emotional regulation autism

Anxiety does not always look like anxiety. In the classroom, a student experiencing anxiety may not say, “I’m worried” or appear visibly nervous. Instead, an educator might see a student refusing to begin an assignment, repeatedly asking the same question, becoming upset when plans change, withdrawing from classmates, or struggling to enter the classroom. For […]

Educators become familiar with their students’ personalities, learning styles, and routines over the course of a school year. When a student who is typically engaged suddenly becomes withdrawn, struggles to complete familiar tasks, or appears emotionally exhausted, it is natural to wonder what has changed. While these behaviors may sometimes be attributed to a lack […]

Most educators have experienced it. A schedule changes unexpectedly. A substitute teacher arrives. An assembly interrupts the day. While many students adjust with minimal difficulty, others may become anxious, withdrawn, or emotionally overwhelmed. For students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), predictability is often more than a preference. It is a support system. Predictable environments help […]

A student forgets to turn in homework even though it is completed. Another struggles to begin assignments without repeated prompts. A third becomes overwhelmed when asked to manage a multi-step project. These situations are often misunderstood as laziness, lack of motivation, or poor behavior. In reality, they may be connected to executive functioning challenges. Executive […]