Blog by Alex Kronstein.
Alex Kronstein is an autistic activist in the neurodiversity movement who advocates against seclusion and restraint in schools and recently completed the Self-Reg Foundations program.
Looking Beneath Behaviour and Stress
One thing that stood out to me throughout the Self-Reg Foundations program was how often behaviour, anxiety, and overwhelm are connected to hidden stressors that adults may not fully recognize.
The deeper I got into the course, the more I began thinking about stress not just in children generally, but in autistic youth and adolescents in particular.
But Foundations 3 was another thing entirely, in that it goes deeper into the science of Self-Reg in various contexts. In this essay, I’ll focus on the first three modules of the course.
Reflecting on Autism and DIR/Floortime
As an autistic activist, I found the section on autism especially interesting. One topic I wanted to reflect on was the discussion around DIR/Floortime, developed by Stanley Greenspan.
For those unfamiliar with it, DIR/Floortime is presented as a warm, relationship-based approach focused on engaging with children through connection, attunement, gestures, communication, and play. Compared to more compliance-based approaches, many people view it as a more compassionate alternative..
Questions About Outcomes and Neurodiversity
It is no secret that much of the autistic community strongly opposes ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis), and those critiques are becoming increasingly mainstream.
Floortime is often promoted as the best alternative to ABA. However, many autistic advocates have raised important concerns about Floortime as well.
For many autistic people, the issue comes down to the assumptions underneath the model itself: the idea that autistic children must meet certain normative developmental milestones in order to achieve the “best outcome.”
Even in approaches that appear gentler or more relational, autistic advocates often ask an important question:
Who decides what the ideal outcome is?
For a more nuanced discussion of these concerns, I highly recommend an essay by autistic adult Erin Human:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180205012903/https://erinhuman.com/2018/01/31/why-i-dont-recommend-floortime/
Evolving Conversations Around Autism and Self-Reg
What I appreciated was learning that these conversations are evolving. Floortime practitioner Cecilia Breinbauer has shared that Stanley Greenspan did not have the opportunity to fully engage with the neurodiversity movement before his death in 2010.
However, he did spend time reading testimonials from autistic adults later in his life. Personally, I suspect that if he had been able to engage more directly with autistic advocates, he may have revised some of his earlier assumptions and writings.
Anxiety, Hidden Stressors, and Modern Youth
Another major theme in the course was anxiety among youth.
At this point, it is hard to deny that we are living through a significant youth anxiety epidemic. Young people today face enormous and constantly increasing demands, both academically and socially.
Many children are overloaded with expectations, over-programmed schedules, performance pressure, digital stimulation, sleep deprivation, and constant comparison.
For neurodivergent youth, those stressors are often amplified.
Looking Beneath the Surface of Behaviour
What stood out to me in the Self-Reg approach was the emphasis on looking beneath the surface and identifying hidden stressors rather than simply focusing on behaviours or symptoms.
Stressors related to sleep, sensory overload, diet, social pressure, technology, academic expectations, and lack of restoration all matter.
Reflect and Restore
Reducing unnecessary stressors wherever possible is incredibly important.
For stressors that cannot simply be removed, Steps 4 and 5 of Self-Reg — Reflect and Restore — become especially important.
Helping young people understand their stress responses, recognize energy-tension states, and build restorative practices can go a long way.
I also appreciated that the Self-Reg approach to anxiety focuses less on punishment or “pushing through” and more on soothing practices, restoration, sleep, stress awareness, and reducing hidden stressors.
Adolescents, Stress, and the Pressures of Modern Life
The section on adolescents also resonated with me.
Modern teens and preteens are often talked about as “out of control” or overwhelming for the adults around them. But I think we need to reframe what we are seeing.
Many of the struggles adolescents face today reflect an intensification of stresses that have always existed, now amplified by modern life and technology.
Today’s adolescents face:
- increasing mental health pressures
- online harms and vulnerability through digital spaces
- chronic stress and overstimulation
- cyberbullying and social pressure
- disrupted sleep and restorative time
- constant performance demands
Again, this is especially true for neurodivergent youth.
Supporting Neurodivergent Teens Through Self-Reg
One major support for neurodivergent teens and preteens would be reducing unnecessary academic pressures while also helping them improve sleep, eating habits, restoration, and stress awareness.
Helping adolescents recognize stress across the five domains — and helping them actually practice Self-Reg — could make a significant difference in how they manage energy, tension, and overwhelm.
Why the Adolescent Brain Matters
Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that adolescent brains are still developing well into early adulthood, especially systems related to planning, stress management, emotional regulation, and impulse control.
Young people today are carrying far more than many adults realize.
And I think that’s something we urgently need to understand better.
Continue the Learning
Self-Reg Foundations Certificate Program
REFRAMED: The Journal of Self-Reg, Volume 1, Issue 1 (2017)
