What began as one occupational therapist’s response to challenges in clinical and classroom settings has grown into a comprehensive framework for understanding and supporting regulation.
The Zones of Regulation gives learners and the adults who support them a practical way to think about, communicate about, and care for their feelings.
We see regulation not as a fixed trait, but as a learnable, shareable skill. It develops through the adults, relationships, and environments that support learners over time. The Zones of Regulation® Curriculum is your tool to make this happen.
Adults build their own understanding of regulation and co-regulation so they can respond with empathy, structure, and intention.
Relationships, routines, sensory supports, and visual structure help create conditions where learners feel supported and ready to engage.
With consistent instruction, support, and practice, learners build awareness, explore and customize tools, and develop greater independence with regulation.
Feelings and states of regulation are complex. The Zones of Regulation makes them more approachable through a clear, accessible framework for noticing, understanding, and communicating about what is happening in the brain and body.
The framework organizes feelings, states of alertness, and energy into four colored Zones: Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red. As learners develop their emotional self-awareness, they use the same colored system to categorize tools that help them care for their feelings and behavior in each Zone.
Consistent, accessible language helps learners and the people around them talk about feelings, energy, and regulation.
Pinpointing how your are feeling or finding the right emotion in a stressful moment can be hard. Using four colors provides a simple way to self-identify and share with supportive adults.
The Zones layers developmental skills to ultimately build a pathway learners can think through as they navigate their regulation in day-to-day situations.
No Zone is good or bad. We move through all four Zones, and regulation will look different depending on the person, situation, and goal.
The Zones of Regulation Curriculum and framework is grounded in cognitive behavioral theory, neuroscience, sensory processing and integration, and trauma-informed practices to foster real regulation development.
Shaped by a multidisciplinary team of educators, therapists, school leaders, caregivers, neurodivergent individuals, and learners themselves, The Zones bridges research and real-world experience. This helps to ensure the framework is inclusive, practical, and responsive to the diverse ways people experience and navigate regulation.
Explore the Research & Evidence
The Zones of Regulation was created by Leah Kuypers, MA Ed., OTR/L, an occupational therapist and educator who saw a recurring challenge across school and clinical settings. Learners were navigating big emotions without clear support, while the adults around them often lacked clear strategies for helping.
Leah began developing The Zones framework in 2006, aiming to bridge the gap between brain science and everyday life. She envisioned an approach that could build awareness, explore practical tools, and create a shared understanding of regulation.
Today, Leah leads a passionate team committed to helping learners and the people who support them build meaningful regulation skills.
More About Leah
We believe that regulation is essential for leading a healthy and meaningful life. At The Zones of Regulation, we empower learners of all ages to understand the full range of their feelings, as well as explore tools and strategies to support their well-being.
The Zones Curriculum turns these principles into ready-to-use instruction, with lessons, visuals, activities, and resources that help adults teach regulation in meaningful, engaging ways.
Explore how you can bring The Zones of Regulation into your community:
Flexible, engaging lessons that evolve with learners to build regulation into everyday routines.
Learn strategies from The Regulation Skills Experts® to move past behavior management.
Books, posters, games, and apps that complement the Zones Curriculum.
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