauma-informed evaluation requires an awareness of the prevalence, symptoms, and impacts of trauma, as well as recommendations for strategies to address traumatic stress. In special education, we also have to understand how posttraumatic stress and disability conditions may—or may not be—related to one another.
As a result of participation in this session, participants will be able to:
1) define trauma, and explain what “counts” as trauma in the context of an evaluation;
2) describe how traumatic stress impacts the body, brain, and behavior, according to research;
3) screen and assess for trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms; and
4) interpret evaluation data exposure, symptoms, and impact to help draw drawing conclusions and make recommendations for children and adolescents impacted by posttraumatic stress.
The session will include a comprehensive case study of a child exposed to complex trauma, or child maltreatment, as well as several case scenarios related to COVID-19.