In recent years, the term trauma-informed has gained traction in educational spaces, especially within special education schools. But at Spiritos School, we’re moving beyond trauma-informed care and embracing a trauma-assumed approach. This shift reflects a deeper, more proactive commitment to the needs of the students we serve.
From Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Assumed: Why Language Matters
The phrase trauma-informed implies that trauma is something we recognize when presented with clear signs or documentation. But the truth is, many of our students arrive without a diagnosis or formal history. What they do bring are behaviors, coping strategies, and communication styles shaped by experiences we may never fully know.
By shifting to a trauma-assumed model, we operate from the belief that every student may have been impacted by trauma, whether or not it has been disclosed or diagnosed. This assumption doesn’t pathologize students; it protects them. It ensures that our classrooms are built with compassion, safety, and regulation at the foundation, not just in response to visible distress.
Impacted, Not Defined: Changing The Narrative
Another important language shift we’ve made is in how we talk about trauma itself. We no longer refer to students as trauma. We don’t say, “trauma kids” or “trauma students.” Instead, we say students impacted by trauma.
This matters.
Labeling students by their trauma risks reducing their identity to their pain. Saying a student is impacted by trauma acknowledges what they’ve experienced without defining who they are. It leaves room for growth, resilience, and recovery. Our students are so much more than what’s happened to them.
What A Trauma-Assumed Approach Looks Like
In a trauma-assumed special education environment, we don’t wait for a crisis to respond with empathy. Instead we lead with it. Here’s what that looks like in our school:
Predictable Environments
We design our classrooms and routines with consistency, structure, and visual supports to reduce anxiety and foster safety.
Relational Teaching
We prioritize strong, trusting relationships as the foundation for all learning. Connection comes before compliance.
Behavior as Communication
We don’t ask, “What’s wrong with this student?” Instead, we wonder, “What might they be trying to tell us?”
Integrated Regulation Supports
Tools like movement breaks, sensory rooms, fidgets, and mindfulness are built into the day—proactively, not just in moments of escalation.
Staff Culture of Care
Our team regularly engages in reflective practice, debriefing, and ongoing training to ensure our responses are aligned, compassionate, and centered on student dignity.
Empowering Choice and Voice
Trauma can make students feel powerless. Offering choices, involving them in goal-setting, and respecting their “no” restores a sense of agency.
In our classrooms, you might see:
– A student taking a break, not as a punishment, but as a proactive self-care strategy.
– A teacher kneeling beside a student, calmly helping them label big emotions.
– Offering a student choice as to whether he would like to complete math or reading next.
– Staff debriefing after escalations—not to place blame, but to reflect, repair, and plan better for next time.
Trauma-Assumed Is Not A Lowering of Expectations
A trauma-assumed approach is not about walking on eggshells or lowering academic and behavioral expectations. It’s about increasing our awareness, flexibility, and skillset so that every student, regardless of what they’ve been through, has a real chance to learn, grow, and heal.
Why It Matters
Special education is already rooted in individualized, student-centered teaching. But when we assume trauma, we go even deeper. We create environments that are emotionally responsive, culturally sensitive, and neurologically safe. We stop reacting to students and start understanding them.
Because in our school, we believe that healing is possible. We believe that students impacted by trauma can find safety, strength, and success. This starts by shifting the way we speak, think, and teach.
How Parents Can Be Trauma-Assumed at Home
Even outside the classroom, children thrive when adults lead with empathy, predictability, and care. Being trauma-assumed at home doesn’t require a clinical background. It simply means creating an environment where your child feels safe and understood.
