Self-Regulation is when we can tell how we are feeling and able to decide what we need to feel better. Alot of our students don’t inherently have self-regulation skills and need to be directly taught. They also might not know what they like or don’t like for calm down tools yet. Using visuals for self-regulation is a great way to familiarize students with these things.
What is self-Regulation?
Self-regulation is technically defined as the ability to control one’s behavior, emotions, and thoughts. Emotional self-regulation refers to the ability to manage disruptive emotions and impulses—in other words, to think before acting, and get yourself the thing you need to help calm down and soothe.
In elementary level terms- Self-Regulation is when we can tell how we are feeling and able to decide what we need to feel better.
How can we support our students in learning self-regulation?
Students with Autism or other developmental disabilities may not inherently have self-regulation skills or be able to pick them up easily by watching others. Most typical students will pick up self-regulation skills from watching their family members and teachers model them. Special education teachers should directly teach self-regulation strategies to students who need more support in this area using visuals.
How can we support students with visuals?
Visuals provide easy access for your students to use self-regulation tools any moment they may need calm down strategies and supports. Having access to visual choices and boards may be just what they needed to express their needs in moments of stress, anxiety, or struggle.
Where should you use these visuals?
These visuals are great to have on hand anywhere and everywhere. Especially when leaving the classroom for more stimulating environments. We like to use them in a calm down corner and on the board for easy access.
Where can I find the visuals to download?
You can find them on TPT here.
You can find them in the shop here.
Learn more about self-regulation in this blog post.
