Resources from the Parent Eduction Seminar on December 6th 2018 - Emotional Awareness, Self-Regulation, and the Zones

During this session we learned more about tools and language that are helpful for supporting people of all ages to self-regulate and manage emotions.  Self-regulation is vital for student achievement and has been linked to greater success in education, future employment, and relationships. We reviewed the Zones of Regulation, a social-emotional curriculum that we use to teach students about emotional awareness and self-regulation.  We talked about how we can help our students to process and cope with emotion and use tools to keep their bodies regulated. Here are some of resources that were shared. 

Self-regulation is also known as self-control, self-management, and impulse control. It is defined as the best state of alertness of both the body and emotions for the specific situation.  We reviewed the ages and stages of regulation, recognizing developmentally appropriate expectations and supports for encouraging self-regulation. 

 Step One: Attention and Awareness of Emotions

• Understanding vocabulary of emotions/feelings
• Recognizing body clues of self and others to identify emotion
• Identifying Expected and Unexpected behavior
• Tracking emotions and Zones

Step Two: Integrating awareness of emotions and behavior to context

• Using information of body clues and expected behavior to understand others
• Gaining perspective about how others see, react, and are influenced by their behavior
• insight into events that trigger emotions and behavior

Step 3: Using tools and strategies to self-regulate

• Identify and use appropriate interventions to influence emotion and behavior

Step 4: Problem solving skills

• Evaluate and monitor if the tool/strategy is working
• Re-correct if needed

And ultimately…Independently Self-Regulate!

The ZONES of Regulation, is a concept designed by Leah Kuypers, OT, to help teach self-regulation. Zones of Regulation Website

• Common neutral language 
• Help make abstract concepts more concrete
• Increase awareness: Clues ---> Tools
• Intentionality….Practice and re-practice

We did a quick review of the brain and the amygdala, the control center for autonomic responses associated with fear, arousal, and emotional stimulation.  We watched a short video about using a hand model to help make sense of the physiological responses to emotion and the impact on the brain.  Acknowledging that these skills need to be taught and practiced when a student is calm and regulated so that their brain is fully online and ready to learn. "The more you understand how your brain works and how thoughts and emotions interact, the more control you can have over your thoughts and emotions."