Piloting Let’s Breathe and Learning to BREATHE: Evaluating the use and desirability of a trauma-sensitive, self-regulation and mindfulness program for students at Flying Kites Academy in rural Kenya
Authors:
Lauren Crasner, OT, OTD, Augusta Hixon Polhemus, OT, OTD
Abstract:
Students attending Flying Kites Academy (FKA) have been exposed to trauma throughout their lives (Nikulina et al., 2011). They want to learn how to cope, but FKA does not have the time or resources to implement programs. Trauma-sensitive, self-regulation mindfulness programs Let’s Breathe! and Learning to BREATHE (L2B) were created and adapted for use at FKA. Mindfulness can improve cognitive performance, resilience to stress, and overall school and occupational performance (Bostic et al., 2015). When students have more positive experiences during the non-academic parts of their days, they have stronger feelings of connectedness, leading to increases in classroom engagement and academic performance (Bolton & Plattner, 2020). This Doctoral Experiential Capstone project presents the piloting of Let’s Breathe! and L2B to FKA students to determine overall effectiveness.
Key Words:
regulation, mindfulness, trauma