See Beyond Behavior

Cynthia Ryan, Executive Director of VeDA (Vestibular Disorders Association), and Susan, facilitator of a vestibular support group, join host Torri Wright to talk about often misdiagnosed or overlooked vestibular disorders.

Vestibular disorders are invisible conditions related to the inner ear and brain, affecting sensory processing involved with controlling balance and eye movements. If injury or disease damages these areas, people can suffer from imbalance, dizziness, vertigo, and brain fog in varying degrees.

Common vestibular disorders include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), labyrinthitis & vestibular neuritis, Ménière's disease, acoustic neuroma, and vestibular migraines. Vestibular disorders can also result from or be worsened by genetic or environmental conditions, or occur for unknown reasons. Many with vestibular disorders can find it challenging to be accurately diagnosed or find coping strategies to manage their symptoms.

Resource links:

• VeDA | Vestibular Disorders Association: https://vestibular.org
• Vestibular support groups: https://vestibular.org/support_groups
• Patient logs: https://vestibular.org/patient-logs
• Vestibular for kids: www.pinterest.com/vestibularveda/vestibular-for-kids/

Coming to Terms are shorter bonus episodes to help define and demystify the unique language of the behavior space.

In this episode, Torri covers Secondary Trauma; a trauma where another person who witnesses or supports traumatic situations, ends up experiencing trauma of their own. As parents, care providers, or even professionals, we often fail to recognize the long-term effects traumatic situations can pose on our own health and regulation. Prolonged exposure to traumatic situations can cause chronic stress, anxiety, fatigue, and depression, impacting our health and well-being.

Resource links:

• Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)--US Dept. of Health & Human Services: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/trauma-toolkit/secondary-traumatic-stress
• Secondary Trauma--When PTSD is Contagious: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/12/ptsd-secondary-trauma/420282/

Meet Mary--a college student, aspiring author, fashion designer, and artist. I first met Mary way back when she was in the sixth-grade. Over the years, I've had the pleasure of witnessing Mary grow and evolve. She has taught me a lot about navigating adolescence, and now young adulthood, as a girl/woman on the autism spectrum. Mary's sense of humor, insights about her educational experience, and unique way of seeing the world through a neurodiverse lens is both inspiring and thought-provoking.

Parenting a child is one of the hardest roles we play as adults. No matter how prepared we think we are, our lives forever change the moment they enter our world. Now image that same experience with a child who has complex needs or challenging behavior--it forces us to discover superpowers we maybe never knew we had.

In this episode, Torri sits down with Carole, a fearless mother in Portland, Oregon who shares her story of navigating parenthood with two unique and special children; a daughter with Down Syndrome and autism, and a son who experiences dyslexia and dysgraphia.

Resource links:

• FACT OREGON: https://factoregon.org
• NW Down Syndrome Association: https://nwdsa.org
• Autism Empowerment: www.autismempowerment.org
• Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/DecodingDyslexiaOR/

Coming to Terms are shorter bonus episodes in the See Beyond Behavior podcast series. In the behavior space, we often use unique terms, acronyms, and jargon. For many people, these may be unfamiliar or even misunderstood. So with that in mind, we hope to use our podcast to help define and demystify this language, so we are all on the same page and you are prepared for future conversations (and episodes).

Here Torri dives into Co-Regulation; a term that came up recently in our conversation with Dr. Henson, discussing trauma-informed care (episode 2). Here's a bit of background on co-regulation, so you will have a better idea of what it looks like and why it's important to always keep in mind.

One way to define co-regulation, is as the conscious shifting of one's' own physical & emotional response in order to support another person who has become dysregulated (e.g., not in control of their emotions or body).

What co-regulation might look like:

• Reflection of one's energy or calmness, rather than a lack thereof, and how others are responding to you.

• Being aware and mindful of physiological responses within the body and consciously shifting them. eg. increased heart-rate; incorporate deep breathing to slow heart-rate and anxiety.

• Awareness of the tone of voice (use of words or sounds) and body language (arms crossed, standing over, stern look on face), as these are all non-verbal cues a person who is dysregulated can pick up on.
• Understanding the person who is dysregulated may not have the skills or ability to redirect themselves or incorporate calming techniques, therefore as the adult/person supporting, we must calm our own energy/presence as much as possible, helping the other person have a safe space to work through their process without an exchanged (reactive/intense) interaction with another person.

Why co-regulation is important:

• What is our responsibility to the exchanges and interactions?

• Are we adding to the increased or prolonged dysregulation with how we are responding/reacting?

• What can we control and what is our plan when we have been triggered ourselves, to stay in a calm place?

• How can "we" support or be a positive, calming presence for those who struggle with dysregulation?

• When another person is there, not involved or wrapped up in the unraveling events, there is grounded energy that person can feel (biochemical) and will eventually connect to that, to help them begin to calm their body as well.
• The more we can see the dysregulation is not about a conscious desire to create chaos or dysfunction, rather a neurological process that is automatically happening, the better we are able to not get attached and do our job in being a calm presence.

Co-regulation will likely come up again in future episodes, and we may also say things like; reflective, self-aware, personal check-in, how grounded is your energy, or other adults supporting someone who may be dysregulated.

Are there other behavior terms that would be helpful to cover on the podcast? Send your ideas to [email protected] or on our Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/behca_app

Resource links:

• https://www.acesconnection.com/g/aces-in-education/blog/co-regulation-with-students-at-risk-calming-together
• http://occupationaltherapychildren.com.au/what-is-co-regulation/
• https://www.321insight.com/ (for educators)

Traumatic events affect each of us in unique and varied ways. They can have lasting impacts on our neurological pathways, influencing how we later respond or react to our environment, resulting in increased agitation, hypersensitivity, hyper-focused/aroused, or shut-down responses. Trauma-informed practices offer a different perspective in looking at behavior.

In this episode, Torri is joined by Dr. Will Henson from 321 Insight to discuss trauma-informed practices within schools. Both have worked in this field for more than 20+ years and offer personal stories, anecdotal observations, and insights on an emerging topic they are equally passionate about. Together, they explore a wider lens into how human behavior affected by trauma shows up in the classroom and some of the "whys" behind it.

As Torri touched on in the previous episode, when we recognize behavior is a form of communication, we can reflect on what message behavior is trying to convey. Instead of seeing behavior from children as an annoying factor adults' have to "put up with," we challenge audiences to reflect on their own process and take notice of how certain experiences in their lives have stayed with them--influencing their reactions or responses when triggered by specific events, smells, sounds, or feelings. As adults, we develop coping skills along the way; often unaware of the deeper reason(s) why we are "behaving" a particular way.

If you have any questions or comments on this topic or others, please leave a comment below or email [email protected]. Thank you for listening and stay tuned for more episodes of the See Beyond Behavior podcast on the horizon.

Resource links:

• Dr. WIll Henson, a licensed clinical psychologist, and a state-wide education consultant: 321insight.com
• Adverse Childhood Experience (ACES): http://bit.ly/2F26quO

Behavior consultant and author Torri Wright provides a unique glimpse into the world of complex and challenging behavior.

Over the past 20 years, she has worked as a special education teacher, behavior consultant, author, and business owner. In that time, she has witnessed countless situations where people fixate on bad behaviors. They often make assumptions, instead of taking a few steps back to see what the function of the behavior is or simply what it might be communicating.

From her experiences within group homes to the corporate world, and everything in between, she can confidently say that behind every behavior is a purpose. And it's up to us to move beyond tick marks and journaling, to identify patterns. We need to decode what the behavior - good or bad - is trying to tell us.

The word behavior itself is an action that is observable and measurable. Undesirable behavior creates a resistance, discomfort, or even unsafe situations for the individual and those around them. The internal workings of where and why behavior occurs is a complicated mapping within the human process. Rarely, does challenging or undesirable behavior occur due to a single, isolated event.