Why didn't we see it coming? In the wake
of violence, we ask this question not so much to place blame, but to understand
better what we can do to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again.
We review over and over in our minds the days leading up to the incident — did
the child say or do anything that would have cued us in to the impending crisis?
Did we miss an opportunity to help?
There
are early warning signs in most cases of violence to self and others — certain
behavioral and emotional signs that, when viewed in context, can signal a
troubled child. But early warning signs are just that — indicators that a
student may need help.
Such
signs may or may not indicate a serious problem — they do not necessarily mean
that a child is prone to violence toward self or others. Rather, early warning
signs provide us with the impetus to check out our concerns and address the
child's needs. Early warning signs allow us to act responsibly by getting help
for the child before problems escalate.
Early
warning signs can help frame concern for a child. However, it is important to
avoid inappropriately labeling or stigmatizing individual students because they
appear to fit a specific profile or set of early warning indicators. It's okay
to be worried about a child, but it's not okay to overreact and jump to
conclusions.
Teachers
and administrators — and other school support staff — are not professionally
trained to analyze children's feelings and motives. But they are on the front
line when it comes to observing troublesome behavior and making referrals to
appropriate professionals, such as school psychologists, social workers,
counselors, and nurses. They also play a significant role in responding to
diagnostic information provided by specialists. Thus, it is no surprise that
effective schools take special care in training the entire school community to
understand and identify early warning signs.
When
staff members seek help for a troubled child, when friends report worries about
a peer or friend, when parents raise concerns about their child's thoughts or
habits, children can get the help they need. By actively sharing information, a
school community can provide quick, effective responses.
Educators and families can increase their
ability to recognize early warning signs by establishing close, caring, and
supportive relationships with children and youth — getting to know them well
enough to be aware of their needs, feelings, attitudes, and behavior patterns.
Educators and parents together can review school records for patterns of
behavior or sudden changes in behavior.
Unfortunately,
there is a real danger that early
warning signs will be misinterpreted.
Educators and parents—and in some cases, students—can ensure that the early
warning signs are not misinterpreted by using several significant principles to
better understand them. These principles include:
• Do no harm.
There are certain risks associated with using early warning signs to identify
children who are troubled. First and foremost, the intent should be to get help
for a child early. The early warning signs should not to be used as rationale to
exclude, isolate, or punish a child. Nor should they be used as a checklist for
formally identifying, mislabeling, or stereotyping children. Formal disability
identification under federal law requires individualized evaluation by qualified
professionals. In addition, all referrals to outside agencies based on the early
warning signs must be kept confidential and must be done with parental consent
(except referrals for suspected child abuse or neglect).
•
Understand
violence and aggression within a context. Violence is
contextual. Violent and aggressive behavior as an expression of emotion may have
many antecedent factors — factors that exist within the school, the home, and
the larger social environment. In fact, for those children who are at risk for
aggression and violence, certain environments or situations can set it off. Some
children may act out if stress becomes too great, if they lack positive coping
skills, and if they have learned to react with aggression.
•
Avoid
stereotypes. Stereotypes can interfere with — and even
harm — the school community's ability to identify and help children. It is
important to be aware of false cues — including race, socio-economic status,
cognitive or academic ability, or physical appearance. In fact, such stereotypes
can unfairly harm children, especially when the school community acts upon them.
•
View
warning signs within a developmental context. Children and
youth at different levels of development have varying social and emotional
capabilities. They may express their needs differently in elementary, middle,
and high school. The point is to know what is developmentally typical behavior,
so that behaviors are not misinterpreted.
• Understand that children typically exhibit multiple warning signs. It is common for children who are troubled to exhibit multiple signs. Research confirms that most children who are troubled and at risk for aggression exhibit more than one warning sign, repeatedly, and with increasing intensity over time. Thus, it is important not to overreact to single signs, words, or actions.
It
is not always possible to predict behavior that will lead to violence. However,
educators and parents—and sometimes students—can recognize certain early
warning signs. In some situations and for some youth, different combinations of
events, behaviors, and emotions may lead to aggressive rage or violent behavior
toward self or others. A good rule of thumb is to assume that these warning
signs, especially when they are presented in combination, indicate a need for
further analysis to determine an appropriate intervention.
We
know from research that most children who become violent toward self or others
feel rejected and psychologically victimized. In most cases, children exhibit
aggressive behavior early in life and, if not provided support, will continue a
progressive developmental pattern toward severe aggression or violence. However,
research also shows that when children have a positive, meaningful connection to
an adult — whether it be at home, in school, or in the community — the
potential for violence is reduced significantly.
None
of these signs alone is sufficient for predicting aggression and violence.
Moreover, it is inappropriate — and potentially harmful — to use the early
warning signs as a checklist against which to match individual children. Rather,
the early warning signs are offered only as an aid in identifying and referring
children who may need help. School communities must ensure that staff and
students only use the early warning signs for identification and referral
purposes — only trained professionals should make diagnoses in consultation
with the child's parents or guardian.
The
following early warning signs are presented with the following qualifications:
They are not equally significant and they are not presented in order of
seriousness. The early warning signs include:
•
Social
withdrawal. In some situations, gradual and eventually
complete withdrawal from social contacts can be an important indicator of a
troubled child. The withdrawal often stems from feelings of depression,
rejection, persecution, unworthiness, and lack of confidence.
•
Excessive
feelings of isolation and being alone. Research has shown
that the majority of children who are isolated and appear to be friendless are
not violent. In fact, these feelings are sometimes characteristic of children
and youth who may be troubled, withdrawn, or have internal issues that hinder
development of social affiliations.
However,
research also has shown that in some cases feelings of isolation and not having
friends are associated with children who behave aggressively and violently.
•
Excessive
feelings of rejection. In the process of growing up, and in
the course of adolescent development, many young people experience emotionally
painful rejection. Children who are troubled often are isolated from their
mentally healthy peers. Their responses to rejection will depend on many
background factors. Without support, they may be at risk of expressing their
emotional distress in negative ways—including violence. Some aggressive
children who are rejected by non-aggressive peers seek out aggressive friends
who, in turn, reinforce their violent tendencies.
•
Being
a victim of violence. Children who are victims of
violence—including physical or sexual abuse—in the community, at school, or
at home are sometimes at risk themselves of becoming violent toward themselves
or others.
•
Feelings
of being picked on and persecuted. The youth who feels
constantly picked on, teased, bullied, singled out for ridicule, and humiliated
at home or at school may initially withdraw socially. If not given adequate
support in addressing these feelings, some children may vent them in
inappropriate ways — including possible aggression or violence.
• Low school interest and poor academic performance.
Poor school achievement can be the result of many factors. It is important to
consider whether there is a drastic change in performance and/or poor
performance becomes a chronic condition that limits the child's capacity to
learn. In some situations—such as when the low achiever feels frustrated,
unworthy, chastised, and denigrated—acting out and aggressive behaviors may
occur. It is important to assess the emotional and cognitive reasons for the
academic performance change to determine the true nature of the problem.
• Expression of violence in writings and drawings.
Children and youth often express their thoughts, feelings, desires, and
intentions in their drawings and in stories, poetry, and other written
expressive forms. Many children produce work about violent themes that for the
most part is harmless when taken in context. However, an overrepresentation of
violence in writings and drawings that is directed at specific individuals
(family members, peers, other adults) consistently over time, may signal
emotional problems and the potential for violence. Because there is a real
danger in misdiagnosing such a sign, it is important to seek the guidance of a
qualified professional—such as a school psychologist, counselor, or other
mental health specialist—to determine its meaning.
•
Uncontrolled
anger. Everyone gets angry; anger is a natural emotion.
However, anger that is expressed frequently and intensely in response to minor
irritants may signal potential violent behavior toward self or others.
•
Patterns
of impulsive and chronic hitting, intimidating, and bullying behaviors.
Children often engage in acts of shoving and mild aggression. However, some
mildly aggressive behaviors such as constant hitting and bullying of others that
occur early in children's lives, if left unattended, might later escalate into
more serious behaviors.
•
History
of discipline problems. Chronic behavior and disciplinary
problems both in school and at home may suggest that underlying emotional needs
are not being met. These unmet needs may be manifested in acting out and
aggressive behaviors. These problems may set the stage for the child to violate
norms and rules, defy authority, disengage from school, and engage in aggressive
behaviors with other children and adults.
•
Past
history of violent and aggressive behavior.
Unless provided with support and counseling, a youth who has a history of
aggressive or violent behavior is likely to repeat those behaviors. Aggressive
and violent acts may be directed toward other individuals, be expressed in
cruelty to animals, or include fire setting. Youth who show an early pattern of
antisocial behavior frequently and across multiple settings are particularly at
risk for future aggressive and antisocial behavior. Similarly, youth who engage
in overt behaviors such as bullying, generalized aggression and defiance, and
covert behaviors such as stealing, vandalism, lying, cheating, and fire setting
also are at risk for more serious aggressive behavior. Research suggests that
age of onset may be a key factor in interpreting early warning signs. For
example, children who engage in aggression and drug abuse at an early age
(before age 12) are more likely to show violence later on than are children who
begin such behavior at an older age. In the presence of such signs it is
important to review the child's history with behavioral experts and seek
parents' observations and insights.
•
Intolerance
for differences and prejudicial attitudes. All children have
likes and dislikes. However, an intense prejudice toward others based on racial,
ethnic, religious, language, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and physical
appearance — when coupled with other factors — may lead to violent assaults
against those who are perceived to be different. Membership in hate groups or
the willingness to victimize individuals with disabilities or health problems
also should be treated as early warning signs.
•
Drug use and alcohol use. Apart
from being unhealthy behaviors, drug use and alcohol use reduces self-control
and exposes children and youth to violence, either as perpetrators, as victims,
or both.
•
Affiliation
with gangs. Gangs that support anti-social values and
behaviors — including extortion, intimidation, and acts of violence toward
other students — cause fear and stress among other students. Youth who are
influenced by these groups — those who emulate and copy their behavior, as
well as those who become affiliated with them — may adopt these values and act
in violent or aggressive ways in certain situations. Gang-related violence and
turf battles are common occurrences tied to the use of drugs that often result
in injury and/or death.
•
Inappropriate
access to, possession of, and use of firearms. Children and
youth who inappropriately possess or have access to firearms can have an
increased risk for violence. Research shows that such youngsters also have a
higher probability of becoming victims. Families can reduce inappropriate access
and use by restricting, monitoring, and supervising children's access to
firearms and other weapons. Children who have a history of aggression,
impulsiveness, or other emotional problems should not have access to firearms
and other weapons.
• Serious threats of violence. Idle threats are a common response to frustration. Alternatively, one of the most reliable indicators that a youth is likely to commit a dangerous act toward self or others is a detailed and specific threat to use violence. Recent incidents across the country clearly indicate that threats to commit violence against oneself or others should be taken very seriously. Steps must be taken to understand the nature of these threats and to prevent them from being carried out.
Unlike
early warning signs, imminent warning signs indicate that a student is very
close to behaving in a way that is potentially dangerous to self and/or to
others. Imminent warning signs require an immediate response.
No
single warning sign can predict that a dangerous act will occur. Rather,
imminent warning signs usually are presented as a sequence of overt, serious,
hostile behaviors or threats directed at peers, staff, or other individuals.
Usually, imminent warning signs are evident to more than one staff member—as
well as to the child's family.
Imminent warning signs may include:
·
Serious
physical fighting with peers or family members.
·
Severe
destruction of property.
·
Severe
rage for seemingly minor reasons.
·
Detailed
threats of lethal violence.
·
Possession
and/or use of firearms and other weapons.
·
Other
self-injurious behaviors or threats of suicide.
When warning signs indicate that danger is imminent,
safety must always
be the first and foremost consideration. Action must be taken immediately.
Immediate intervention by school authorities and possibly law enforcement
officers is needed when a child:
• Has presented a detailed plan (time, place,
method) to harm or kill others — particularly if the child has a history of
aggression or has attempted to carry out threats in the past.
• Is carrying a weapon, particularly a firearm, and has threatened to use it.
In situations where students present other
threatening behaviors, parents
should be informed of the concerns immediately.