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Introduction
For children who commence school having suffered toxic levels of stress from experiences of family violence, dysfunctional home environments, attachment disruption, sexual, psychological, emotional, and/or physical abuse, cruelty, neglectful parenting, abandonment, multiple medical procedures and other forms of stress and trauma-inducing developmental experiences, their capacity to settle into school life, and function effectively in school is considerably challenged. Sources of prolonged, severe, unpredictable stress during a child's early years can alter brain development and result in negative impacts on a child's physical, cognitive, emotional and social growth (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2001). Toxic stress disrupts brain architecture and stress response systems, leading to long-term problems in learning and behaviour (Centre on the Developing Child, 2016).
Within the literature addressing the impact of childhood maltreatment and trauma inducing experiences on children's school-related functioning, there is an emphasis on impairments in their emotional, social and cognitive abilities. Evidence suggests that maltreated and traumatised children experience difficulties with regulating their emotions and behaviours, sustaining attention and relating with others; and present with impaired memory systems, executive functioning deficits, language delays, and distortions in social-emotional processing and self-concept (Andrea, Ford, Stolbach, Spinazzola, & van der Kolk, 2012; Cook et al., 2005; McLean, 2016; Perry & Hambrick, 2008; Tobin, 2016; Veltman & Browne, 2001).
The cognitive, emotional and social competencies required by a child to keep up with teacher expectations, maintain equivalence with peers and function effectively in the school environment, are compromised in maltreated and traumatised children. The brains of maltreated children become focused on survival and responding to environmental threats, rather than building the foundation for future growth (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2001; Perry & Hambrick, 2008). Maltreated and traumatised children become motivated to meet safety needs at the expense of engaging in growth-promoting activities (Bath, 2008). The result can be a cascade of negative effects across multiple domains for the developing child's psychological and social functioning with neurological changes potentially impacting upon academic success and social relationships (Wilson & Widom, 2010).
Three decades of child maltreatment research has indicated that school students with histories of maltreatment and abuse experience lowered readiness for school and behavioural and educational problems during the school years (Veltman & Browne, 2001). Traumatised children and young people's difficulties are especially problematic...