28/04/2024
šµāSometimes a dysregulated child doesnāt want to play, is zoned out or has issues moving from one activity to another. They donāt show the ability to increase energy or attention to meet the occasion.
š¤ŖOften we talk about dysregulation as a child wildly running around or and having poor attention, but a child thatās been overstimulated can also appear as rocking back and forth, zoning out silently or sensitive to new things.
š¤·What does regulation really mean?
šRegulation means that your child is able to meet the expectations of their environment or the task at hand. Whether the task is sitting to learn at school, playing kickball with their friends, or listening to a story before bed with their siblings.
This can be the tricky part! We all have to fluctuate our arousal level to stay regulated at times and even adults can have trouble with it.
š¤Keep this in mind!
Kids need to slow their system down when itās time to sleep and sometimes they need to speed it up like when itās time for gym class but because their brainās wiring is developing, moving between these different levels of arousal is hard for them to do!
Try this:
š Rough house before bed to get rid of extra active energy in the body. If your child hasnāt had enough activity that day it may show up as the need to jump, bounce or throw themselves on couches or beds. Make it a fun and get involved in the tossing!
šš Check their sensory diet when you have repetitive issues. That can mean that certain textures, sounds or environmental details are impacting a childās behavior and eliminating them can help improve it!
š£ Ask your child to explain their experience. Often parents have to become detectives to figure out what is bothering a child but as soon as a child can help explain the problem they should!
šŖDoing this gives a child important practice understanding themselves, explaining their thoughts and feelings and noticing their surroundings. These are things we DONāT get enough practice with. The result is a child that can problem solve faster and become their own best advocate. ā¤ļø