Speech Dude

Social Emotional Learning Tips for Teens!
(9)

02/04/2026

I am not trying to minimize the seriousness of these types of meltdowns. Safety matters, for the person experiencing distress and for the people supporting them. Approaches rooted in restraint, punishment, or behavior suppression don’t address the source of the problem. They often increase risk and can cause far more harm.

Safety comes from helping someone move through moments of distress without adding threat, and then understanding what led to the meltdown in the first place. When we focus only on stopping a behavior, we miss the nervous system signals driving it. And without understanding the why, interventions are more likely to be reactive, inconsistent, and ineffective.

So basically, try to move from controlling behavior to understanding the conditions that create them. This will reduce frequency and lead to long term success.

Sounds easy…it’s not.

01/16/2026

The trick is to stare into people’s souls until they feel uncomfortable…then they’ll leave you alone. lol.

Can you believe this is still common practice for autistic kids?

“Look at me when I’m talking to you” ….”ok but I won’t hear a darn thing you’re saying now”.

01/16/2026

OR, inclusive classrooms that normalize students having different needs and giving options to all of them so they can each choose what works for them.

Just a few ideas. Share your thoughts below ⬇️

01/14/2026

It wasn’t until I got older that I realized how much I appreciate having some down time. I feel like I rarely get that. lol.

01/13/2026

In my opinion, I think they got a lot of things right on this. Woot woot!

Whatcha think?

01/05/2026

This shift in perspective always helps me feel better about returning to work after a long break. 😊

12/26/2025

Repost: Recently watched a series called All Her Fault & synesthesia was mentioned.

Have you hear of it or experience it? Share below ⬇️

12/26/2025

Hopefully this reframe helps a little. Share thoughts below.

12/18/2025

What if your special interest is learning about special interests? Things that make ya go hmmmmmm

12/17/2025

Rumor has it, only speech pathologists can do this. lol

Are you up for the challenge & ???? 😁

12/12/2025

Here’s a few thoughts to the previous video.

Any other ideas…share below 🔽

Part 3 coming soon.

12/12/2025

Alright, so in this specific example, the problem is that when the student’s nervous system detects a transition as a threat (sensory overload, executive function demand), it shifts into a survival state. In this state, the limbic system (the survival brain) takes control, and the prefrontal cortex (the thinking, planning, and language part of the brain) goes offline.

A skill learned when the prefrontal cortex is active (like the logic of using a break card to get a reward or escape) is not going to be retrievable when the survival brain is in charge. The student cannot access a complex, rational strategy when his body is screaming “fight/aggression” or “flight/elope”.

So we need to step back and create supports to help with regulation such as co-regulation and specifics as to what that looks like (which I’ll do in part 2 :-)

Share your thoughts below ⬇️

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