Intensive Intervention Practice Guide - Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Students With Disabilities (K-12)

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah

A practice guide defining self-regulation as the abilities to adjust emotions, behaviors, and cognitions to meet demands, emphasizing its development across the lifespan and its link to early academic success. It explains key domains of self-regulation, with a focus on emotional and behavioral self-regulation within family systems and cultural influences. The guide outlines examples of emotional and behavioral strategies and highlights the evidence base for instruction that targets these skills together for students with disabilities (K-12).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

What Is It?

For Whom Is It Intended?

How Does It Work?

How Can Families Support Implementation?

How Adequate Is the Research Knowledge Base?

How Practical Is It?

How Effective Is It?

What Questions Remain?

Where Can I Learn More?

References

Figure 1

Table 1

Intensive Intervention Practice Guide: Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Students With Disabilities (K-12) Elizabeth J. Hart, University of Texas at Austin Lilian Doyle, Vanderbilt University Chloe Cantero, University of Connecticut Faith O. Garrington, University of Minnesota Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Students With Disabilities (K-12) | 2 This project was supported in part by Grant H325H190003 from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) . Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorsement by it should be inferred. This product is public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. Although permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: Hart, E. J. , Doyle, L. , Cantero, C. , & Garrington, F.O. (2022) . Practice Guide: Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Students With Disabilities (K-12) . Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Fall 2022 Graphic services supported in part by EKS NICHD Grant \#1P50HD103537-01 to the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Students With Disabilities (K-12) | 3 Contents What Is It? ......................................................................................... 4 For Whom Is It Intended? ................................................................. 5 How Does It Work? ........................................................................... 6 How Can Families Support Implementation? .................................. 7 How Adequate Is the Research Knowledge Base? .......................... 11 How Practical Is It? ........................................................................... 11 How Effective Is It? ........................................................................... 12 What Questions Remain? ................................................................. 13 Where Can I Learn More? ................................................................ 14 References ........................................................................................ 15 Figure 1 ............................................................................................. 19 Table 1 .............................................................................................. 20 Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Students With Disabilities (K-12) | 4 What Is It? Self-regulation is a set of abilities and skills that allow an individual to adjust their emotions, behaviors, and cognitions to meet demands (Edossa et al. , 2018; McClelland et al. , 2010) . These sets of skills are obtained over an individual’s lifespan, but the acquisition of these skills is highly regarded in early childhood (Blair & Diamond, 2008) and is a predictor of academic achievement (Blair, 2003; Valiente et al. , 2010) . Students use self-regulation through several methods to monitor, manage, and assess both their behavior and academic achievement (Reid et al. , 2005) . Executive functions (i.e. , adaptable thinking, planning, self-monitoring, self-control, working memory, time management, and organization) contribute largely to self-regulation, thus requiring skills, strategies, and interventions to successfully utilize self-regulation to obtain academic and behavior achievement (Pandey et al. , 2018) . Self-regulation is a large psychological umbrella that includes a wide range of strategies, skills, and cognitive processes appropriate for all ages and abilities. Edossa et al. (2018) identify three essential domains within self-regulation (1) emotional self-regulation (e.g. , social skills),(2) behavioral self-regulation (e.g. , self-management), and (3) cognitive self-regulation (e.g. , self-regulated strategies) . Broadly, this practice guide addresses emotional and behavioral

FAQs

What is self-regulation and why is it important for students?

Self-regulation is the ability to adjust emotions, behaviors, and cognitions to meet demands. It supports learning and is associated with early academic achievement.

What are the main domains of self-regulation covered in the guide?

The guide identifies three domains: emotional self-regulation, behavioral self-regulation, and cognitive self-regulation. It particularly emphasizes emotional and behavioral development for K-12 students.

How does emotional self-regulation differ from behavioral self-regulation?

Emotional self-regulation focuses on identifying and responding to emotions to manage one’s internal response. Behavioral self-regulation centers on external strategies to manage behavior, such as goal setting and self-monitoring.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah