Here, Synergy Autism Center's owner, Barbara Avila shares the essential nature of regulation for curiosity and learning to thrive. A child who is curious is learning, growing, and thriving. They are active and engaged in exploring the world and trying to figure out how things and people around them work. They imitate. They follow. They experiment. They fail and recover. They take risks and experience accidents. They gaze to their caregivers to determine safety or confirm their curiosity. They engage with the world. They are intrigued by the unexpected and the unpredictable within their developmental schema.  Co-Regulation Leads to Regulation  In order for a child to be curious, their internal state must be ready for new learning. A newborn is not ready for a whole lot of stimulation without getting overwhelmed and dysregulated, for example. However, as a child gets older, their system learns to be slightly stressed and to re-regulate to accommodate the new...

In this episode of Behavior Babble with Barb and Pam, we dive into the book Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline, M.D. and Jim Fay, 1990, 2006. There are some excellent words of wisdom and useful strategies in this book. In summary, "using enforceable thinking words, giving choices, displaying no anger - these are the ingredients for establishing firm limits with our kids." (pg 77). We discuss our take on these and other tools from this book and conclude with the fact that in order for parents to be able to "display no anger," let alone offer these options in a clear, consistent manner, they must be taking care of themselves first and foremost. Barb shared the TILT podcast she enjoyed recently when Dr. Rita Eichenstein was interviewed. She discussed the importance of professionals realizing that children have parents who are going through their own developmental processes that need support and guidance, too! Check out that podcast by clicking HE...