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Kids who are having difficulty with self-regulation may: Recognizing when kids have self-regulation concerns involves recognizing different patterns of behavior. How Can You Tell if Your Child is Struggling With Self-Regulation? Here at The Inspired Treehouse, we’re so passionate about the topic of Self-Regulation that we finally decided to write a book about it! The Self-Regulation Handbook is an ebook that’s packed with tools, activities, strategies, and information that are perfect for supporting self-regulation in kids at home, in the classroom, or during therapy sessions. But all of us – adults and children alike – can have difficulty with managing our own emotions and behaviors when faced with basic daily stressors like tiredness or hunger. Toddlers and kids in the preschool years are still actively developing the ability to regulate themselves and may demonstrate outbursts and tantrums as part of typical development. Children who are autistic, who have ADHD, or who need more sensory processing supports may struggle with self-regulation skills more than other kids. It involves cognition, the sensory systems, behavior…and so much more! Many children struggle with one or more of these areas, making self-regulation challenging. It sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? That’s because self-regulation is extremely complex. Self regulation in the classroom or school might include a child being able to attend and stay at his desk while the classroom teacher is talking or being able to stay with his class and walk in line in the hallway. Self-regulation skills might include a child maintaining his composure and problem-solving or asking a caregiver for help or guidance when another child takes his toy or being able to self-monitor, control their impulses, and keep their voice quiet in the library.
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Self-regulation also involves having the ability to generate appropriate behavioral and sensory responses to the input in different situations and daily routines and the ability to demonstrate self control: to monitor and control behavior, attention, motor output, emotions, and social interactions. When we talk about self-regulation in kids, we’re referring to the ability to maintain an arousal level that is appropriate for any given situation.
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