How effectively and efficiently a child deals with a stressor and then recovers from the effort

1. What is Self-Regulation? • How effectively and efficiently a child deals with a stressor and then recovers from the effort • Every time a child has a stressor the brain responds with processes that consume energy • This is followed by restorative processes to recover from this energy expenditure

2. The Effects of Excessive Stress

3. The Human Condition – Writ Small The Self-Regulation Matrix Calm Focused Alert

4. The Effects of Excessive Stress • Heightened stress means child has to work much harder to pay attention • Negative effects caused by falling further behind, being yelled at, having greater social problems, etc., exacerbate the drain on nervous system • Leads to a chronic state of heightened anxiety

5. Stress-Response Systems Three core systems for responding to stress: • Social Engagement • Fight-or-Flight • Freeze

6. The 3Stages of Self-Regulation • Identify and reduce stressors • Develop self-awareness - interoception and exteroception • Develop self-regulating techniques, learning what to do to mitigate a stress response and what to avoid

7. Survival Brain/Learning Brain • If child expending too much energy on environmental stressors, has less resources for growth and restoration • Does not recognize when he is hungry, tired, cold • Does not engage in basic self-regulating behaviours (eating, resting, putting on a sweater) • Exacerbates his depleted energy problems

8. Sitting in Class/Paying Attention Suppose we are dealing with a child who finds sitting in a classroom very demanding, for different reasons: • Maybe he finds the visual and auditory stimuli distracting and he has to work hard to filter this out in order to pay attention to his teacher • Or he finds the hard seat uncomfortable and it is taxing for him to sit still for too long • Or he finds concentrating itself very taxing

9. Being an Emotion Detective • A child’s meltdowns are often precipitated by something by something that has frightened them, including emotional associations • They are particularly vulnerable to these reactions when they’re in a LE/HT state • These reactions can put them instantly into LE/HT • Far from being acts of self-indulgence, a child’s meltdowns are a cry for help