Connectedness - Building Regulation Through Relationships
Presenter(s)
Beth Osten, OTR
Humans need emotional connections from birth in order to survive and thrive. Connectedness is founded in coordinated action systems with others that evoke feelings of rapport. This presentation will describe the developmental unfolding of interpersonal connectedness and link the mechanisms of connectedness to the development of social functions necessary for the emergence of self- regulation.
Social entrainment begins at birth within the context of parent-child interactions and becomes increasingly complex across the developmental trajectory. The capacity for physiological and affect regulation is deeply rooted in our connections with others. Biologically based differences sensory motor functions interfere with the development of the social emotional products of interpersonal connectedness. As such, connectedness is an important clinical target for pediatric populations at risk for poor social functioning including children diagnosed with conditions such as autism, attention deficit disorder, and children from multi-risk families who may have experienced compromised caregiving, separation, or trauma. Developmental relationship-based intervention will be discussed and demonstrated through case-based video examples.
A simple, clinical measure of connectedness will be introduced.