Coping Techniques
Teaching deep breathing through bubble breaths
shared by Michelle Heim, Field Support Coordinator
Many times, we tell children to take deep breaths as a calming technique, but this might not be something that children understand. One way I teach this to children is through bubble breaths. In order to do this, we either chew gum or blow bubbles. If you choose gum, choose something that is chewy and easy to blow bubbles. We spend some time either blowing bubbles with gum or use standard bubbles and a bubble wand.
After doing this for awhile, I talk to the child about how you do two things in order to blow bubbles. First, you take a deep breath in through your nose, and second, you blow it out slowly through your mouth. We then take away the gum or bubble wand and try these steps without it. It is a concrete way to teach deep breathing.
Using preferred interests as a feeling thermometer
shared by Michelle Heim, Field Support Coordinator
One of the first techniques I learned about when I became a therapist was using a feelings thermometer to help someone explain and understand the intensity of emotions. I have built off of this idea and given emotions or intensities of emotions a twist with focusing on the person's preferred interest.
For example, one client I worked with liked trains and had a difficult time talking about emotions. We discussed how he could communicate his feelings by telling us that all the cars were on the track, 1 car was off, 2 were off, etc. Each of these descriptions let us understand how his day went because we spent some time talking about what a day looks and feels like with all the train cars moving, or one off the track, etc.
Another variation of this could be someone relating characters to how they feel. If the person likes Pokemon, then they can assign different feelings to different character names to help them understand. So, if they like Pikachu, then that might be what they are feeling like when they are happy. Another character could be assigned to feeling angry, frustrated, excited, etc.
This can also have a sensory connection. Many times, I will talk to a child about getting to a "just right level," which is the point where they are focusing, learning, socializing, and attending. That can be assigned a character. Let's say the child likes princesses. The "just right level" could be Cinderella. If the child is feeling under-regulated and needs some alerting activities to bring them back to the "just right level," they might be feeling like a stepsister and you can give concrete activities they can do to get back to being like Cinderella. If they are feeling over-regulated and need some calming activities, then they might be feeling like one of the mice and they need some concrete examples to bring them back down. This can easily be done in a visual format with cards or sticky notes that list the activities.
Snow Globes and Glitter Balls
shared by Ann Branning, National Autism Training Coordinator
At times it can help kids to visualize their worries. Take a snow globe or glitter ball and shake it up, and explaining this is what your head feels when you're upset. As the snow or glitter is falling, tell the child to watch. The time it takes for the glitter or snow to fall will help the child calm down. Nerves and worries cloud our vision. In that state it's hard for a child to calm down. Once the child is calm you can ask them what is causing the worries.
