Support Report
TRAUMA INFORMED CARE
Individuals with disabilities are more likely to experience abuse than peers without a disability. Trauma can occur at any age as a single event or a series of events. Trauma changes the way people view themselves, others and the world. Below are sample universal strategies that can be built into a trauma-informed approach.
- Provide a safe place to go when overwhelmed
- Encourage healthy, enjoyable coping mechanisms (ex: art, exercise, cleaning)
- Everyone recognizes the symptoms of trauma and knows how to respond
- If someone is engaging in problematic behavior, recognize it may be a fight, flight or freeze response
- Ask what happened to them and do not assume something is wrong with them
- Provide comfort and allow them time to process and calm down
- Ensure survivors feel physically, emotionally and psychologically safe
- Celebrate strengths and build upon those daily
- Identify at least one consistent trusted adult that the person can go to who will listen, comfort and believe in them
- Set clear, achievable expectations and provide reinforcement for meeting or exceeding them
- See survivors as survivors, not victims, and encourage them to take pride in their progress
- Find ways to incorporate mindfulness daily such as taking a walk through nature, blowing bubbles or practicing yoga
- Provide a way the person can communicate difficult emotions effectively
- Help survivors build a sense of purpose, a way to contribute to the greater good of society
- Establish policies to prevent retraumatization
Read the full Spring 2019 Support Report
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