The Skill Hasn't Disappeared - Access To The Skill Has Changed.

One of the most confusing things in paediatric practice is when we know a child has a skill, yet in another moment or setting, that skill seems to disappear.

They can write at home, but not in the classroom. They can manage a transition one day and completely fall apart the next. They can complete a task independently in one session, then need significant support the next time.

It can be tempting to interpret this as behaviour, avoidance or inconsistency.

But sometimes the child still has the skill. What has changed is their capacity to access it.

A child’s available capacity is influenced by both their external environment: noise, people, routines, expectations, task demands and predictability, and their internal environment: fatigue, hunger, discomfort, arousal, anxiety, emotions, sensory state and physiological stress.

When these demands increase, access to skills such as communication, flexible thinking, motor planning, emotional control and participation may reduce.

The skill has not necessarily disappeared, but access to the skill has changed. This shifts our clinical reasoning.

Instead of asking only, “Can this child do it?”, we can ask: “What capacity does this child have available right now?”

Perhaps the task needs to change. Perhaps the environment needs adjusting. Perhaps the child needs co-regulation or scaffolding. Or perhaps they are ready, and the most helpful thing we can do is step back.

This does not mean explaining every behaviour through regulation or removing every challenge. It does mean considering regulation as part of the whole picture.

• Sometimes we need to teach the skill.
• Sometimes we need to support access to the skill.
• And sometimes we need to recognise that the child is ready to manage more independently.

The next time a child appears unable to do something you know they have done before, try asking: 
Is this a skill problem, or an access-to-skill problem?

That one question can change what we notice, and what we do next.

If you want a practical way to recognise a child’s current regulation capacity and decide whether to support, scaffold, teach or step back, Regulation in the Moment Masterclass (RIMM) was designed for exactly this.

ACCESS RIMM HERE 👉 https://www.theregulationhourglass.com.au/buy-regulation-in-the-moment-masterclass

https://www.theregulationhourglass.com.au/buy-beyond-the-moment-co-regulation-deep-dive

 If you are ready to go even deeper into matching the right co-regulation support to the child, context and moment, then explore BEYOND THE MOMENT here 👉

Right support. Right time. Right state.

Chat soon, 
Beryl