Factors such as hunger, fatigue, illness, excitement, or nervousness can all influence a child’s state of arousal in a classroom and can significantly impact their engagement and learning experience.
In this week’s podcast, Kim Griffin, Occupational Therapist, joins Dale to discuss what we mean by the term ‘arousal’ and how this links to self-regulation.
Kim explains that arousal is the level of energy or alertness present in the body and how different levels of arousal can affect children. It is a neurological process that, to some extent, can be managed, but eventually reaches a point beyond our control. During this episode, Kim highlights:
- Internal and external influencing factors
- Fight, flight or freeze states
- What the ready zone is
- How to get a child into the ready zone
- What should you not do when a child is highly aroused
- Top tips for supporting higher and lower aroused children to self-regulate
By comprehending the connection between arousal and self-regulation, we can create supportive environments that optimise learning and well-being.
About Kim Griffin
Kim is an occupational therapist with 20 years’ experience supporting children, young people, their families and teachers to participate successfully in their daily lives. Her interest areas are sensory processing and autism. Kim provides online training for those who want to learn more about sensory processing, motor skills and handwriting along with programmes that show you have to help children improve their skills.
Contact Kim Griffin
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