Maryland Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (MMATYC) winter meetin...
2.9.link
1. Barbara Link
The College of Southern Maryland
AFACCT ’14 Conference
Prince George’s Community College
Session 2.9. January 9, 2014
Understanding Issues
Confronting Our
Veteran Students
2. Facts
92% were exposed to a traumatic
combat experience, such as being
ambushed
95% were shot at
94.5% had to search for dead bodies
86.5% know someone who was
seriously injured or killed
Symptoms of PTSD worsen over time,
leading some veterans to drug or
alcohol abuse, homelessness, suicide,
3. Facts
Three major types of injuries:
◦ Physical injuries (amputations, burns,
orthopedic injuries)
◦ TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)
◦ (PTSD) Operational stress injuries and
mental health injuries
Suicide rate among Iraq/Afghan War
veterans is going up and may soon be
higher than battlefield deaths.
4. Facts
30% of the veteran population has
been diagnosed with PTSD as
opposed to 3% of the general
population
20% have spinal cord injuries
18% experienced serious wounds
6% suffered amputation – more than
in the Vietnam War
5. Specific symptoms
From witnessing violence and death:
◦ Increased anger and aggression
◦ Anxiety
◦ Sleep disorders
◦ PTSD
Income disparity
Unemployment
Relationship issues
Aggressive behavior
6. General issues
What educators may see:
◦ Unpredicted attendance due to pain or
other symptoms
◦ Scheduled absences due to VA
appointments
◦ Medication-impaired performance in class
7. TBI
Blasts actually alter cells’ metabolism
and result in cell death
Injury may be invisible to the eye
Pressure wave from blast may impact
ears, lungs, brain, and spine
Approx. 43% of returning vets have
been examined for TBI
8. Strategies for working with
veterans with TBI
Coaching
Scheduling
Strategies
including alarm
clocks
Planners
Pagers
Scheduled breaks
to prevent fatigue
Checklists
Memory aids, such
as tape records
and supportive
phone calls
Adaptive
technologies
Mentoring
Peer support
9. Important aids for veterans with
TBI
Self-pacing
Gradual adjustment to college life
Family support
Small successes that can lay the
groundwork for confidence and bigger
successes (scaffolding).
10. PTSD
Person has experienced or witnessed
events that involved:
◦ Death
◦ Serious injury to self to others
AND, the response included:
◦ Intense fear
◦ Helplessness
◦ Horror
11. PTSD
Experience is relived through
◦ Dreams
◦ Feelings
◦ Recurring thoughts
Efforts to avoid the trauma, include:
◦ Feelings of detachment
◦ Sense of shortened future
◦ Avoiding people, places, activities that
recall the event
13. PTSD
◦ Problems with cognitive skills
◦ Difficulty coping under pressure
◦ Problems with authority figures
◦ Problems with constructive feedback
◦ Inclination to engage in risky behaviors:
Substance abuse
Multiple sexual partners
Impulsive, angry, and aggressive outbursts
Average time to healing: 7 years
14. Obstacles to success at
college
Self-disclosure
◦ Leaves the veteran vulnerable
◦ Behavior labeled as “macho” in combat
can later discourage veterans from
seeking help
◦ Maybe be embarrassing for veterans to
admit TBI or PTSD – the invisible injuries
◦ Veterans may not want to discuss their
experiences
◦ Veterans are not trying to cause problems
for others
15. Other obstacles to success at
college
Negative attitude toward veterans by
faculty
Negative attitudes toward veterans by
fellow students
Bureaucracy (government and college-
level) that impedes financial aid
Problems with civilian authority
Denied academic credit for military
training
Colleges fail to acknowledge personal
16. Other obstacles to success at
college
Having to reapply to programs because
of deployments
Losing scholarships because of
deployments mid-semester
Skills learned in combat not applicable to
college settings
Being told they must appear in person to
resolve financial issues
Inability to sit for long periods of time
Forgetting how to study
17. How colleges can help
Collaboration at the highest levels of
the college to provide:
◦ Career services
◦ Disability services
◦ Veteran-specific services
◦ Peer counseling
◦ Programs to educate faculty about
challenges facing veterans
18. How colleges can help
Centralized office on all campuses for
veterans
◦ Staffed by student veterans
◦ “Storehouse” of information for veterans
Scholarship information
Benefits forms
Help completing the forms
Referrals for counseling
◦ Opportunity for veterans to interact with other
veterans
Have a veterans’ club
Sensitivity training for faculty and
administrators
19. References
Accommodating veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in
the academic setting. (2010). Rehabilitation Education, 24(1 & 2), 43-
56. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
Ackerman, R., DiRamio, D., & Garza Mitchell, R. L. (2009). Transition:
Combat veterans as college students. New Directions for Student
Services, (126), 5-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ss.311
Church, T. E. (2009). Returning veterans on campus with war related
injuries and the long road back home. Journal of Postsecondary
Education and Disability, 22(1), 43-52.
Glover-Graf, N. M., Miller, E., & Freeman, S. (2010). Accommodating
veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorde symptoms in the academic
setting. Rehabilitation Education, 24(1 & 2), 43-56. Retrieved from
Education Research Complete database.
Summerlot, J., Green, S.-M., & Parker, D. (2009). Student veterans
organizations. New Directions for Student Services, 126, 71-79.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sa.318
Zinger, L., & Cohen, A. (2010). Veterans returning from war into the
classroom: How can colleges be better prepared to meet their needs.
Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 3(1), 39-51. Retrieved
from Education Research Complete database.
