In education, dysregulation is seen as either misbehavior or defiance, but in reality it’s just unmet needs. Every escalation, shutdown, or refusal triggers a chain reaction: learning time, strained relationships, and classroom tensions are all effects. If we shift from reacting to behaviours to

supporting regulation, everything will change.

These challenges often stem from three core areas that overload the nervous system:

1. Emotional Capacity: Difficulty managing intense emotions, especially common for neurodivergent learners or those facing high stress. (Cross D, et al. 2017)
2. Sensory Input: Busy, loud, or unpredictable environments lead to involuntary responses.
3. Survival Mode: The body’s biological stress response takes over, then learning becomes biologically inaccessible (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. 2025).

Learning relies on key cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and executive control - all of which require a regulated nervous system.

Stress Hijacks Learning Systems: Anxiety and sensory overload disrupt these functions, stopping learning at the source. (Ouellet B, et al. 2018)

Expectations Become Unrealistic: Asking a dysregulated student to perform a cademically amplifies distress.

Classroom Mismatch: When a child’s state and environment are out of sync, confusion, frustration, and behavioural referrals increase.

Without proactive regulation supports:

Instructional loss - Valuable learning time is forfeited by both the dysregulated student and their classmates.

Role Shift - Educators are forced to abandon teaching and shift their focus to managing crises.

Relational Harm - The student confidence and teacher-student relationship can suffer long-term damage

Because traditional reactions like consequences or public correction often intensify distress, experts advocate adoption of a sensory-aware and trauma-informed environment that will prioritize student safety (Unwin K.L, et al. 2021).

When we view dysregulation as a need — not a behaviour problem — we transform outcomes

What Schools Can Do

Provide proactive supports: sensory-friendly spaces, flexible seating, movement breaks

Train educators in trauma- and neurodiversity-informed approaches

Normalize regulation as part of the learning process

Offer privacy, so support doesn’t become stigma

When regulation comes first, students return to learning faster, and teachers maintain instructional momentum.