Self-regulation
Managing your own attention, emotion and arousal well enough to do what a situation asks. Built gradually, out of thousands of moments of being regulated by somebody else first.
Why self-regulation matters.
It is worth separating two things that look identical from outside: a child who can regulate and is choosing not to, and a child who has not yet got the skill. The second is much more common than adults assume, and consequences do not teach a skill that is absent.
The other thing worth knowing is that capacity runs down across a day. Most families see the worst behaviour at 4pm, and it is not a coincidence — it is what remains after a full day of holding it together at school.
Questions that get a real answer
- Is my child unable to do this, or unwilling?
- What does their capacity look like by mid-afternoon?
- What is being taught, as opposed to what is being managed?
Ask these of anyone, including us. What you are listening for is not the right answer — it is whether the answer is specific enough to be wrong.
Terms that usually turn up alongside it.
SENCO
The person in a school responsible for children with additional needs. Usually the most useful single
GlossaryShadow teacher
The common UAE term for a one-to-one classroom assistant. The same role an LSA does. Ask any provider
GlossarySLT
Therapy for communication — understanding, expression, speech sounds, and the social use of language.
Send it to us and we'll translate it.
Any report, from any provider, including ones we have nothing to do with. We will tell you in plain English what it says, what it recommends, and which parts are actually supported by the evidence in it. No charge, and it does not make you a client.