F3F: Regulate to Learn: Nervous System States and Their Impact on Attention and Engagement

Children and adolescents often struggle with nervous system dysregulation, which can impact attention, learning, emotional regulation, and behavior. This session explores how autonomic nervous system stress affects cognitive, emotional, and social functioning across home, school, and community settings, with autism as a key example.

Participants will learn why regulation of the nervous system must come first and gain practical, evidence-informed strategies to reduce escalation, improve engagement, and support lasting emotional and cognitive regulation. Case examples and actionable tools will equip clinicians and educators to enhance outcomes while complementing existing evidence-based practices.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify clinical signs of autonomic nervous system dysregulation, including hyperarousal and hypoarousal patterns, and understand their impact on attention, learning, emotional regulation, and behavior across home, school, and community settings, including children with autism.

Differentiate between skill deficits and stress-driven performance breakdowns, recognizing when behaviors are manifestations of nervous system dysregulation rather than noncompliance or lack of motivation.

Apply evidence-informed nervous system regulation strategies within clinical and educational practice to reduce escalation, improve engagement, and enhance learning and emotional outcomes in children and adolescents.

Speakers