Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/calm-cool/5024113/
As professionals who work with students on the autism spectrum in an inclusive preschool setting, our primary responsibility is to support our students so that they can stay emotionally regulated. Emotional regulation is the “development of the ability to maintain a well-regulated emotional state to cope with everyday stress, and to be most available for learning and interacting” (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, Laurent & Rydell, 2006). It is the foundational skill that underlies attention, social engagement, and communication development (Prizant & Meyer, 1993). We have found that the time and attention we devote to determining which strategies will help our students stay emotionally regulated pays dividends in the subsequent learning that takes place. Everything we do has the ultimate goal of enhancing engagement and learning.
Over the years, we have compiled a large bank of strategies that we can use to support the emotional regulation of our students. Based on our knowledge of and experience with each child, we begin with the strategies that we think will work best. However, the preschool classroom is a dynamic environment. Social and cognitive demands are constantly shifting, and the child with autism may become dysregulated as he struggles to adapt his emotional responses in ...