Libby Public Schools Series - Self Regulation; How does your engine run part 1
Disclosure:
The information provided in this blog is informational, the content may be used to augment current therapy plans, however is in no way a substitute for active intervention and or consultation from a Physical Therapist.
Dear Parent/Reader,
This Blog series is being presented to you, to support you and your child during the Covid 19 school closure. I will be posting a variety of short informational blogs to supplement the first informational package the students at the Libby Public Schools in Montana received.
If you have any general questions please use the comments section, if they are personal in nature please contact me directly through the school email or text/call 406 283 1003.
This is the first in a series on Self - Regulation. Although there is a lot of good background information I would like to give you, I will be working backwards. I will start by giving you ideas and strategies that may be helpful to help your child to learn to be more regulated and ready to learn.
Today I will tell you about a strategy that I have used and adapted over the years. The foundation of this strategy comes from the alert program; how does your engine run. (https://www.alertprogram.com/)
What does self regulation mean? There are many interpretations of what that would look like depending on the person, the environment, the setting and activity. In the context of school and learning though I see two goals to strive for;
Balance between the emotional and executive brain state
Being ready and able to learn ( There are many factors that play a role in being ready to learn and self regulation is one of them, we will talk about other aspects in a later post)
Let me tell you a little about brain states:
The brain can be divided in three areas when describing the brain states. Each area has a specific function
The Automatic brain, Brain stem: This is the oldest system and deals with automatic functions such as heart and breathing rates, digestion and hormone secretion. The focus is on Survival and it asks the questions “ am I safe”? Fight - Flight - Freeze
The Emotional brain, Limbic system: Our emotional compass, how do we feel; happy, sad, angry, content, excited, anxious etc. It asks “ am I loved”?
The Executive brain, Frontal lobe: The voice of reason and being in control, it will ask “ What can I learn”?
The executive brain regulates the limbic system and thus keeps the brain stem functioning optimal. When the frontal lobe becomes flooded by emotions by the limbic system it can no longer function and the emotional brain takes over and the brain stem becomes more active For instance an increase in heart rate and breathing. Thinking and thus learning becomes challenging and sometimes even impossible. Studies have shown that when the frontal lobe is not able to function due to an overload of emotions or other external factors, most often sensory in nature a person's IQ may drop as many as 10-15 points, which is a lot. The difference between making a good choice and a bad one.
In order to help your child to be more regulated first you will need to recognize the brain state you and your child are in. Then you can learn to look for triggers that may cause the changes in brain state which in turn allows you to help and teach your child to stay or become more regulated.
I use a car as an example where the engine has different levels it can run at. The engine can be running low, high or just right. Just right is where we want to be.
Low:
- Little energy
- May feel tired, anxious, sick or sad
- You are pushing the gas but the break is on
Just Right:
- Good energy; you are ready to learn
- May feel content, happy, motivated, focused
- You are giving just enough gas and pushing the break when need
High:
- Too much energy
- May feel anxious, angry, excited, unsettled
- You are pushing the gas and even if you try to push the beak the car won’t slow down
Activity
1. Draw a similar picture with your child
2. Talk about the engine levels with your child using the above descriptors
3. Label your own engine level and explain why
4. Ask your child to label their own engine level ( at first they often will choose based on the color or what the car is doing)
5. Acknowledge your child's choice if it appears off then re-label and explain what you see in your child that makes you think differently ie “ I see you running around the room that engine seems to high to me”
You may not be right on at first and there will always be times where you are off the mark. For now work on recognizing and labeling the engine levels. In part 2 I will be talking about how to look for possible triggers that affect the engine levels and thus brain states. Part 3 will be an introduction to strategies to change the engine levels.
The information provided in this blog is informational, the content may be used to augment current therapy plans, however is in no way a substitute for active intervention and or consultation from a Physical Therapist.
Dear Parent/Reader,
This Blog series is being presented to you, to support you and your child during the Covid 19 school closure. I will be posting a variety of short informational blogs to supplement the first informational package the students at the Libby Public Schools in Montana received.
If you have any general questions please use the comments section, if they are personal in nature please contact me directly through the school email or text/call 406 283 1003.
This is the first in a series on Self - Regulation. Although there is a lot of good background information I would like to give you, I will be working backwards. I will start by giving you ideas and strategies that may be helpful to help your child to learn to be more regulated and ready to learn.
Today I will tell you about a strategy that I have used and adapted over the years. The foundation of this strategy comes from the alert program; how does your engine run. (https://www.alertprogram.com/)
What does self regulation mean? There are many interpretations of what that would look like depending on the person, the environment, the setting and activity. In the context of school and learning though I see two goals to strive for;
Balance between the emotional and executive brain state
Being ready and able to learn ( There are many factors that play a role in being ready to learn and self regulation is one of them, we will talk about other aspects in a later post)
Let me tell you a little about brain states:
The brain can be divided in three areas when describing the brain states. Each area has a specific function
The Automatic brain, Brain stem: This is the oldest system and deals with automatic functions such as heart and breathing rates, digestion and hormone secretion. The focus is on Survival and it asks the questions “ am I safe”? Fight - Flight - Freeze
The Emotional brain, Limbic system: Our emotional compass, how do we feel; happy, sad, angry, content, excited, anxious etc. It asks “ am I loved”?
The Executive brain, Frontal lobe: The voice of reason and being in control, it will ask “ What can I learn”?
The executive brain regulates the limbic system and thus keeps the brain stem functioning optimal. When the frontal lobe becomes flooded by emotions by the limbic system it can no longer function and the emotional brain takes over and the brain stem becomes more active For instance an increase in heart rate and breathing. Thinking and thus learning becomes challenging and sometimes even impossible. Studies have shown that when the frontal lobe is not able to function due to an overload of emotions or other external factors, most often sensory in nature a person's IQ may drop as many as 10-15 points, which is a lot. The difference between making a good choice and a bad one.
In order to help your child to be more regulated first you will need to recognize the brain state you and your child are in. Then you can learn to look for triggers that may cause the changes in brain state which in turn allows you to help and teach your child to stay or become more regulated.
I use a car as an example where the engine has different levels it can run at. The engine can be running low, high or just right. Just right is where we want to be.
Low:
- Little energy
- May feel tired, anxious, sick or sad
- You are pushing the gas but the break is on
Just Right:
- Good energy; you are ready to learn
- May feel content, happy, motivated, focused
- You are giving just enough gas and pushing the break when need
High:
- Too much energy
- May feel anxious, angry, excited, unsettled
- You are pushing the gas and even if you try to push the beak the car won’t slow down
Activity
1. Draw a similar picture with your child
2. Talk about the engine levels with your child using the above descriptors
3. Label your own engine level and explain why
4. Ask your child to label their own engine level ( at first they often will choose based on the color or what the car is doing)
5. Acknowledge your child's choice if it appears off then re-label and explain what you see in your child that makes you think differently ie “ I see you running around the room that engine seems to high to me”
You may not be right on at first and there will always be times where you are off the mark. For now work on recognizing and labeling the engine levels. In part 2 I will be talking about how to look for possible triggers that affect the engine levels and thus brain states. Part 3 will be an introduction to strategies to change the engine levels.
Helpful links
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