ity, and spatial thinking. This right side – more attuned to affect, gestures, interpersonal space, and relatedness – is also online before the left (Siegel & Bryson, 2012).
This means that the lower brain systems and right brain, which are very sensitive to pre-verbal and non-verbal cues, are what we humans first use to interpret the world and others. (Porges 2011, 2015) in fact proposed the Polyvagal Theory suggesting that the very first thing a child needs to determine is safety and that it is largely determined in children and adults by the affect, gestures, and voices of the other. In a moment, we will see why this is important for all humans, but especially for children (and adults) with autism-and you as their teacher.
What we now know Is that individuals with autism have neurobiological differences that render them less available for processing information (e.g., Khan et al.,
2015) for human engagement and learning and that such individuals have brain systems that have difficulty managing their internal and external stressors. Herein lies the enormous value and contribution that Self-Reg serves in the sciences of human development, and in particular for autism.
Going back to the lower brain and right/left hemispheres, a growing body of literature in the neurosciences suggests that the brains of individuals with autism often do not "work together" and that some areas of the brain are overconnected – meaning that their brain systems are overly active – and that other area of the brain are under-connected and not working together to support attention, regulation, and engagement (e.g., Khan et al., 2015: Heinsfeld, Franco, Craddock, Buchweitz, & Meneguzzi, 2018). Khan et al. (2015), for example, found that the sensory-motor system is overconnected
at the expense of the higher-brain cognition systems.
So, the word autism resides within you. Our challenge to you is to reflect on what it means based on current knowledge and science. The Self-Reg approach helps us to create a respectful, just approach to human development. The Self-Reg Framework challenges you to reframe what you see by wondering about what might be happening inside the student; to reframe what you first view as misbehavior by seeing the same behavior as the result of stress. By reframing in this way, you as a teacher can take an important step in promoting the development of your students – helping them to become physiologically, emotionally, and intellectually available for higher-level thinking.
Be "AGILE;" be questioning, be calm, and enjoy! •
GOOD CONNECTIONS : DEALING WITH DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY IN WHICH THE BRAIN FUNCTIONS
What does this all mean to you as a teacher of a child with autism, or for any child whose unique individual differences (brain differences) render them less available for regulation and learning?
1. TEACH WITH THE BRAIN IN MIND
The first lesson is that what you witness in a child's behavior is not a behavior problem to be fixed or changed (although the behaviors can be very challenging to you as a teacher). Instead, the behaviors are related to differences in the way in which the brain functions and processes relationships and the environment. So, as Siegel and Hartzell (2014) suggest for parenting, teach with the "brain in mind"!
2. CO-REGULATE
The second lesson is that children with autism have differences in brain systems that first and foremost can make it difficult for them to be calm and alert-those necessary developmental capacities for learning. These are felt by the child (and in you) as stressors. Your knowledge and experience can co-regulate with your students when stress renders them less present for engagement and learning.
3. BE AGILE
The third lesson is that children must feel safe, and the first line of communicating our safety and support of a child's engagement and learning is our affect and gestures. I believe that the brain systems in autism often make a child feel less safe. I have developed a simple acronym to help you pay attention to yourself and how you "are" with a child, especially a child with autism. The acronym is AGILE:
| A | G | I | L | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFFECT | GESTURE | INTONATION | LATENCY | ENGAGEMENT |
| This is what a child experiences first and most! Your demeanour and overall emotional state are what the child will experience. | Modulate and be attuned in your facial expressions, hands, movement, posture, and pacing. Carefully manage your interpersonal space. | Modulate the tone of your voice, as this conveys affect and social/ emotional meaning. Calm, slower voices convey safety and regulation. | (Wait): Wait and allow the child time to “take you in. | Before you continue, be sure you have engaged the child! |
4. TAKE THE CHALLENGE
The fourth lesson is for all of us to challenge our thinking about what autism means — personally, as members of the education community, and as members of the larger society. Consider the propositions on the next page in light of our current practices and what we can do as educators to make these propositions a reality in our classrooms and schools.