What is Safe & Sound Protocol (SSP)?

The SSP is a portal to the Social Engagement System and can have powerful effects on how a person interacts with the world. Examples are: better eye contact and facial expressivity; improved attention, listening and understanding; regulating the tone and volume of the voice; better emotional and behavioural control; more engagement in social interactions; and increased emotional expression.

Just like the brain, the Autonomic Nervous System can “learn” to stay more activated than necessary. By improving the ability to assess safety in social situations, the SSP helps people to activate a calm state, so they feel less anxious, hyperactive, hyper-aware, aggressive, withdrawn, or shut down. Accessing a calm state promotes emotional and behavioral regulation, more flexible thinking, and increases feelings of safety and wellbeing.

The SSP can improve the brain’s ability to process and integrate sensory input. People with sensory sensitivities may: respond negatively to unexpected or loud noises, become distracted or disturbed when there is a lot of noise or continuous background noise, dislike crowds, or find it difficult to extract the frequencies of human speech from background noise. They may also be bothered by touch, tags on shirts, textures of clothing; are “picky” eaters and do not like certain food textures, temperatures, or have other eating or sensory needs and behaviours that interfere with their quality of life.