Join Dr. Regan for the final episode of a four part series on regulation and dysregulation on the autism spectrum. This episode focuses on recognizing when an individual is attempting to regulate and using this information to partner toward the best outcome. New Course for Clinicians - Interventions in Autism: Helping Clients Stay Centered, Connect with Others, and Engage in Life New Course for Clinicians: ASD Differential Diagnoses and Associated Characteristics Dr. Regan's Resources Book: Understanding Autism in Adults and Aging Adults, 2nd ed Audiobook Book: Understanding Autistic Behaviors Autism in the Adult website Resources for Clinicians Transcript of Episode 1 00:00:00,340 --> 00:00:03,370 This is Dr Theresa Regan. 2 00:00:03,380 --> 00:00:10,830 I'm a neuropsychologist and I specialize in understanding the way that the brain is related to emotions, 3 00:00:10,830 --> 00:00:13,000 behavior, cognition -- 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,430 thinking skills -- and also personality. 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,910 I'm a certified autism specialist. 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:24,060 I'm the director of an autism diagnostic clinic for adults in Illinois. 7 00:00:24,070 --> 00:00:26,650 And I'm the mother of a teen on the spectrum. 8 00:00:27,740 --> 00:00:35,960 This is our final episode of a four point series on regulation and dysegulation on the autism spectrum. 9 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:37,640 In the first episode, 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:39,800 we talked about what those words mean. 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:49,130 So regulation has to do with the nervous system's ability to help us stay centered with alertness... 12 00:00:49,140 --> 00:01:02,480 whether we are able to wake up quickly and efficiently in the morning and are able to wind down to sleep in the evening ... that has to do with regulation of our alertness, 13 00:01:02,490 --> 00:01:04,900 Also regulation of attention... 14 00:01:04,900 --> 00:01:14,000 so sometimes we may feel spacey and inattentive and other times we may have too much hyper focus, 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,350 too attentive to details that aren't really helping our situation. 16 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,530 And also third, 17 00:01:21,530 --> 00:01:24,370 the regulation of emotions and behavior. 18 00:01:24,370 --> 00:01:35,970 And so this would be what we typically call fight, flight, or freeze modes when someone's overwhelmed and they may revert to an outburst or a meltdown, 19 00:01:35,980 --> 00:01:39,230 they may be an individual who has quieter struggle... 20 00:01:39,230 --> 00:01:41,930 So they may have flight reactions -- 21 00:01:41,930 --> 00:01:43,590 like I'm leaving school, 22 00:01:43,590 --> 00:01:46,580 I can't come out of my room, 23 00:01:46,580 --> 00:01:48,340 I'm withdrawing. 24 00:01:48,350 --> 00:01:52,880 I'm hiding ... psychologically or physically. 25 00:01:53,740 --> 00:01:57,440 And some people have freeze reactions that ... I'm physically present, 26 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,430 but I'm really shut down. 27 00:01:59,430 --> 00:02:07,660 I'm not psychologically present ... and it may even take the form of a dissociative episode like this person is shut down... 28 00:02:07,670 --> 00:02:10,520 They don't remember this conversation later. 29 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,360 They're really just not able to be fully present. 30 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,590 Another form of freeze reaction 31 00:02:18,590 --> 00:02:25,130 could be this expression of psychological stress through the physical body. 32 00:02:25,140 --> 00:02:29,330 So a person who's having what we call nonepileptic seizures. 33 00:02:29,340 --> 00:02:39,150 Those are seizures that are expressions of psychological struggle rather than based in electrical changes in the brain. 34 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,420 That would be in this category. 35 00:02:42,420 --> 00:02:49,150 People who have feelings of physical pain in the