Navrat: Lets find every child in Slovakia a family

Teachers are extraordinary people. We do our best to support them in seeing a child beyond an odd behavior and in being a back up for their students.                                     

Simon is a first grader. He entered his adoptive family one year old. He needs a longer time for everything. For example for recognizing that next class started, that the break is over, that the class will move, that he has to open a workbook. Many teachers use adjectives for him: slow, misbehaving,... He is very observant – he notices what‘s happening beyond the window and that the mate behind his back has moved slightly. The teacher often says, he is not paying attention but in fact he observes everything what‘s going on in the classroom. Some kids around him make friends very quickly. He doesn’t know them and needs them to speak to him repeatedly and call him to join their games. Some classmates tell him he’s odd, he doesn’t understand a joke and that he’s gazing. In fact, he just stands aside, looks at others and waits till they invite him to join them. Lately somebody told he came from orphanage and everybody was laughing. But, however, he comes from the family. He’s started to think about it all and his head was blowing out of it. There was no room for tasks from the teacher anymore in his brain. He doesn’t feel good with his classmates. Every day he’s afraid of what would they say again. He can’t know when will it come, but they’ve done it so many times before… He’s on pins and needles. He can’t say it to parents. He feels different. He’s heard teacher saying he didn’t cooperate that he balked and nobody could make him do what’s needed. But he just wants to go to school and have friends. And he really likes the teacher and love parents.

The schools in several Slovak towns will receive a support tools for better inclusion of the children who experienced severe and unfavourable events in the early childhood (who were abbandoned by biological parent, neglected, abused, maltreated, tortured, moved from one raising environment to the other, had no opportunity to attach to one adult person and so on). This can be a case of children raised in adoptive, foster, professional families or living with relatives. But according to our experience similar indicators in behavior are seen in many other cases and can touch wider population of children (living in orphanage, crisis center, with less capable parents, etc.).

The teachers can be „significant others“ in the life of these children. Seeing the child in his life history context enhances the understanding between the child and the world around him. If the teacher understands the toxicity of early trauma which touches childs development in various areas and if he chooses the right strategy, he can:

• stabilize child‘s psychological wellbeing
• create a bridge of psychological safety the child can cross and move to outer world (and relationships in the class)
• reduce tention in teacher–student relationship
• reduce a degree of social isolation / judgment
• make child be satisfied, happy and cooperating
• raise the feeling of capability of a teacher
• contribute to classmates’ understanding that everyone needs to feel safe and we can make it possible for others
• includes child with trauma to the class and to the society

This year we’ve prepared workshops for teachers and other helping professionals engaged in the schools (psychologists, teachers for children with special needs, social workers). After finishing the workshop the school will recieve The Guidebook of Safety – compound guide to the child with early trauma. For teachers of children in need we offer an individual external support – counselling, supervision, couching.