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Increasing Possibilities and Opportunities: Understanding Self-control through the EmWave

Increasing Possibilities and Opportunities: Understanding Self-control through the EmWave. Dr. Nancy Aguinaga and Dr. Ken Callis. You all know some of the common characteristics found in children with behavior disorders… Physical and verbal aggression impulsiveness , withdrawal,

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Increasing Possibilities and Opportunities: Understanding Self-control through the EmWave

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  1. Increasing Possibilities and Opportunities: Understanding Self-control through the EmWave Dr. Nancy Aguinagaand Dr. Ken Callis

  2. You all know some of the common characteristics found in children with behavior disorders… Physical and verbal aggression impulsiveness, withdrawal, poor coping skills, abnormal mood swings Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  3. Finding approaches to serve children with chronic behavior problems continue to challenge experts • Emotional and behavioral support leads to increased • self-control • self-awareness • self-esteem • social skills that ultimately will benefit the individual and society We would like to continue to work with Cottonwood and you to investigate computer-assisted biofeedback and the relationship with behavior change. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  4. The emWave PC The emWave PC technology is an easy-to-use software program with a heart rhythm monitor. The system is an innovative approach to stress relief based on learning to change the heart rhythm pattern and create physiological coherence. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  5. Computer-assisted biofeedback By observing the change on the screen and associating it with a calm, balanced internal state, you can learn how to self-regulate, manage stress and create and maintain a state of physiological coherence and balance. A person can experiment with different thoughts, feelings, and sensations and get immediate feedback on the physical effects. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  6. The information is then interpreted and displayed on screen as a real-time graph of changing heart rhythms. You can learn how your attitude affects your heart rhythms and performance. emWave Hardware and Heart rhythms A rugged and reliable ear or finger sensor continuously monitors your pulse and sends the information to the computer .  

  7. emWave PC Output Getting In Sync As you make internal shifts, you learn to stabilize your emotions and balance your nervous system. More Coherence = Less Stress & Better Performance

  8. The Coherence Coach The Coherence Coach provides instruction on how to do the Quick Coherence™ Technique to improve your coherence scores with emWave PC or PSR.

  9. Play the Games Three interactive games engage the students as they learn to master their own physiology and reach the zone of effective learning and performance.

  10. Freeze-Framer can be an asset at almost any level, improving; • Focus and Attention • Emotional Stability • Impulse Control • Anger Management • Motivation to Succeed • Comprehension • Problem solving • Test Scores • (McCraty, 2001 & Friedman, 2000) Primary source: www.heartmath.org Review Sessions Part of the fun of learning is to see individual progress. In this mode, students track their progress overtime as they learn to access their higher thinking skills at the times they need them most.

  11. A Stressful Situation When you experience stressful emotions such as tension, anxiety, irritation, or anger, your heart rhythm pattern becomes irregular Your physiological systems are not working together, which negatively affects health, brain function, and performance Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  12. A Stress-free Situation When you are experiencing positive emotions, such as care, happiness or love, your heart rhythm pattern becomes more ordered and coherent Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  13. What can we do about stress? emWave Stress System Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  14. Results of Pilot Study • Staff were asked to rate each individual in the areas of; self-control skills, level of physical aggression, level of verbal aggression, mood stability skills, anger management skills, and social skills. • All participants improved in level of control for physical aggression. • Three out four participants improved in level of control for verbal aggression. • Two out of four 4 participants improved in all 6 measures. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  15. Improvement in individual behavior • All four residents demonstrated increased self-awareness by virtue of a higher number of “refocus” events (self-selected removal from the group as opposed to staff intervention). • Specifically, all four increased self-awareness significantly during the intervention phase by 39%, 83%, 100% and 133%. • Three of the four sustained a higher level of self- awareness as shown by post-intervention compared to pre-intervention. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  16. Project Objectives • Demonstrate the benefits of computer-assisted biofeedback. • Examine individual self-awareness of behaviors and attitudes. • Demonstrate improved individual behavior as measured by existing behavior measures (i.e., number of incidents: restraints, time-out). • Create implementation guides and strategies for staff and individuals for use in the future. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  17. The Southeast Cottonwood Project Increasing possibilities and opportunities: Understanding self-control through the emWave http://cstl.semo.edu/secp/ Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  18. Residents: • complete self-report instruments pre and post EWILSP implementation. • learned to use the technology to practice and learn relaxation strategies. • Staff: • complete training in the use of materials and implementation of EWILSP. • implement materials and technology with support of Southeast Missouri State faculty. • provided feedback and collect resident’s performance measures. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  19. Data Collection • resident “locus of control” (Nowicki & Strickland, 1973) • staff feedback and resident interviews • rate of restraint • rate of time-out, both refocus chosen by resident directed and staff directed • rate of physical escort • rate of seclusion Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  20. Tentative Project Schedule Week 1 • SEMO staff presents to residents regarding stress, relaxation and computer assisted biofeedback. • Staff complete “pre-test” surveys regarding resident behaviors – and provided baseline behavioral data • Residents complete “pre-test” stress survey/questionnaire and Nowicki- Strickland Abbreviated Locus of Control Scale Week 2 • Residents began using emWave in Cottage (3 sessions a week/ 5 minutes plus self-control rating) • Cottonwood staff collect routine behavioral data required by facility Weeks 3-8 • Residents use emWave plus self-control rating • Cottonwood staff collect routine behavioral data Week 9 • SEMO staff meet with residents to collect “post-test” stress surveys and Nowicki-Strickland plus debriefing Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  21. Residents will… • receive instruction on the impact of stress on the body • learn to recognize stressful feelings • learn to use calming or relaxation strategies when faced with challenging situations. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  22. Types of Stress Long Term Short Term Out of home placement Someone took my stuff High Resident you don’t get along with Don’t like lunch Low Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  23. What the Heck is Biofeedback? • A simple definition of biofeedback is that it is information – or feedback - about an individual's biological functions. • The basic idea of biofeedback training is to provide individuals with increased information about what is going on inside their bodies, including their brains. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  24. Self-regulation training • Teaching relaxation techniques is one strategy that has been used with individuals to reduce anxiety and frustration (Mullins & Christian, 2001).  • Breathing • Visualization • Visual feedback • Opportunity for practice Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  25. How much do we know about our brain? Three main levels • Instinctual • Emotional • Logical All three levels interact constantly – the goal is for them to work together! Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  26. Nervous System Synchronized electrical activity in the brain and nervous system underlies our ability to perceive, feel, focus, learn, reason, and perform at our best. Stress is the disruption in the harmonious synchronization of nervous system activity. Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  27. The Heart Connection Signals are sent to the brain from the heart and also from the heart to the brain Learning to alter your heart rate and modulate your respiration, you can ultimately learn to control your physiological reactions and self-regulate Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  28. Physiological Coherence or Getting “In Sync” orSelf-regulation When your brain, heart, and nervous system work together This is when the think the clearest and make the best decisions Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  29. How do we Achieve of Facilitate Physiological Coherence? • Breathing techniques • Positive emotion refocusing-visualization • Think of events, people, places – that you genuinely appreciate • Heart Rate Variability (HRV) feedback Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  30. Opportunity for Generalization emWave Personal Stress Reliever (PSR) Aguinaga & Callis 2011

  31. Thank You! Aguinaga & Callis 2011

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