Susan Hopkins EdD

05/27/2026

The countdown is on. 🌿

In just 40 days, we’ll gather for the Self-Reg Summer Symposium 2026 - a time to reconnect, reflect, and deepen our understanding of Co-Regulation and the Five Domains of Stress.

Each year, I’m reminded how powerful it is when educators, parents, clinicians, and caring adults come together with curiosity and compassion.

These conversations matter. They help us better understand ourselves and the children and youth we support.

Whether you’ll be joining us in person or online, I hope SRSS2026 offers space to pause, learn, and grow together.

We can’t wait to welcome you.

Register here: self-reg.ca/srss

05/26/2026

Yesterday I saw wallabies just quietly gathered in a field, that was cool.

There was something about the calmness of the moment that stayed with me. No urgency. No rushing. Just connection, awareness, and a kind of ease in being together.

As our conversations this week have begun with early years educators, I’ve been thinking so much about how deeply children need those same experiences of safety and connection in order to learn and grow. Self-Reg reminds us that regulation is not about compliance or stillness - it’s about recognizing stress, restoring balance, and creating the conditions where relationships can flourish.

What an adventure this week has already been. I’m grateful for the learning, the conversations, and these small moments in nature that seem to reflect the very things we’re talking about together. 💛

05/26/2026

Over the past while, we’ve been introducing the many voices who will be part of this year’s gathering. There’s something special about the way this group comes together - different paths, different experiences, all connected by a shared commitment to understanding stress, behaviour, and what truly helps.

✨ Meet the final presenters for SRSS 2026:

Teri Rubinoff, PhD
📅 July 6, 7, 8 & 9
Teri’s work centres on co-regulation, relational learning, and supporting educators across their journey. She facilitates sessions on Self-Reg tools, creative exploration, and conversations that invite us to reflect more deeply on practice.

Trisha Mendoza, MSW, RSW
📅 July 7, 8 & 9
Trisha brings a clinical and school-based lens to Self-Reg, supporting youth, families, and educators. Her sessions include applied workshops and Co-Regulation with Adolescents: Re-Establishing Interbrain Connection.

If you’ve been following along, thank you. If you’re just joining us, you can explore the full lineup here:

🔗 https://self-reg.ca/srss-2026-presenters/

And if this feels like something you’ve been wanting to step into, you can register here: 🔗 https://self-reg.ca/srss

We’re looking forward to coming together - both in person and online.

05/26/2026

Natalie’s reflection stayed with me long after I finished reading it.

What touched me most was the way she noticed the connections between stress, learning, relationships, and the body. So often, we separate these things. But children live them all together.

As I read about her son’s experience with dyslexia, asthma, and hockey, I found myself thinking about how deeply children can override stress in order to cope, belong, or succeed. And how the body so often tells the story long before words can.

I was also struck by her compassion for everyone involved - not only for her son, but for the coach and team as well. When stress intensifies, imbalance can spread so quickly through a group. But the opposite is true too. Calm spreads. Safety spreads. Joy spreads.

Thank you, Natalie, for sharing this beautiful and courageous reflection with our community.

I wonder how often what looks like “motivation” or “toughness” in children may actually be a child working far beyond their capacity to manage stress.

You can read the full reflection here:

My oldest son is 12. He struggled a lot with sport induced asthma when he was little. At one point, around 8 years old he was on puffers many

05/25/2026

Ok, even astronauts are reframing! So much Self-Reg in this response:

Video credit: CBC/Radio-Canada.

05/25/2026

Ok, even astronauts are reframing! So much Self-Reg in this response:

During their visit to Canada, CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault asked the Artemis II crew about how they managed friction points working together in a challenging environment.

05/25/2026

When things go well, we can celebrate. When things go sideways, we can be stress detectives and learn.

05/25/2026

What educators and early years professionals bring into a room matters - and not just the strategies they use.

Self-Reg science reminds us that our physiological state shapes how we respond, connect, teach, and support others throughout the day.

In this new blog, The MEHRIT Centre explores why adult regulation is foundational to co-regulation, learning, and wellbeing, and why supporting educator stress is not a luxury - it is essential.

This conversation will continue at the Self-Reg Summer Symposium in my opening session:
📍 Why Our State Matters More Than Our Strategies
📅 July 7 | 8:45 AM

What are some of the ways you notice stress showing up for you during the day?

Read the blog:
https://self-reg.ca/the-most-important-thing-you-bring-into-the-room-is-your-state/

05/24/2026

I’m grateful to Miranda for sharing this thoughtful reflection on the sensory world of autism and how a Self-Reg lens can help us better understand so-called “picky eating.”

What I appreciate so deeply in this piece is the invitation to look beneath the behaviour and consider the stressors, sensory experiences, and need for safety that may be driving a child’s response to food. When we shift from trying to change behaviour to understanding it, everything changes - for the child and for the adult supporting them.

Miranda’s example of blueberries versus chicken nuggets stayed with me. What may seem “rigid” from the outside can actually be a child trying to find predictability and safety in a world that feels overwhelming.

What stressors might we begin to notice when we shift from managing behaviour to understanding the child’s experience beneath it?

Thank you again, Miranda, for this important reflection.

Read the full blog here:

When I left the world of ABA and came to learn about Self-Reg, it greatly changed the way I approached my practice. When I started to think

05/24/2026

Just randomly hanging out at the airport.

We have pigeons. They have parrots! 🦜

I’m in Australia this week for a conference with early years educators, and already I’m smiling at the little reminders of how much there is to notice, wonder about, and learn from wherever we are.

Looking forward to a week of connection, conversation, and learning together. 🇦🇺✨

05/22/2026

Loved being a part of this conversation Guy Stephens Kristin Wiens
Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

Stuart Shanker & Co. The MEHRIT Centre, Ltd.