It’s Not Behavior — It’s the Body: Why Muscle and Joint Input Is the Key to Regulation

Have you ever watched a child push too hard, crash into things, or seem “too rough,” and thought, “They just need to calm down”?What if I told you they’re trying to calm down — their body just doesn’t know how?

When an autistic child pushes, pulls, jumps, or squeezes, it’s not random. It’s communication. The body is sending a message:👉 “I need input. I need to feel where my body is so I can feel calm.”

In this week’s conversation, Susan Golubock, autistic occupational therapist, and Staci Neustadt, speech-language pathologist and CEO of Making Sense of Autism, dive into the connection between muscle and joint input (proprioception) and nervous system regulation — and why it’s often misunderstood as “behavior.”

💜 The Calming Power of Muscle and Joint Input

As Susan explains, “Input through the muscles and joints is always calming.”It’s one of the body’s master regulators — calming the brain, organizing the senses, and helping us feel safe.

But when autistic individuals don’t get enough of that deep input — from climbing, pushing, lifting, or squeezing — their body feels ungrounded. That’s when you might see:

• Big, uncoordinated movements

• Pushing or crashing behaviors

• Difficulty sitting still

• “Aggressive” reactions that are actually attempts to self-regulate

  
  

These aren’t behavior problems. They’re sensory communication — the body’s way of saying, “I can’t feel myself, and I need help to calm down.”

🧠 Why This Matters

If the nervous system is dysregulated, learning can’t happen. Connection can’t happen. No matter how fun your lesson or how motivating your goal — the brain simply can’t take it in until the body feels safe.

That’s why understanding the link between sensory processing and regulation is foundational to all learning and behavior support.

In this week’s video, Susan and Staci break down how to use movement, deep pressure, and sensory strategies to support autistic individuals at home, in therapy, and in the classroom.

🎥 Watch now

You’ll never look at “behavior” the same way again.

And don't forget the FREE HANDOUT