From Dysregulation to Regulation (2 part Online Workshop)

From Dysregulation to Regulation (2 part Online Workshop)

DATE:      Mondays - Part 1 - 1st February 2021, Part 2 - 8th February 2021
TIME:       5.30pm to 7pm
VENUE:   Zoom Meeting

This Workshop is suitable for both Primary Teachers and SNAs. 

Helping the Overwhelmed Child to find their Calm within the School Environment.  

Never in the history of calming down has anyone ever calmed down when told to “Calm Down!” When we feel overwhelmed what we long for is connection. We want someone calm and loving to be with us, to let us know we are seen, heard, cared for and understood. No-one needs, or deserves this type of response more than our children.

Children are not yet efficient or developmentally capable of self-regulation when overwhelmed. They are in survival mode. Engaging in reasoning and logical discussion at this point is futile. The child’s prefrontal cortex or thinking brain is no longer accessible to him. He is now being driven by his emotional centre which does not do logic. The nature of the trigger is irrelevant in this moment, what is relevant is how the adult responds. A calm empathic response of a caring adult, within a structured and predictable environment will promote a felt sense of safety and calm. In this way the adult’s ability to provide co-regulation will help the child to return from dysregulation to regulation.

This workshop will support educators to recognise the signs of dysregulation and to meet the dysregulated child’s need in those moments and beyond. The participants will learn:

• To understand and manage big feelings, from temper outbursts to anxieties
• How to respond to those feelings in a child centred way to enable regulation
• How to create an atmosphere that promotes regulation rather than dysregulation
• To set limits and boundaries without shaming

Facilitator: Aideen Flynn, PG Dip Ed, MA, M-IAPTP
Aideen has worked with children in educational settings for 20 years, specialising in S.E.N. and children with complex needs. She is a child and adolescent psychotherapist working in private practice in The Treasure Within, Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy Clinic, Quin, Co. Clare. From here she empowers children, their families and teachers to work together to enable the struggling child be the best he or she can be.