Regulation and Communication
The Intersection Between Regulation and Communication
Effective communication and learning are built on a foundation of regulation. Educators, parents, and caregivers can support these areas of development throughout the day with intention and purpose.
Regulation is our ability to manage and adjust our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in response to different situations. When we are dysregulated, our nervous system is out of balance. Our ability to stay in balance is driven by sensory, cognitive, and/or emotional regulation.
Communication is our ability to attend to, process, and respond to information and to express our thoughts with others. We use both verbal and non-verbal communication, which requires complex coordination, in order to participate in daily activities and interactions.
Successfully navigating daily events like making transitions, being able to follow directions and answer questions, finding ways to express ourselves clearly, engaging in conversational and social interactions, and learning new skills requires us to be in a well-regulated state. As influential figures in a child’s development, we must understand the crucial relationship between regulation and communication and what it means to create an environment that supports both.
The Importance of Regulation for Communication
To communicate effectively and learn efficiently, there are several key aspects of regulation that need to be in place.
Sensory Regulation: Our bodies and brains need to be able to understand the sensory signals and stimuli we are experiencing in order for us to feel “in control.” We count on visual, auditory, olfactory, taste, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, and interoceptive stimuli to help us make sense of our experiences, both internally and externally. In order to effectively communicate and learn, we need our sensory regulation to support areas such as:
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Body Comfort: We need to feel comfortable in our bodies and the surrounding environment. If we're physically uncomfortable, our brains become focused on that discomfort. The brain simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to engage in effective communication or learning until the discomfort is addressed.
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Brain Space for Learning: To process information and learn, our brain needs "space." When we’re dysregulated, our brain is filled with competing stimuli, and we don’t have the capacity to attend to and retain new information.
Cognitive Regulation: We need to develop our executive function skills in order to be able to communicate and learn. In very early childhood, the development of skills like joint attention, shared engagement and enjoyment, anticipatory wait, and simple turn-taking play are foundations for building executive function skills. As children grow, they gain critical executive functions skills such as:
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Inhibitory Response and Impulse Control: In order to manage our responses to others, we need to be able to stop and wait, attend to the most salient information being presented, allow time to process incoming information, and take time to formulate a response that matches the situation.
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Mental Flexibility: Being able to adjust our actions and responses based on what’s happening in the moment is crucial for effective communication. This includes understanding that sometimes we need to change our approach depending on the situation.
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Attention: Focusing on the most relevant information and filtering out distractions is critical to communication and learning.
Emotional Regulation: Recognizing and responding to our emotional state is critical in managing our responses to various situations. Identifying and modulating our emotional response is impactful to our own communication and learning, as well as to those around us. Some areas to note for emotional regulation include:
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Emotional Vocabulary:Having the vocabulary to express our emotions clearly is important for communication. This helps others understand how we feel, and vice versa.
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Emotional Modulation: The process of adjusting how we behave in response to an emotion shapes how we interact with the environment and those around us. Emotional modulation impacts attention and executive function control.
Creating Space for Regulation and Communication
One of the biggest challenges we face, especially in fast-paced, goal-driven environments, is making space for regulation. If we prioritize regulation within the course of our day, we can increase opportunities and success around meaningful communication and learning. In fact, building skills around regulation should be part of our learning goals and objectives. When we provide everyone with the language and vocabulary and tools to work toward self-regulation, we are adding invaluable skills to their lifelong learning process.
Let’s build sensory, cognitive, and emotional regulation skills by selecting materials/activities that support expansion of language and vocabulary specifically around regulation, allow practice of essential skills and language to support regulation, and are presented thoughtfully with consideration to upcoming demands that require a shift in regulation. Along the way, here are some specific ways you can support the development of regulation and communication.
Use visuals: Provide students with visual supports. Visuals are permanent; they let students see what you mean, support transitions, aid language processing, help build independence, reduce how much auditory input a student is receiving, and eliminate tone, thus helping reduce anxiety!
Be clear and direct: When it comes to supporting regulation, find something concrete that you can see/hear, do your best to label what might be happening (without jumping to conclusions if you’re not sure), and then provide a support/tool option(s). For example, “It looks like you need something in your mouth right now to help you stay organized. You have a water bottle, or you may pick a quiet chewy toy from the mouth bin if that would be helpful.”
Provide the language and vocabulary: Don’t assume that individuals know or are able to express their regulation needs. Students of all ages benefit from learning language and vocabulary that help describe and define areas such as sensory, cognitive, and emotional regulation and that provide clear targets for what they are working toward. For example, “I’m excited to freeze dance with you. While we are freeze dancing we are going to work on an inhibitory response- that means practicing stopping. When the music stops, we have to stop our bodies all the way and wait until we get the signal to dance again.”
Practice the language and skills within play: This should come as no surprise- there are tons of opportunities to practice sensory, cognitive, and emotional regulation in all types of play- pretend play, gross motor movement, sensory bins, board games, arts and crafts activities, manipulative play, music, book reading, and more! Practicing regulation and the language and vocabulary that accompany these skills within play is a perfect way to support these areas of development.
Model self-regulation and vocabulary through your own experiences. Model your own self-regulation and share these experiences in real time. When students hear us using language around regulation and see us taking action to support our own regulation, they will begin to recognize those needs and tools within themselves. Don’t be shy about sharing! For example, “I am having a hard time focusing on my work right now because my body is telling me it’s really hungry. I’m going to grab a crunchy snack and get back to work.”
Pause. Leave plenty of space for a response. We are often moving so quickly and expect responses to our directions or questions at a pace that some children are not ready to match. After you’ve presented your stimuli, pause and wait. Give a bit of extra time before you jump ahead and assume that a student isn’t responding. You may be surprised at how they just needed a moment longer to process and transition.
Creating this space takes time and energy, but it’s absolutely essential for success. When students feel supported in maintaining their regulatory state, they’re more likely to engage with the lesson, understand the material, and communicate more effectively.
What Happens When We’re Dysregulated?
When we’re dysregulated, all aspects of communication and learning suffer. We may miss important information, misunderstand what others are saying, or fail to respond in a timely or appropriate manner. Dysregulation interferes with our ability to attend to and focus on learning. And, when we are dysregulated, it impacts our relationships and the way we interact with the world around us.
As much as possible, our goal is to try to maintain our own regulation and support our students’ regulation throughout the day to maximize communication and learning. However, all of us experience dysregulation at some point or another and with varying degrees of intensity. When that happens, knowing our sensory, cognitive, and emotional regulation tools will be helpful. Check out our infographic to keep you on track!
Let’s help everyone develop a strong sense of regulation and communication in order to navigate the world with greater ease.
Resources
WEBINAR: The Intersection between Communication and Regulation
BLOG: Sounds Like Success: Early Educators & SLPs
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Sheila Chrobak, M.S., CCC-SLP is the founder of Dot to Dot Pediatric Speech & Language Therapy. Sheila’s passion is in the play! The "work" of childhood is all about exploration, hands on experiences, trial and error, moving and grooving! She takes pride in her unique approach to speech-language therapy services and in recognizing the influences of the "whole" child on their targets and progress within sessions.
Over the past 25+ years, she has served a wide variety of children in all types of settings. Her experiences have allowed her to collaborate with a range of professionals including pediatricians, neurologists, neuropsychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and classroom teachers. She has presented at conferences, published articles, mentored undergraduate and graduate students, and created a variety of therapeutic activities for her clients.
She is certified by the Virginia Board of Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).