Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a useful resource when looking at basic needs for regulation. Maslow describes physiological needs and safety as basic needs, but I’m going to include social belonging as well, as co-regulation is so important for regulation development. When referring to basic needs in the context of the Regulation Rocket, the following need to be looked at:
- Diet (including nutritional deficiencies)
- Sleep patterns
- Ability to maintain homeostasis (eg regulate body temperature, blood glucose levels, oxygen levels)
- Pain or discomfort
- Adequate clothing
- Appropriate shelter
- Sexual needs (for those at that stage of development)
- Personal security (ie physical, emotional, psychological safety)
- Consistent food source
- Health
- Well being
- Safety against illnesses/accidents
- Affection (giving and receiving)
- Intimacy
- Appreciation
- Friendships
- Love
It’s a pretty long list, but an important one. Without basic needs met, the Rocket is going to struggle to take off and travel (severely reducing the number of occupations an individual can perform). Basic needs can be easily neglected in favour of addressing more “obvious” behaviours, even if these behaviours are a direct result of a basic need not being met. Because the list is so substantial, it will be hard for me to cover it all in a single post. I will address some of the social belonging needs in my posts on co-regulation, and highlight some of the common basic needs challenges I’ve experienced below.
We all know what it feels like to not be at our best health wise, and the impact this has on our attention and regulation. When we are unwell, our general mood changes, making us more irritable and ‘snappy’. Just like when we are tired, being sick lowers our reaction times, processing time and alertness. Brain scans showed that being overtired makes your amygdala (your ‘emotional centre’) react 60 percent more than when you have had enough sleep. This is why sometimes things seem hilarious when you’re tired, when at best it would elicit a small chuckle when you’re alert.
There is increasingly more evidence supporting the impact our gut functioning has on mood and behaviour, and it’s well known that high GI foods can lead to highs and lows in energy levels as a result of spikes in blood sugar levels. A poor diet can result in health complications or impact an individual’s ability to have sufficient energy for a task.We really can’t underestimate the value of a good night’s sleep or a nutritionally based diet. Sleep and good food help us to be alert, energetic, learn new things and help enhance our mood.
Our physical health assists our mental health, and being mentally healthy means we are better able to cope with stress, manage our feelings and feel good about ourselves. The self-esteem and confidence we get from good mental health impacts on our resilience or ability to ‘bounce back’ from adversity. Pain, illness, injury, anxiety, depression and other indications of ill-health reduce our ability to respond the way we would like to stressors in the environment, as well as increasing the challenges an individual may have in an otherwise supportive environment.
Being able to identify and manage our internal body temperature allows us to remain alert and focus our attention where it is needed. Individuals who have difficulties maintaining their homeostasis (often due to poor introception; our internal sense) may not recognise when they are feeling hot, cold, hungry or thirsty. I worked with a child who could not tell when he was overheating, and would becoming increasingly upset until a caregiver encouraged him to take off his jumper. He knew something was ‘wrong’ but his inability to recognise a change in his internal temperature meant he was unable to independently regulate his emotionally response.
It’s so important to gather as much information about an individual and their daily routine as possible before trialling strategies. A personal learning moment came to me whilst working at an autism specific school. I had a referral for a child who presented as extremely lethargic and had low arousal levels. He was not able to maintain the arousal levels needed for attending to or engaging in a range of activities such as school work, play or tasks he need to complete throughout the day (e.g. hanging up his school bag). He would occasionally get bursts of energy, but these were few and far between. When encouraged to do anything besides lying on a beanbag or draping himself over an exercise ball, he would protest loudly and occasionally hit out or threw objects. Taking an approach focussed on his sensory processing failed: no amount of activities aimed at increasing his arousal (or decreasing it in case he was in sensory overload) worked.
Talking to his mum, I found out that bedtimes were extremely difficult, and the family had no set routine. As the child often protested against going to bed, she had given up the nightly battle and allowed him to stay up until he was so tired he fell asleep. I spoke to her about sleep hygiene and supported her to develop and implement a consistent bedtime routine. After a few weeks, bedtimes became less of a battle, and he settled into the routine of going to bed rather than fall asleep when he had exhausted himself.
While he still enjoyed being sedentary and needed a high amount of motivation to participate in activities, he was able to muster the energy to do so much more easily, and with less irritation and annoyance. His poor sleep patterns had made him highly irritable and he had struggled with tasks that required attention and focus. After a few weeks of consistent sleep, his mood improved, and he begun engaging in both the school and home routines.
It was one of those moments that highlighted to me the dangers of lapsing into lazy, intervention first thinking, without considering the whole picture. Since then I’ve made a concerted effort to avoid the same mistake, and tried to consider all factors that can influence regulation, rather than jumping to conclusions or assumptions. The Regulation Rocket visual helps me to look at everything equally first, before deciding on priority areas. Hopefully it can provide you with similar assistance!