Hissy Fits in Class

Abstract

In their quest to provide a wholistic education, schools are providing more in-house source services to students. Specifically, schools are responding to the aftermath of childhood trauma and/or toxic stress, which commonly manifest as negative behaviors and emotional dysregulation in the classroom. Teachers are unable to respond to the individual needs of students with mental health issues and are often perplexed by their behavioral displays. More innovative classroom management philosophies, like post-traumatic growth, can provide students with skills and internal resources to deal with adversity—presently and in the future. For more complex behavioral presentations, school social workers can provide clinical interventions, social service connections for students and families, and partner with teachers for increased efficacy of students struggling with emotional dysregulation and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.