Case study: Regulating emotions just like her peers
The Safe and Sound Protocol helps 9-year-old Holly, who has experienced trauma all her life, better regulate her emotions at school.
About the provider
Name: Deana Lesher
Discipline/References: Occupational therapist, OTR/L
Modalities: MNRI (Reflex Integration), Ball-A-Vis-X, Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)
Customer background
Name: Holly (pseudonym)
Age and gender: Nine years old, female
Diagnoses and disorders: Trauma
Delivered program: Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) ( SSP Connect) hours 1 through 4; SSP Core , hours 1 through 5)
Holly has difficulty with emotion regulation at school, which appears to have been caused by a racist remark and persistent bullying by another student. As a result, her behavior ranges from hitting and kicking peers, as well as her teacher, yelling, throwing things and hiding under her teacher's desk daily.
Holly was adopted from China when she was 23 months old. She currently lives in a stable home, but suffered early trauma from abandonment, living in an orphanage, malnutrition and undergoing open-heart surgery when she was about six months old. She does well in her adoptive home with her family and plays well with friends outside of school, but struggles in the classroom. Before starting occupational therapy, she had a few sessions with a play therapist and she had started a treatment protocol called MNRI (Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration) several months before the SSP.
Goals with the SSP are improved emotion regulation, especially at school, so she can function socially and improve learning outcomes.
