Healing the Impact of Technology:
Supporting Attention, Attachment and Self-Regulation in Adolescence
The Healing the Impact of Technology Program for supporting adolescents is founded on a holistic understanding of the human being. The program aims to provide a context for young people to deepen their awareness of themselves and others through the exploration of content and experience that enhance capacities for attention, attachment and self-regulation. Young people need experiences that help to increase these capacities as part of healthy adolescent development in the modern industrialized world, and specifically as an antidote to exposure to technology. Our in-classroom program (generally for 9-12 grades, though it may be presented to 6-8 grades when needed) provides a context for young people to learn to deeply engage with each other without social media or other technologies; to grow their capacity for self-observation, inner experience, and self-direction; and to understand both the usefulness and negative impacts of various technologies.
Each class and its respective age group is taught age appropriate content that is both useful for their development but also provides a social education to support attention, attachment and self-regulation. We have found that working with the developmental stage of each individual class, supports health and understanding of the realities of technology that students meet in the world today.
Facilitators also offer faculty, full parent body and individual class meetings giving more specific information about what will be taught in each class and to support the specific needs and concerns of different groups.
Contact us for more information about the program.
Caring for the Sensory System in Growing Children
The foundations of sensory development are laid down in the first seven years of life and have a direct influence on the growing child’s ability to develop attention, attachment, and self- regulation: capacities essential for formal education.
Health practitioners and educators from Developing the Self offer various supports for communities seeking to develop their understanding of the impact technology has on sensory development in children and adults. The Healing the Impact of Technology Program includes afternoon or weekend workshops, community talks, as well as direct support and guidance for both individuals and school communities. We provide simple strategies and methods for harmonizing the sensory system towards health and healing, as well as practical tools for working with technology at home and in school.
The workshops and lectures can be offered in relation to a particular community’s needs.
You can find more information about the foundation of this program in the book:
Spirit-led Community; Healing the Impact of Technology by Lisa Romero.
“ A feeling for what is self and what is other is cultivated through the development and care of the senses and the nervous system.”
Lecture and Workshop Examples
Caring For the Senses in Early Childhood
A talk for parents and teachers caring for children from birth to seven years old. Introducing the twelve senses and focusing on the first four, foundational senses, which are laid down in the first seven years of life, and are the basis for healthy growth into the sensory system. School communities have utilized this offering to support young families in understanding the basis for the Waldorf Early Childhood curriculum as well as offering practical methods for supporting the foundational senses at home.
Supporting Constitutional Tendencies in Children
In this workshop or talk for parents and teachers, we explore constitutional tendencies, which manifest as a bodily dominance either in the upper pole (the nerve-sense system or pole of consciousness) or in the lower pole (the metabolic-limb system or pole of life), and how this understanding helps us to support children in areas such as: appetite, food and nutrition, sleep, warmth, movement, environment, social life, illness, and technology.
Harmonizing Sensory Development in Primary School Years
A talk for parents and teachers to understand the impact the senses have on behaviour and learning in the primary school years. This can be offered as a complement to any class parent meeting as it helps lead parents towards furthering their self-education to support their growing child’s individual needs.
Learning To Observe Sensory Development
We can use the understanding and observation of the development of the twelve senses as a guide to know when children are ready for broader experiences, how to protect them from overstimulation, and how to harmonize the sensory impressions for healthier digestion and sensory integration for all levels of well being.
This workshop can be presented as an afternoon or weekend workshop for anyone working with children.
Harmonizing Sensory Development in Adulthood
A lecture or afternoon or weekend workshop that offers participants practical experiences and exercises to better support their own sensory system. This workshop has been offered for parents, faculty, and community members.
Supporting Healthy Attention, Attachment and Self-Regulation in Adolescence
A lecture, afternoon or weekend workshop that offers practical ways to work with young people to better support their sensory system and heal the impacts of technology. This workshop is useful for parents, faculty, and community members.
Practical Workshops To Learn How to Apply Treatments to Harmonise the Senses
The nervous system is accessed directly when we apply medicinal treatments on the skin. Our experiences of anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbances and erratic behaviour can be the result of a weakened or overworked sensory system. These applications offer the support, relief and upbuilding forces that our systems need to digest and process the multitude of sensory input on a daily basis. The treatments benefit people of all ages and especially support children. This workshop provides hands-on experience with a variety of practical applications.
