Occupational Therapy Foundation: Regulation Comes Before Skill
- Sanika Kelkar
- Apr 24
- 1 min read
One of the most important (and often misunderstood) principles in occupational therapy is this:
A child cannot learn effectively if they are not regulated.
Regulation refers to a child’s ability to:
manage sensory input
maintain an optimal level of alertness
feel safe and organized in their body
If a child is:
overwhelmed → they may shut down or meltdown
under-stimulated → they may seek constant movement
anxious → they may resist participation
In all these cases, teaching a skill directly will not be effective.
So the first layer of an OT session is often not visible as “learning”—it is preparing the nervous system to be ready for learning.
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Saamarthya Foundation
Family Resource Centre Pune
Row House 1, Next to Meghmalhar Bungalow, Pancard Club Road, Baner
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