28. Avoiding TACOS with Nancy Willard

Today we are talking with Nancy Willard, the director of Embrace Civility, a program designed to helps empower students to understand their behaviors, while creating positive school climates andunderstanding cultural competance. Nancy has degrees in special education and law, taught “at risk” children, practiced computer law, and was an educational technology and digital safety consultant. 

Nancy is here to share how to best handle situations when students are dysregulated. You’ll hear about what to avoid in these situations (otherwise known as TACOS) in order to promote a positive and safe learning environment. Nancy also gives some helpful calming strategies and coping mechanisms that you and your students can use when faced with triggering situations.

Plus, Nancy sheds light on the impact of trauma on the brain, the power of kindness, and the role of accountability in creating a harmonious community. All of these practical tips would be great to share with teachers in your school for supporting dysregulated children.

Topics Discussed:

• The parts of the brain involved in the dysregulation process
• The lifecycle of a triggering event leading to an outburst
• What ‘TACOS’ stands for, and why we want to avoid it
• How you can communicate with students when they are having an outburst
• What to do after a student begins to calm down
• The difference between reactive triggering and intentional misbehavior 
• Implementing an accountability process if a student needs to remedy any harm done
• Trigger prevention strategies to teach students
• Seven “be positively powerful” strategies 

Resources Mentioned:

• VIA Character Strengths Survey
• Hardwiring Happiness, by Rick Hanson PhD
• Chapter 6 of Engage Students to Embrace Civility 

Connect with Nancy:

• Embrace Civility website

Nancy's Books:

• Engage Students to Embrace Civility
• The Way Of The Donkey (picture book)

Grab the Show Notes: Counselingessentials.org/podcast

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Connect with Carol:

• TpT Store
• Counseling Essentials Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Elementary School Counselor Exchange Facebook Group
• Caught In The Middle School Counselors Facebook Group
• High School Counselor Connection Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

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