Presentation of Parent Perception of Trauma-informed Assessments. Looking at parents of internationally adopted children and how utilization of private neuropsychological assessments impact their students' ability to recieve appropriate interventions and services within their school setting.

1. PARENT PERCEPTIONS OF TRAUMA-
INFORMED ASSESSMENTS Camille Mora
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fArKBz6NixNwsGfjNOlhjSE6GonjRFuZ?usp=sharing

2. BACKGROUND
Education
Cal. State University Fullerton – Ed.D. Ed. Leadership 2018
Western Washington University – MIT: Secondary Ed. 2011
Columbia College – BA: History 2008
Work Experience
Founder and CPST at Seat Safe – Community Educator 2015-Present
Social Studies Teacher – Coupeville Middle/High School 2010-2012
US Navy – Anti-Submarine Warfare Acoustic Instructor 2003-2008
Publications
Mora, C. M. (2015, Fall). Gender and Achievement in Social Studies: Increasing
Female Interest and Achievement. CCSS Occasional Papers, 4(1), 1-15.
Memberships
MWERA
Safe Kids Inland Empire
FRUA – Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption

3. TOPIC BACKGROUND
Why research this topic?
Children who have experienced complex
developmental trauma need trauma-informed
intervention to heal and self-regulate (Call et al.,
2014).
What is the background or history of this topic?
Complex developmental trauma is a disability that
effects a student’s ability to learn in the classroom
(Forbes, 2012).
 This topic is not well researched in the field of education.
 Extensive research exists in other disciplines

4. TOPIC BACKGROUND
A gap exists in the scholarly literature (Baker, 2012; Call, et al, 2014):
Current research is:
 Concentrated in other disciplines
 Does not link findings to school implementation
 Leaves out the need for identification by schools
 Does not address appropriate interventions
“The administration and teachers do not understand, and are unwilling to understand how early childhood trauma affects children.
It has been a fight from the moment we stepped foot into a school building and it continues to this day.”

5. PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH
The purpose of this quantitative study is to find out if
comprehensive evaluations of Internationally Adopted
(IA) students, conducted through a trauma-informed
lens, lead to more accurate interventions and
placements for these students, compared to students
who only received standard evaluations conducted by
their local school district.

6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions will guide this quantitative research study
concerning parent perceptions of the effects of trauma-informed
evaluations for IA students on their ability to obtain accurate identification,
reliable IEPs, and useful interventions.
1. Do trauma-informed assessments offer students with a history of CDT
more accurate assessment results when compared to traditional
assessments completed by local school districts, as perceived by parents?
2. Do trauma-informed assessments affect a parent’s belief that their child
has more appropriate classroom interventions as a result of having
completed a trauma-informed assessment?

7. RESEARCH DESIGN
RQ Scales Independent variables Analysis
1. School use scale
Neuropsychological
assessment use scale
Confidence in trauma-
informed assessment scale
Assessment Type:
1. Neuro.
2. School
3. Both
Neuropsyc. Conducted?
1. Yes
2. No
One-Way
ANOVA
Independent t
tests
Chi-square
Frequency counts
2. Appropriate intervention
and opportunities scale
School confidence scale
Assessment type:
1. Neuro.
2. School
3. Both
Neuropsyc. Conducted?
1. Yes
2. No
One-Way
ANOVA
Independent t
tests
Mean ratings

8. RESEARCH METHODS
Setting:
Parents of school-age Russian Adoptees
Across the USA
44,150 school-age children nationwide
Education level
Household incomes

9. RESEARCH METHODS
Population/Sample:
Age at time of 1st adoption
Number of people who
live in each household
Under 30
31-40
41+
1-2
3-5
6+

10. RESEARCH METHODS
Instrumentation
Modified CBCL 6-18 survey
Child behavioral checklist
Likert-scale
Added questions on type of evaluation and
parent satisfaction
118 items were scaled down
Standardized measure of behavior on 3
competency scales
Normed on 1,753 children
Total problem coefficient .90

11. RESEARCH METHODS
Data Collection:
Qualtrics
Host and conduct the survey
Online survey with link and QR code
Solicitations
RAM group, FRUA list-serve
“Educate the school system on FASD and post
institutionalized students. They have unique issues
and the schools want to lump them in with Autism
programs or ADHD services.

12. RESEARCH METHODS
Data Analysis and Interpretation:
2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
5 SCALES
TWO INDEPENDENT VARIABLES:
1.NEUROPSYC. ASSESSMENT CONDUCTED? (Y,N)
2.TYPE OF ASSESSMENT (NEURO., SCHOOL/DISTRICT, BOTH)
T TESTS
ONE-WAY ANOVA
CHI SQUARE
FREQUENCY COUNTS
MEAN RATINGS
“The public school denied my son had any needs and said all of
their tests were "normal." He had to be put into private school for
help. He is thriving there. Private testing DX him w/ ADHD, Autism
Level 1 PTSD, anxiety, depression and a language processing
disorder.”

13. RESEARCH METHODS
Validity and Trustworthiness
1. Cronbach’s Alpha to check for reliability at the outset of
data analysis.
2. 27 items were summed into 5 scales (school use scale,
neuropsychological assessment use scale, confidence in
trauma-informed assessment scale, appropriate
intervention scale and school confidence scale).
3. Descriptive statistics were calculated to test the normal
distribution and skewness along with correlations to
examine the relationships between scales.

14. QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS
Income Education Age Child age
See handouts: Table 1
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
n
Variable
Demographics

15. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #1
Parents of students who had received a neuropsychological
assessment had more agreement on the neuropsychological
assessment use scale than parents of students who did not
complete a neuropsychological assessment.
“Without question, our private neuro psych eval. was FAR more beneficial than any testing done by the school
district. The school districts are not trauma-informed and do not understand the needs of my child. My son does
not qualify for an IEP but does struggle. The lack of trauma informed staff is a great detriment to his school.”

16. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #1

17. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #2
Parents of students who had both assessments had the most
agreement with the neuropsychological assessment use scale,
followed by those who had a school/district assessment and
then those who had a neuropsychological assessment.
Parents of students who had both assessments had the most
agreement with the confidence in T.I. scale followed by those
who had a neuropsychological assessment and then those who
had a school/district assessment.

18. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #2

19. FINDING #2 - NEURO ASSESSMENT AND CONF. IN TI SCALES

20. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Strongly
agree
Somewhat
agree
Neutral Somewhat
disagree
Strongly
disagree
Was Assessment Trauma-informed?
Neuro. School
Parents of children who had neuropsychological
assessments had more agreement that the
assessment was trauma-informed compared to
parents of students who had a school/district
assessment.

21. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #4
Parents of children who had a neuropsychological assessment
had more agreement on the appropriate interventions and
opportunities scale. Parents of students who did not receive a
neuropsychological assessment actually showed disagreement
on the appropriate interventions and opportunities scale.
“It took several years of fighting with the school administration to
get basic remediation.”

22. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #4

23. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #5
Parents of children who completed both assessments had the
highest agreement on the appropriate interventions and
opportunities scale, followed by those who completed
neuropsychological assessment, while students who only
completed school/district assessments had strong disagreements
on the appropriate interventions and opportunities scale.
“[We experienced] several learning "glitches" that were never identified by the schools or professionals,
such as auditory processing disorder and ADHD, which I identified on my own, only due to the knowledge I
gained in FB adoption groups, and then had my kid assessed privately. These conditions are now being
addressed, thru services and IEP in school, once I had a diagnosis and brought it to the school's attention. I
also find it frustrating that they do not use a trauma-informed lens in school assessments.”

24. QUANTITATIVE FINDING #5

25. QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS
IA students, by not
receiving appropriate
services are being
further marginalized.
“Getting the school district to do a full evaluation at an early age as a proactive step to preparing him for school.
Fortunately, the district psychologist was on our side and convinced the Speech pathologist to intervene early,
instead of using a wait and see approach.”

26. CONCLUSIONS: PARENT PERCEPTIONS SHOWED…
Research Question One
 Neuropsychological
assessments did offer more
accurate assessment results.
 Neuropsychological
assessments were more
accurate and offered more
accurate recommendations.
Neuropsychological
assessments were considered
more trauma-informed by
parents.
Research Question Two
 Having a
Neuropsychological
assessment did offer more
appropriate classroom
interventions.
 Neuropsychological
assessment provided
increased educational
opportunities, and increased
the school’s understanding of
the child.

27. LITERATURE THAT AGREES WITH FINDINGS
1. No access to curriculum.
2. Both assessments help students.
3. Parents do not think their student’s needs are being met.
4. Schools need to be equipped.
5. IA students need complex assessments.
6. IDEA does not include CDT as a primary qualifying disability.
7. Many interventions are not available to IA students.
“We had to get an IEE completed by a neuropsychologist to get an accurate picture of my
child. She was dx with ASD and then the school offered us everything available. We had
to fight them until that point, though. She was falling further behind and not receiving
appropriate services. Get an education advocate for your IEP meetings.”

28. IMPLICATIONS
Neuropsychological assessments were:
More trauma-informed
Accurate
Gave better recommendations
Schools are not providing a T.I. environment.
Schools should do better providing assessments and services for students with a history
of CDT.
“We had an IEP for three years during 3rd through 5th grade for language therapy and social skills. The school
stated she had met all of her goals and asked us to sign off. We did, but in retrospect, that was the worst thing we
could have done. I wish we had never signed off and fought harder for trauma informed services. We were never
able to get another MFE or IEP. Our child has also experienced a 9-month residential treatment between freshman
and sophomore year and a change in school districts 4 times between kindergarten and senior year.”

29. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY
1. Inform changes to standard assessments.
2. Include trauma-informed practices when assessing students with a known or suspected history
of CDT.
3. Examine what neuropsychologists are doing and use that information to inform practices
among school psychologists.
4. Add CDT as a qualifying factor under IDEA.
“My son is in good school now but we had to sue, go thru hearing, and he spent months in psych
hospital and two years in RTC (residential treatment). It’s been a very difficult journey, some of
which could have been avoided if he’d received proper school intervention from the start.”

30. IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY
1. Include separate disability theory and CDT in educational literature.
2. Use CDT in educational literature, in order to investigate trauma for IDEA
qualifying purposes.
“Employing and educational advocate is expensive but worth every penny.
Getting a good neuropsychological exam done was also worth every penny.”

31. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
1. More research on early trauma and education.
2. Continue to research Trauma-informed practices.
3. Given our current school climate, how can we help students with a history of CDT feel safe at
school?
4. Research and create a comprehensive assessment battery that school districts can use to
inform accurate recommendations and interventions for IA students.
“I think the biggest difficulty in the public school system was that the "whole child" was ignored. All
behavior, success and failure in the classroom for my child was not looked at through the lens of a child
with past trauma. It wasn't until a private neurospych. when he was in 2nd grade where a fuller picture of
his needs were drawn. Creating a plan for a child with past trauma is going to look different than one
who has not.

32. RECOMMENDATIONS: FUTURE RESEARCH
1. Do trauma informed classrooms increase student achievement for kids with
CDT compared to being in a classroom with no trauma-informed practices?
2. What types of interventions best serve children with a history of CDT?
3. More research done in education journals so teachers and other educators
can be informed.
“I think it is critically important to do a complete neuropsychological evaluation. I think so many
issues are missed with just the educational evaluation. I also fought hard against an ADD
diagnosis as a result of reading information from TCU’s child development office/Karen Purvis
on focus/hyper activity causes in IA children.

33. RECOMMENDATIONS: POLICY
1. Create a more comprehensive standard assessment policy that requires schools to conduct
trauma-informed assessments that include the assessments conducted by neuropsychologists,
for all students with confirmed or suspected histories of CDT.
2. Trauma-informed instruction to pre-service teacher training and the National Board
certification process.
“Few aspects of instructional practice equal the importance of timely and accurate assessment
and evaluation of student proficiency and progress”
(Baker, 2012, p. 236).

34. RECOMMENDATIONS: PRACTITIONER
1. Creating trauma-informed classrooms and schools that follow the TBRI method for all students.
2. Schools must utilize a multidisciplinary team to complete a trauma-informed, cognitive or
neuropsychological assessment for students with a history of CDT, so that resulting interventions
could be targeted to the areas of need for that child.
3. Education practitioners also need to trust the parents and their experience with these kids and
give them equal clout on IEP/assessment teams.
“To me, it seems emotional trauma and sensory issues are just not addressed well in a traditional setting for our kids.
Large classrooms, bright lights, too loud makes for a rough day and our son couldn't handle walking in lines, etc. He
acted odd to others (touching walls, licking things, etc) and was eventually isolated and depressed at age 9.”

35. RECOMMENDATIONS
Future research
Educational journals
T.I. classrooms and schools
Interventions that best serve children
Policy
Comprehensive standard assessments
T.I. instruction to pre-service teachers and
national board candidates
Practitioners
Create T.I. classrooms and schools
Multidisciplinary teams – targeted
interventions
Trust parental experienceMore information on handout

36. WRAP UP
So to answer the research questions:
1. Do trauma-informed evaluations offer students with a history of
CDT more accurate assessment results when compared to
traditional assessments completed by local school districts, as
perceived by parents?
Yes, neuropsychological assessments do seem to offer more accurate
results and recommendations compared to traditional assessments
completed by schools/districts, as perceived by parents. Parents also
believed that neuropsychological assessments were more trauma-
informed when measured against assessments completed by
schools/districts.

37. WRAP UP
2. Do trauma-informed assessments affect a parent’s belief that their child
has more appropriate classroom interventions as a result of having
completed a trauma-informed assessment?
Yes, parents overwhelmingly felt that a trauma-informed neuropsychological
assessment provided their child with more appropriate classroom
interventions and educational opportunities when compared to assessments
conducted by schools/districts.
“If you really want to do something about the achievement gap, childhood trauma is the
best place to start”
(Watanabe, 2015).

38. REFERENCES
References
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