By Mrs Hooley, Assistant Head – Data and Operational Management

This week our annual Neurodiversity Week celebrations have been taking place at BGS. Students and staff have had many opportunities to learn more about Neurodiversity through VR experiences and alumnae talks, and parents were invited to a Curriculum Conversation on Monday night focusing on empowering parents to support students with self-regulation. this was complemented by Calm and Strong and Calm and Creative opportunities for the students during the week.

In the curriculum conversation, Mrs Magee, Director of SEND, outlined reasons why students may become dysregulated. The accumulation of what might appear to be relatively minor individual stresses, such as being late to school, not eating or drinking at the right times or  trying to sit still for long periods of time as well as potential relationship issues, can lead to students moving from slightly dysregulated to extreme sensory dysregulation in the course of a very short period of time. As these seemingly small stressors compound, it leads to the student moving from coping well with the issues to feeling overwhelmed.

Recognising emotional responses and finding ways to regulate them when they exceed our window of tolerance are skills that benefit everyone. Whilst dysregulation may, at times, be more evident in children with neurodivergence, it can often be more difficult to identify in others. There are also times when students will manage to get through a whole day and only off load their emotions when they get home. The key to managing any dysregulation is identifying how you feel and then putting in place cognitive behaviours to help you move back to the window of tolerance. 

We met with the whole of Year 10 this week to outline their assessment week schedule and Mrs Magee was able to encourage them to practise some physical ways in which they can realign their thinking when they become dysregulated and build regulation into their morning routines. Firstly students identified whether they were within their window of tolerance, on an OK or Not OK scale of 1 to 10. They were introduced to some simple brain boosting exercises to ensure that both sides of the brain are working in harmony, such as; breathing exercises with a longer exhale than inhale, grounding exercises, wall press-ups, whistling and mindfulness of nature.

As a parent, it can sometimes feel challenging to know how best to respond to your child when they are finding themselves outside their window of tolerance, particularly at times of exams and assessments. Practising these recommended techniques so they become a habit can significantly support a smooth start to the day. Mrs Magee also recommends the Secure Base model of parenting, where empathy and connection with the child comes before the correction of any behaviour; fostering belonging, co-operation, sensitivity, availability and acceptance into interactions. 

By helping young people recognise it is normal to feel dysregulated at times, supporting them with empathy and practical tips they will gradually build up a tool kit for self-regulation, both in school but more importantly in their wider life.