The Purple Philosophy: What does regulation sound like?
Shhh. Don’t disrupt the mindful engagement!
When someone is regulated their mind and body is attending, organizing and processing environmental, emotional and cognitive information appropriately.
When someone is regulated, they will be more confident and competent as solving functional problems and adjusting to social demands.
We can observe this confidence/competence objectively; The body is still, the mind is focused and the heart is trusting in the partner or the process.
Objectively observing and determining the function of behavior is the foundation of ABA. In this field, the word behavior is often discussed in the negative – abehavior to be changed. But if we go further than that, we can see that a lot of behavior is a symptom of deeper deficits.
Behavioral symptoms, such as aggression, are LOUD and that is a good thing! If we can see or hear it, then we can find what is really happening with the individual.
Most of the time, what we identify as a behavior is really feelings of incompetence to overcome a challenging situation causing anxiety and fear. Anxiety and fear lead to fight or flight behavior.
It is critical to not simply change or suppress this loud behavior before understanding it.
If we build confidence and competence in overcoming challenges, the “behavior” will become regulated – engaged, attentive and quiet.
