Paid bonus: Regulation at home

How can we support our children to regulate at home?

Welcome to the April bonus content! Thank you so much for becoming a paid supporter of my Substack, it really means a lot to me, it’s wonderful to be supported in this work.

I’ve just completed a four-part series on adapted homes, and in this bonus, I’ll dive a bit deeper, looking at the importance of consciously addressing emotions, stress, and tension.

This is where home becomes not just safe, but regulating. It becomes a place that supports emotional restoration and builds lifelong tools for self-awareness and care.

Why might a neurodivergent child need to regulate?

Neurodivergent children often have brains that are hypervigilant to threats in their environment and may have increased sensitivity to stress.^[1] They also often experience emotions more intensely than their neurotypical peers.^[2] Under heavy stress, the brain has less access to higher brain functions, like reasoning, learning, and emotional control.^[3] This can make communication and social interaction more difficult, and anxiety can rise. ^[4] Regulation helps them reconnect with higher brain function, relax, reconnect with others, and calm sensory discomfort.^[5]

Photo by Vika Strawberrika on Unsplash

How can we help them to regulate?