The Importance of Self-Monitoring
But I’m just so mad…
As children, teens, and young adults progress through life, self-monitoring is an important skill they learn to use daily. Being able to identify when, where, and why they are feeling a certain emotion and how to counteract it is crucial to not only their social life, but life in general. Self-monitoring allows them to prevent angry outburst, becoming loud in a situation where they need to be quiet, and anxiety in times where they need to be calm. As children become teens and teens become young adults, life continues to become more and more stressful. Whether it’s going off to college, moving out, starting your first day of high school, or even just having a big test the next day, self-monitoring can help prevent them from being overwhelmed by emotions. However, those with executive dysfunction and neurodivergent traits may find this to be harder to incorporate than neurotypical individuals.
Executive functioning skills such as self-monitoring help children, teens, and young adults feel as if they have control over their lives. If they can identify how a situation is making them react then they can properly self-sooth or remove themselves from it before it becomes a larger problem. Self-monitoring also helps neurodivergent people react in a way that is appropriate for the situation. Not yelling or hitting when they’re upset, screaming when excited, or reacting in other non-age-appropriate ways can cause issues for people such as trouble making and maintaining friendships, jobs, and relationships. If they cannot self-monitor and often react in extremes, their peers might begin to distance themselves from them, leading to isolation, depression, anxiety, and a plethora of other issues. However, despite, this, self-monitoring is a skill that can be learned with the proper coaching.
At the Support for Students Growth Center, we provide the social, behavioral, emotional, and executive functioning skills children, teens, young adults, and their families need for a happy and successful life in and out of school settings. Our team of professionals offers individualized and family coaching/counseling and social skills groups to help teach skills such as self-monitor to ensure parents do not have to worry that their kids will be unable to be the best they can be in and out of school setting on their own. So, if your child is struggling with skills like the ones listed above and much more, the SSGC is equipped with the tools to help.
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Dr. Eric J. Nach, Ph.D., M.Ed., A.S.D.C., is a Developmental and Behavioral Specialist who specializes in Autism, ADHD and related disorders. Dr. Nach is the founder of the Support for Students Growth Center and College Life Skills Program where he and his team of professional’s help develop the Emotional Maturity, Executive Functioning, Life Skill and Social Abilities of children, teens, young adults and college students and those high school students preparing for college.
