Target Audience: School personnel, adults working with children who have intellectual and development disabilities.
Road 2 Recovery: Supporting Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Who Have Experienced Trauma offers an overview for providers on how to work with children and families who are living with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and have experienced trauma. The training is designed to teach basic knowledge, skills, and values about working with children with IDD who have had traumatic experiences, and how to use this knowledge to support children's safety, well-being, happiness, and recovery through trauma-informed practice.
The essential messages of this training include:
- Know that there’s hope; recovery from traumatic experiences is possible.
- Recognize that a child with IDD may have had a traumatic experience(s), which can have
profound effects.
- Recognize a child’s developmental level and how IDD and traumatic experiences are
affecting his/her functioning.
- Utilize a developmental lens when making meaning of a child’s traumatic experiences and
responses.
- Recognize that in the aftermath of trauma, understanding traumatic stress responses is the
first step in helping a child regain their sense of safety, value and quality of life.
- Utilize an IDD- and trauma-informed child-centered approach to support both the child and
the family.
- Help parents/caregivers, and other professionals in the child’s life, strengthen protective
factors.
- Partner with agencies and systems to ensure earlier and more sustained access to
services.
- Ensure that trauma-informed child-centered services, treatments and systems drive the
recovery plan.
- Practice ongoing self-care in order to increase effectiveness in delivering high quality
support, services and treatment.