Self-Regulation Making Sense of - DDSB

Making Sense of
Self-Regulation
in Young Children
         DDSB
      May 18, 2022

               Rebecca D. Leslie, M.Ed. DPE, B.Ed. Elem.
                      Teacher & Educational Consultant
                           Course Facilitator & Project Manager,
                                      The MEHRIT Centre (TMC)
                                                 info@self-reg.ca

What is Self-Reg?

How Stress Affects Your Child’s
Body & Brain

The Connection Between
Self-Regulation & Stress

Misbehaviour vs. Stress Behaviour

5 Practices of Self-Reg:
ways to support self-regulation

What is Self-Reg?

WHAT IS SELF-REGULATION?

So, WHAT’S SELF-REG?

WHAT’S IT
NOT:

It’s not this.   Photo Source: Chuba and Comp

The better a child
       can self-regulate,
    the better they can rise
to the educational, emotional &
       social challenges
             of life.

WHAT
IS
SELF-REG?

How does stress
affect your child’s
  body & brain?

STRESS
“anything
that requires us
to burn energy
to remain operating
at our functional best”
– Dr. Stuart Shanker

Sympathetic
  Nervous
System (SNS)

   Autonomic Nervous System

adrenaline
enough                too much
          cortisol

Parasympathetic
                   Nervous
                System (PSNS)

        seratonin
        dopamine

Autonomic Nervous System

THAYER MATRIX

THAYER MATRIX
in everyday life

Source : The MEHRIT Centre www.self-reg.ca

So… what’s going on
   in the brain?

Limbic
 Hypothalamus
              System
  body temp
  hunger
  thirst
  fatigue
  sleep
                                                                                     Amygdala
                                                                                      fight
                                                                                      flight
                                                                                      freeze
Images are generated by Life Science Databases(LSDB). - from Anatomography, website maintained by Life Science Databases(LSDB).

Limbic
Hippocampus
            System
 calms the amygdala

 memory
 rationalizes the past
                             A   H
 allows for new learning
 built in our younger yrs
 cell death happens if it
 never shuts off

What’s the connection
between self-regulation
       & stress?

Stress behaviour leads the PFC to
   barely register on brain scans.
  Essentially, the PFC shuts down
when the limbic system is aroused
  (goes into fight/flight/freeze).

Seem to be sad a lot or don’t demonstrate any
             emotion at all

In CHRONIC
STRESS
             Develop hair-trigger responses to stress

STATES,      See neutral facial expressions and even friendly
             remarks as threats
our kids:
             Have problems regulating strong negative emotions

             Demonstrate increase in impulsivity and
             distractibility

             Have trouble anticipating consequences and
             evaluating risk

             Are prone to withdrawal or aggression

             Don’t seem to feel empathy or have a sense of right
             and wrong

The 5 Practices of Self-Reg

Step 1:
REFRAME
THE
BEHAVIOUR

What’s under the surface?

              learning difficulty                     attachment

   self-esteem                                                  developmental level
                           hunger
                                               fatigue                   loneliness

       mental health                 thirst                   sensory needs

                               fear               the need to belong

Why?
Why now?

What’s the difference
between misbehaviour
 & stress behaviour?

Stress behaviour is caused by too high a stress-load.
    The big challenge in doing Self-Reg is figuring out
        why the child’s stress is so high.
Source : The MEHRIT Centre www.self-reg.ca – Dr. Susan Hopkins

If we see stress behaviours
for what they are,
we are better able
to stay in
“Blue Brain”
 ourselves.

Step 2:
RECOGNIZE
THE
STRESSORS

Step 3:
REDUCE
THE
STRESS

We are looking
 to
the stressors &
           the
   conditions.

THE INTERBRAIN:
COMMUNICATION PATHWAYS IN CO-REGULATING
RELATIONSHIPS

Shanker & Hopkins, 2017

Step 4:
REFLECT:
Stress
Awareness

What becomes CLEAR?

 Calmness
 Listening
 Embodied awareness
 Asking why
 Reflect

What does
         feel like
     in my BODY
    & my BRAIN?

 What does
         feel like
     in my BODY
   & my BRAIN?

with permission from
www.peacefulplayfulpresent.com

Step 5:
RESTORE:
Strategies for
restoring energy &
building resilience

How do we promote
RESTORATION & RESILIENCE?
 Unique to each individual

 Develop in feelings of safety
 & connectedness – in relationships
 Conscious, deliberate

 Goal = well-being

 Ever-evolving
 “True restoration is its own reward.”
 Dr. Stuart Shanker

Takeaways
• When you see dysregulated behavior,
      think stress behavior.

• Ask yourself: which brain is online? Red? or Blue?

• Be curious. Ask yourself: Why? & Why Now?

• Speak less. Say more.

• Listen for the meaning, not the words your child uses.

• Soothe the sensory system – reduce stressors.
Start with the Biological Domain.

                 Your Self-Reg matters.

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Continue your learning: self-reg.ca

 The Self-Reg Parent Portal    Foundations is our introductory
   is a moderated online        program of four multi-module
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interested in exploring The     and scientific underpinnings of
      Shanker Method.
                              Self-Reg including stress, negative
                               impacts of excess stress, the five
                                 domains of Self-Reg and the
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                                completion, you will become a
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