Teaching Self-regulation to Children and Adolescents: Theories and Techniques

Teaching Self-regulation to Children and Adolescents: Theories and Techniques is organized by Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) / Association canadienne des ergotherapeutes (ACE) and will be held on Jun 13 - 14, 2024.

Description:
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles outline a variety of strategies that help us to make programming accessible to a variety of abilities: “What is good for some is good for all” (Patton, 2020; Moore, 2020). Occupational therapy professionals can offer input into the design of environments and strategies to support, develop, and motivate children and adolescents’ self-regulation skills. Shanker (2017) stated, “The ability to self-regulate — to strategically modulate one’s emotional reactions or states to be more effective at coping and engaging with the environment — is a critical aspect of human development”. While many children can develop self-regulatory skills on their own, either by trial and error or by observing others (Bandura, n.d.), others have significant difficulties in developing these skills. By examining the principles of Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2018), Polyvagal theory (Porges, 2022), the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (Perry, 2019), and sensory-enhanced movement (Stoller, 2021), occupational therapy professionals can facilitate children and adolescents’ learning of self-regulation skills, which then facilitates their participation in occupations.

This experiential workshop will expand occupational therapy professionals’ knowledge of theories and techniques that can have a positive impact on teaching self-regulation to children and adolescents. The principles of Universal Design for Learning and their application to teaching self-regulation will be introduced. Participants will learn how the relationship and application of Polyvagal theory, the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, interoception, and sensory-enhanced movement contribute to the development of self-regulation skills. A variety of learning activities and discussions will be used to support participants in learning and experiencing evidence-based techniques to teach self-regulation to children and adolescents.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
• Understand and apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning to self-regulation.
• Understand and apply relevant principles of Polyvagal theory, the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, interoception, and sensory-enhanced movement to the development of self-regulation skills.
• Utilize a variety of evidence-based techniques for teaching self-regulation to children and adolescents.
• Describe how the tools and techniques can be delivered in a multi-tiered, Response to Intervention (RTI) model.

Additional details will be posted as soon as information is available.