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Autism Center Grab and Go Resource Gallery of Interventions | OCALI

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Visual review sheet - keep the format the same every week to enhance predictability and ease of communication

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Visual review sheet - keep the format the same every week to enhance predictability and ease of communication

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Lots of different self-care ideas arranged visually on this website for young people

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Lots of different self-care ideas arranged visually on this website for young people

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Self-care is about the things we can do to look after our own mental health. Young people told us that when they are struggling they are usually told to see a professional. They don't often get much advice about how they could help themselves.

We spoke to professionals and looked at academic research. Then we drew up a list of strategies young people use (you can see the process in this self-care infographic). We also published a report following a consultation with young people and their families online.

We're sharing these strategies with you to help you to manage your wellbeing. It's up to you to decide what helps. If it works, keep doing it. If it doesn't, stop and try something else. And you can help us build an evidence-base for these activities by letting us know what works by clicking on the 'Did this activity help your mental wellbeing' button on each page. This will help us decide which ones to research further. We've also created a booklet to help you create your own self-care plan as part of our and another booklet with advice for young parents and carers on looking after their wellbeing.

These activities are not a substitute for seeing a mental health professional. Sometimes we need outside help and advice. Getting help is good. No-one should feel bad about it. That's what this site is about.

This self-care section was developed by Common Room and young people from mental health support group Hearts & Minds.

These strategies were identified by young people aged 11-25 though some strategies might not be appropriate for all ages without support or guidance of a trusted adult.

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Resources to enable the prioritisation of mental health and wellbeing

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This could be a helpful booklet for younger children (Primary age) to explore and consider different emotions.

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A really helpful guide for supporting teenagers with their sensory needs in an age-appropriate way

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A 5 is Against the Law!: Social Boundaries: Straight Up!

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Building on Kari Dunn Buron's popular The Incredible 5-Point Scale, this book takes a narrower look at challenging behaviour with a particular focus on behaviours that can spell trouble for adolescents and young adults who have difficulty understanding and maintaining social boundaries. Using a d...

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The world can be stressful and difficult to navigate for neurodivergent people. There is potential for chronic exhaustion and burnout from trying to cope with social and sensory experiences, being misunderstood and criticized, high levels of anxiety and, for many reasons, not feeling in touch with your authentic self.D

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Helping children with interoceptive awareness - GriffinOT

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Kim explains the steps and stages you need to consider when helping children with poor interocpetive awareness.

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Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2019). General capabilities.

Barrett LF, Quigley KS, Hamilton P. 2016 An active inference theory of allostasis and interoception in depression. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371: 20160011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0011

Craig, A. D., & Craig, A. D. (2009). How do you feel--now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nature reviews neuroscience, 10(1). Doi: 10.1038/nrn2555

Critchley, H. D., & Garfinkel, S. N. (2017). Interoception and emotion. Current opinion in psychology, 17, 7-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.04.020

Davies, Catherine, Di Rodd, Kerry Parsons, and Emma Goodall. "The 8th Sense: Interoception." DECD, Adelaide

Department for Education, South Australia. (2019). Interoception Activity Guide 301.

Department for Education, South Australia. (2019). Ready to Learn - Interoception Kit*.

Fiacconi, C. M., Kouptsova, J. E., & Köhler, S. (2017). A role for visceral feedback and interoception in feelings-of-knowing. Consciousness and cognition, 53, 70-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

Garfinkel, S. N., Tiley, C., O'Keeffe, S., Harrison, N. A., Seth, A. K., & Critchley, H. D. (2016). Discrepancies between dimensions of interoception in autism: Implications for emotion and anxiety. Biological psychology, 114, 117-126.

Goodall, E. (2016). Interoception 101. DECD, Adelaide.

Goodall, E. (2020). Interoception as a proactive tool to decrease challenging behaviour. Scan, 39(2).

Hackham East Primary School (2019). Our Interoception Journey. SERU, Adelaide.

Healthy Possibilities. (2019). Home [YouTube channel].

Khalsa, S. S., Adolphs, R., Cameron, O. G., Critchley, H. D., Davenport, P. W., Feinstein, J. S., ... & Meuret, A. E. (2018). Interoception and mental health: a roadmap. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 3(6), 501-513.

Mahler, K. (2015). Interoception: The eighth sensory system. Shawnee, KS: AAPC.

Mehling, W. E., Chesney, M. A., Metzler, T. J., Goldstein, L. A., Maguen, S., Geronimo, C., ... & Neylan, T. C. (2018). A 12‐week integrative exercise program improves self‐reported mindfulness and interoceptive awareness in war veterans with posttraumatic stress symptoms. Journal of clinical psychology, 74(4), 554-565. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.22549

Schauder, K. B., Mash, L. E., Bryant, L. K. & Cascio, C. J. (2015). Interoceptive ability and body awareness in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 131, 193-200. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.002

Shah, P., Catmur, C., & Bird, G. (2017). From heart to mind: linking interoception, emotion, and theory of mind. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 93, 220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.02.010

Shah, P. (2016). Interoception: the eighth sensory system: practical solutions for improving self-regulation, self-awareness and social understanding of individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders. J Autism Dev Disord (2016) 46: 3193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2848-8

Tsakiris M, Critchley H. 2016 Interoception beyond homeostasis: affect, cognition and mental health. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371: 20160002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0002

Weiss, C., Tsakiris, M., Haggard, P., & Schütz-Bosbach, S. (2014). Agency in the sensorimotor system and its relation to explicit action awareness. Neuropsychologia, 52, 82-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.034

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Working with parents, carers & educators of school-aged children on the autism spectrum to provide evidence informed information - workshops & online resources.

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https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/media/erkfigg4/swh_getreadytolearn_selfregulationresource-2023.pdf

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a graph model

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Energy accounting; which can also be called social energy or a social battery, is a way of thinking about energy levels.

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Energy Accounting in Autistic Burnout - Dr Alice Nicholls

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Energy Accounting, originally developed by Autistic Clinical Psychologist Maja Toudal, is a way of viewing energy as a limited resource you can budget for in the same way you would money. It is popular in the chronic health conditions communities but it can also be a useful tool in Autistic Burnout. In this article I […]

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Emotion Coaching UK promotes the use and development of emotion coaching to support childen and young people through training, consultancy and resources

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Do you ever find yourself spinning your pencil, tapping your leg or twirling your hair while trying to do work? These are all ways we subconsciously provide our bodies with sensory input in order to be focused and productive. Many children do not know how or when to provide their bodies with the appropriate input they need.
(Scroll to the bottom for a printable sensory diet template!)
This is where a Sensory Diet comes into play. What is this new diet everyone is talking about? A sensory diet is a personalized action plan that gives your child the unique sensory input his or her body needs at that very moment. The diet can be easily incorporated into a child's daily routine. It is a variety of activities that your child is actively engaged in throughout the day. When participating in these tasks, it helps to regulate emotions and behaviors for optimal function and interactions. A sensory diet is aimed to help a child obtain his or her 'just right' state to perform at their most productive level. For a child who tends to be overstimulated and aroused, a sensory diet will help calm them down so they can be more focused and attentive. For the child who tends to be understimulated, a sensory diet will help alert him or her and provide the energy and the ability to focus.

Some Reasons To Use A Sensory Diet May Include (But Are Not Limited To):

Sensory overload

Sleep disruptions

Emotional meltdowns

Seeking behaviors

Difficulty with transitions

Improve attention, self regulation

Encourages purposeful movement

The tricky part is that our bodies and our needs are constantly changing and evolving, even from day to day. So what does that mean as it relates to a sensory diet? It means if we make (or follow) a sensory diet, that also has to change and evolve simultaneously with your child. This is why it's so important to have an individualized sensory diet.

Creating An Individualized Sensory Diet:

Get ready to play detective and create a personalized sensory diet.

A good place to start is by making a list of activities that your child enjoys that simultaneously helps regulate his or her body. Some things to consider are:

Do weekday behaviors differ from weekend behaviors?

Times of day (ex. morning, after school, evening, bedtime)

Environments (ex. home vs. school)

Where is a space/room my child can be in safely to get regulated

Does my child seem to be under-responsive or over-responsive. This will help guide what activities to use (ex. calming vs alerting)

What sensory activities can I use when we are not home (ex. having dinner out at a restaurant, out for a family day, out with friends)

Any specific triggers that typically upset/agitate my child

Are certain tasks harder than others (ex. fine motor-buttoning, snaps versus gross motor difficulties-bumping into things, difficulty with balance and coordination)

There are endless possibilities for sensory diet activities. And the most important thing to remember is if one activity doesn't work...don't do it! Simply find another activity that provides you with a desired outcome. It is highly recommended to work with an Occupational Therapist with experience and understanding of sensory processing issues.

Here are some examples of sensory diet activities based on specific sensory needs and chronological age. I would encourage you to explore ALL of the activities as chronological age and development often do not coincide. Again, remember that activities can be alerting or calming, based on the child, the day, the moment. In each category I list general guidelines for alerting vs calming, however remember again-every child is different. If something doesn't provide the results you are seeking, modify or stop it!

Sensory Diet Activity Generator
How to use:

1. Select an option from the drop down menu

2. Click a button to choose the age group you would like to see sensory diet activities for

Give it a try!
How Do You Know If Your Child Would Benefit From A Sensory Diet?

These are some things to consider when contemplating implementing a sensory diet. If these things seem like your child, the likely answer is that he or she will benefit from a sensory diet. Again, you can always consult an Occupational Therapist (if you haven't already).

My child doesn't seem to listen

My child has a hard time following directions

My child is always jumping on the furniture

My child plays too roughly with his/her siblings or peers

My child bites, chews and/or licks non food items when excited (or for no apparent reason)

My child cries when it's time to end/change activities

My child struggles to stay in his chair (ex. during meals, at school)

My child doesn't sleep well

My child is easily bothered by sensory input (ex. too loud, too messy, too crunchy, to bright, too itchy, too smelly)

My OT recommended one

My child has a diagnosis of SPD, ADHD, Developmental Delay

Check Out These Sensory Diet Examples:

Here are some hour-by-hour sensory diet examples based on some of the activities listed above:

Example 1: Xavier (Age 9)

Xavier is 9 years old. He has a diagnosis of Autism. He wakes up and is immediately "off the walls"- seeking input. He might benefit from deep proprioceptive input right away and every 1-2 hours after that to keep him modulated throughout the day.

8am he jumps on his trampoline.

10am he crashes into the couch pillows.

12pm he blows up 4 balloons.

2pm he has a thick smoothie through a straw.

4pm he reads a book under a weighted blanket.

6pm he has some crunchy carrots with dinner.

8pm he listens to calming music while watching a lava lamp in a room with calming essential oil.

Just remember, if tomorrow he wakes up and is cranky and irritable (while bouncing "off the walls") his sensory diet activities could possibly need to be totally different.

Example 2: Teagan (Age 4)

Teagan is a 4 year old girl who wakes up lethargic and slow to get her day going. She might need to jump, hop and bounce immediately to get her body alert. She might need this type of input every 2-3 hours to remain alert and attentive.

8am she rubs lotion on her arms & legs with force

10am she completes a puzzle while using the hippity hop to retrieve the pieces

12pm she uses a scooter board in the hallways of her house

2pm she goes on her swing outside, she goes side to side, round and round quickly

4pm she goes outside and log rolls down the hill in her backyard

6pm she crab walks to brush her teeth using a vibrating toothbrush

8pm she stomps back to her room and climbs into bed with her weighted blanket.

Example 3: Rory

Then there is Rory. He is 13 years old with a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder. He wakes up happy, but by the time he is done with breakfast, he is on the verge of an emotional breakdown. He might benefit from some calm auditory or visual input; he might only need this input sporadically throughout the day.

8am he watches a calm projector on the wall with dim lights

10am he throws a balloon up and catches it 10x

12pm he uses noise cancelling headphones while completing a typing activity

2pm he goes outside and rakes the front lawn for 20 minutes while whistling his favorite songs

4pm he plays flashlight tag after he carries the laundry upstairs for his family

6pm he does 15 minutes of yoga ending with down- dog (an inversion).

8pm he takes a warm bath with lavender essential oil and blows bubbles in the bath through a straw.

A healthy food diet consists of a variety of balanced foods. A healthy sensory diet consists of a variety of input (from different senses). It should be closely monitored and continuously adjusted to sufficiently meet the child's individualized sensory needs.
The concept of the sensory diet was originated by Patricia Wilbarger, MA, OTR ( & , 2002). Ideally an Occupational Therapist should be consulted to create and maintain a healthy sensory diet. Even small amounts of input can be very powerful! If used correctly this is a wonderful, beneficial & healthy diet!

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What Is A Sensory Diet With Examples (Free PDF Template Download)

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Do you ever find yourself spinning your pencil, tapping your leg or twirling your hair while trying to do work? These are all ways we subconsciously provide our bodies with sensory input in order to be focused and productive. Many children do not know how or when to provide their bodies with the appropriate input they need.

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exemplar - built up with young person over 2-3 weeks; we looked at emotions in her favourite singer first as a way in (to take focus off young person) and reviewed regularly

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exemplar - built up with young person over 2-3 weeks; we looked at emotions in her favourite singer first as a way in (to take focus off young person) and reviewed regularly

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6 Principles of The Interoception Curriculum | Kelly Mahler Blog

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Check out these six principles that really set our interoception curriculum apart from all of the other frameworks and approaches.

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Coping Tools | Anxiety Support | Regulation | Activities

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Free downloads and ideas to introduce coping tools and strategies to children. Coping tools aren’t there to stop an emotion, they are there to be able to help us cope whilst the emotion is there, helping to reduce fear of emotions and nurture a growth mindset and emotional resilience.

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South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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International Stress Awareness Week 2020 runs from the second to the sixth of November, 2020

Stress is a natural human emotion that we can all experience day to day. There can be common influences of stress such as issues with family, moving to a new house, physical illnesses, work, marriages, divorce, death/loss and time management difficulties.

Stress can be positive as it can improve our performance and motivation and make us more alert; but our performance can deteriorate if stress becomes continuous or excessive. Sometimes stress can also be triggered if we are exposed to an imagine threat or danger and this can increase our anxiety levels or deteriorate our mood.

The stress bucket shows how different triggers to stress can fill up our "internal bucket"; and if we don't manage this stress with helpful coping strategies this can make our "bucket" overspill where we start to feel overwhelmed. By engaging in helpful coping strategies to manage our stress, this reduces our stress levels.

We can manage stress by engaging in helpful coping strategies such as:

Exercise

Adapting a healthy lifestyle

Relaxation

Socialising

Worry management techniques &

Problem solving

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic Barnsley IAPT are operating slightly differently. We are still offering a service and providing psycho-educational workshops and a 6 week Stresspac course; but these are being delivered virtually via Microsoft Teams. The workshops are a one off FREE 2 hour workshop providing psycho-educational information around anxiety and low mood. The workshops we provide are:

Improving Motivation and Mood

Sleep Wellbeing

Stress Management

Mindfulness

Problem solving and Worry

Understanding Bereavement

You can book onto these directly on our website at www.barnsleyiapt.couk

The virtual 6 week Stresspac course; which provides people with coping strategies to manage anxiety, low mood and stress, can be booked directly onto these via our website. Enjoy in the comfort of your own home. Our next course is :-
Tuesday 3 November 2020 at 5:30pm for 2 hours via Microsoft Teams

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Barnsley IAPT here to help during Stress Awareness Week 2020 - South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

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International Stress Awareness Week 2020 runs from the second to the sixth of November, 2020 Stress is a natural human emotion that we can all experience day to day. There can be common influences of stress such as issues with family, moving to a new ...

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Kari Dunn Buron taught in K-12 with students on the autism spectrum for 30+ years and was a founding member of the MN Autism Project. She developed an Autism Spectrum Disorders Certificate program for educators at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN and has done volunteer work specific to autism in Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, Tanzania and Ghana. In 2003, Kari received a Self-designed Bush Leadership Fellowship that allowed her to spend a year interviewing and working internationally with a number of scientists and researchers in the area of Neuroscience, Social Cognition, Education and Autism with a focus on challenging behaviors. In 2012, Kari was inducted into the Illinois State University Education Department Hall of Fame.

Kari is the co-author of The Incredible 5-Point Scale (Revised Edition), and the author of When My Worries Get Too Big, A 5 Could Make Me Lose Control and A 5 is Against the Law! (2008 ASA literary award winner). Kari is the co-editor of a textbook for educators titled Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Preparing Highly Qualified Educators (2009 ASA literary award winner) and is the creator of an original social skills magazine designed for students with Asperger Syndrome called The Social Times (2010 Gold Winner, National Patenting Publications Award and Gold Medal Winner - Moonbeam Children's Book Awards).

Kari's latest projects include Social Behavior and Self-Management

(a book about how to use the scale with adults) and an early chapter book entitled Adalyn's Clare. Adalyn's Clare is a story about the dilemmas faced when a child has social anxiety, and the importance of respecting special interests when creating successful special programs. Adalyn's Clare is an excellent book to add to a Bibliotherapy curriculum teaching social and emotional information to highly anxious children.

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A 5 Is Against the Law: Social Boundaries - a Compassionate but Honest Guide for Teens and Young Adults (The Incredible 5-Point Scale)

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A 5 Is Against the Law: Social Boundaries - a Compassionate but Honest Guide for Teens and Young Adults (The Incredible 5-Point Scale) : Dunn Buron, Kari: Amazon.co.uk: Books

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Social Situation Mapping: Making Sense of the Social World

Product Code: ISBN 13:

9781936943944

Social Situation Mapping: Making Sense of the Social World

previously Social Behavior Mapping

Helping Learners Understand and Make Choices in the Social World

by Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke.

What's happening around us influences our thoughts, feelings, and responses. Social Situation Mapping (formerly Social Behavior Mapping), a core teaching framework within the Social Thinking® Methodology, uses visual templates to encourage learners to engage social observation for figuring out what to do and say (or not do and say) based on a particular situation: where we are, who is present, and what is happening. The maps also outline a fundamental teaching framework we call the Social Emotional Chain Reaction, which shows how we all impact one another when sharing space. The maps are meant to be taught from the perspective of the student or client to provide options for what to do or say in common situations. We encourage educators, therapists, and parents to jointly generate unique maps alongside the student or client based on their individual goals.

Revised, retitled, and updated with our most current teaching, Social Situation Mapping includes:

80+ completed Social Situation Maps (SSMs) to explore 40+ practical everyday situations that happen at school, home, and in the community.

Maps with blank spaces for students to add their own ideas and observations.

Maps with options to honour neurodivergent choices or strategies. Some options are also inclusive of learning differences and/or disabilities.

One blank map template that can be photocopied and used again and again. The completed maps within this book can also be used as guideposts as learners generate their own maps and figure out a path through the lens of their social goals or desires.

A description of the Social Emotional Chain Reaction (SECR), the foundational concept taught in Social Situation Mapping.

The 10-Step Visual Fidelity and Teaching Guide.

Ages: 8+
Pages: 108
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781936943944
Published: 2023

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Social Situation Mapping: Making Sense of the Social World

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previously Social Behavior MappingHelping Learners Understand and Make Choices in the Social Worldby Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke. What's happening

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Professor Steve Peters - Consultant Psychiatrist & CEO Chimp Management Ltd

BA, PGCE, MBBS, MEd, MRCPsych, PhD, DSc, Dip Sports Med

Professor Steve Peters is a medical doctor; he specialises in mental health and the functioning of the human mind. He has dedicated his working life to help people get the best out of themselves and to be in a good place.

Steve's work past and present in the field of psychiatry and education includes: Clinical Director of Mental Health Services within the NHS at a district hospital, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at Rampton, Senior Clinical Lecturer of Medicine and Undergraduate Dean at Sheffield University, and visiting Professor at Derby University. He has spent 20 years as an examination panel member at the Royal College of Psychiatry and has been an expert advisor to World Anti-doping Agency.

He has been a consultant to over 20 Olympic and national sporting teams including Liverpool FC, British Cycling, GB Taekwondo, England Rugby and England Football. Outside of elite sport, Prof Peters works with CEOs, senior executives, teachers, students, hospital staff and patients. Steven Gerrard, Sir Chris Hoy, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Victoria Pendleton, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Lee Westwood, Jonathan Trott and Raheem Sterling are people that have all spoken publicly about how Prof Peters' has helped them during their career.

Professor Peters is also a best-selling author, and his latest book 'A Path through the Jungle' was published in 2021. Steve has also authored 3 other books including the bestselling self-help book of all time in the UK, The Chimp Paradox, which has sold over a million copies - as per Nielsen TCM Chart 2020. Other achievements include attending Downing Street for winning the senate award twice for his excellence in teaching.

For fun, Steve competes in track and field athletics and has held multiple World Masters Champion titles and world records over the 100, 200 and 400 metres.

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My Hidden Chimp: From the best-selling author of The Chimp Paradox

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Buy My Hidden Chimp: From the best-selling author of The Chimp Paradox by Peters, Prof Steve (ISBN: 9781787413719) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Double Empathy: Why Autistic People Are Often Misunderstood

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Autism affects how someone makes sense of the world around them. About 1–2% of people are autistic. You might have an autistic classmate or family member, or maybe you are autistic. Autistic people might communicate differently than people who are not autistic. This means that it can be difficult fo…

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"Emotions" - StoryBots Super Songs Episode 8 | Netflix Jr

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A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand - Series 2: Can I Change? - 6. How to listen to your body - BBC Sounds

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The van Tulleken brothers explore what change is and how it happens.

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It is common for everyone to experience shame from time to time. But if you are constantly feeling embarrassed and self-critical, it can be debilitating to your mental health.

Here are five simple steps to reduce shame:

1. Name your shame

2. Listen to how you speak to yourself

3. Write about your shame

4. Tell someone you trust

5. Reframe it by using affirmations and self-compassion

Build Resilience
Resilience is important for adapting in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, or stress. Building up your resilience will directly expand your window of tolerance and improve your ability to deal with difficult life experiences.

1. Build Connections

2. Foster Wellness

focus on all three aspects of health, not just one or two of them ( physical, mental, and social)

Avoid negative outlets (masking your pain with substance abuse)

3. Find Purpose

look for opportunities for self-discovery

take steps towards your goals (long term and short term goals)

embrace change and be optimistic

help others (supporting a friend, volunteering, connecting with support groups)

2. How to Self-Regulate

Going back to the analogy of your window of tolerance being a river you float down. Self-regulation is an island along that river. When you start to feel uncomfortable and have difficulty staying afloat, you can stop and take a moment.

This gives you an opportunity to return back into your window of tolerance. When you're not too far out of your window of tolerance, you have a better opportunity to self-regulate.

The further outside you are, the more severe the symptoms will be which makes it more difficult to self-regulate. Overcoming hyperarousal is also generally easier than compared to self-regulating when you experience hypoarousal.

This is why awareness is so important, it gives you the ability to identify when you first begin to dysregulate. Being able to recognize your window of tolerance allows you to take action, you can use one of the techniques below.
Self-Regulate Hyperarousal
When you experience hyperarousal symptoms you can soothe yourself with these techniques:

1. Release your anger (try one of these)

close your eyes and lay down to let yourself relax and calm down

give yourself a 10-second hug by wrapping your arms around yourself and holding tightly

stretch your arms out in front of you to relieve that tension built up

shake it off to relive that stress

take a drink of water to cool yourself down and calm your nerves

2. Breathing exercise

pause for a moment

take a long and slow deep breath

inhale with your nose and fill your lungs

hold the breath for 3 seconds

exhale with your mouth

count each breath and do at least 10 deep breaths

Self-Regulate Hypoarousal
When you experience hypoarousal symptoms you can activate your body with these techniques:

1. Activate your senses (tap into your five senses)

2. Grounding exercises (try one of these)

notice your feet connecting with the floor, how does it make you feel

hold an object in your hand and really focus on it

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 exercise, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, open your eyes, and look around the room and acknowledge:

Additional Self-Regulation Techniques

1. Physical activity

2. Challenge your thoughts

3. Write things down

writing helps clear your thoughts and unloads all your emotions out

clearing mental clutter gives clarity and focus

here are some additional tips on how to write for mental health

4. Panic Anxiety Stress Support Kit (PASS)

mental health first aid kit to carry around with you

provides tips and tools for relieving anxiety and stress

simple, easy to use and access that provides real strategies to alleviate your symptoms

read more about what the mental health kit offers here

Start Managing Your Window of Tolerance

Learning to manage your window of tolerance can go a long way on your road to recovery from trauma, anxiety, or extreme stress. To recap, there are three main steps to take:

1. Recognize your window of tolerance and build awareness of your symptoms

2. Widen your window of tolerance to reduce the likelihood of leaving it

3. Self-regulate when you dysregulate and experience symptoms of hyperarousal or hypoarousal

Keep in mind that this takes continuous practice. There are no short cuts to recovery and doing this once or twice will not make a long-lasting impact on your mental wellbeing. Take things slow and try to learn one thing at a time.

Regularly practice of the tips and techniques mentioned will teach you to instinctively recognize your window of tolerance and self-regulate when required.
If you know someone suffering from past trauma or anxiety that could benefit from this guide, I encourage you to share this with them.

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How to Recognize Your Window of Tolerance - Mind My Peelings

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It is common for everyone to experience shame from time to time. But if you are constantly feeling embarrassed and self-critical, it can be debilitating to your mental health.

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The one tool that helps me manage anxiety - ABC Everyday

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Energy accounting is a tool that helps Alison relieve and manage depression, anxiety and meltdowns.

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Window of Tolerance - a simple tool for emotional regulation

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When Maja Toudal was 18 years old she was at the shops with her boyfriend when she had a meltdown. She says, while the situation was very new to her partner at the time, he understood her Asperger's well enough to handle it perfectly.

Maja explains, "He gave me physical space, which is really important. And he provided simple instructions. He said, 'I'm going to take your hand now. We're going to stand up now. We're going right. We're going forward a bit. It's going to get bright now.'

"He led me out of the situation and sat me down and got me a glass of water."

Maja explains, "If a child has a sensory toy like a tangle or a fidget spinner you could give that to them too. You can also just open the phone and put on a YouTube video or a piece of music or something. So, distractions are very helpful. But, expected distractions. You definitely don't want surprises."

It's insider tips like this that have made Maja Toudal a leading voice on autism. She has written a book on her experiences growing up with autism - What Your Child With Asperger's Wants You To Know - and often speaks at conferences and workshops, providing advice to parents and teachers caring for children with autism.

She is also the co-creator of the energy accounting activity, which she developed with the help of Dr. Tony Attwood, a clinical psychologist. The activity is a way to help prevent a child with autism from becoming over-stressed and having a meltdown.

The energy accounting activity involves sitting down with a person with autism and creating two lists. A list of things that sap energy (withdrawals) and a list of things that replenish energy (deposits).

A numerical value is then assigned to each withdrawal and deposit to give it a weighting. Say 10 points means the activity gives/takes a little energy and 100 points means it gives/takes a lot of energy.

The idea is that when a withdrawal, or numerous withdrawals are made, deposits have to be made in order to prevent the account running into overdraft and a meltdown occurring.

Maja Toudal says she created the technique by analysing her own life and her own emotions.

"I didn't have the words growing up to explain to my parents what having autism was like. I developed the energy accounting activity to make it easier."

When she met Dr. Tony Attwood, he introduced the activity to his patients with great success.

As well as a clinician, Dr. Tony Attwood has written several books on autism spectrum disorder. Among them is The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, which has become known as the definitive guide to Asperger's, selling over half a million copies and being translated into 20+ languages.

Dr. Tony Attwood explains, "The energy accounting activity can be particularly useful because things can be different in autism and Asperger's compared to typical people.

"For example, socialising is often energising and enjoyable for typical people, but it can be draining and stressful in autism. And these stressors and de-stressors can be wildly different in individuals."

A big reason the energy accounting activity works so well is because it can be extremely draining to live with autism - even mundane activities can cause a sensory overload.

Maja explains, "You can generally expect a child with autism's energy to run low before your own. It's like a laptop running on batteries. When just two programs are running, the battery remains charged longer, but when the laptop's running ten programs at once, it dies quicker."

When I asked Maja if she has other advice to help parents and teachers better understand and support a child with autism, she referred me to the 10 rules from her book, What Your Child With Asperger's Wants You To Know.

1. There is something in this world that I am great at

"Every child with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is good at something," Maja says. "However, they may need help finding that talent, developing it, or sticking with it until they become good at it."

But once they do discover what they're great at, Maja says, "those children will experience tremendous joy."

2. I am a human being, no matter how different I seem

"Regardless of how much support a child needs due to their autism, he or she still deserves respect," Maja says.

"The way parents treat their autistic child will have a huge impact on his or her self-worth."

So although you can - and should - offer your autistic child help and support, you always want to do it with respect.

3. I need love

"It's tempting to believe children on the autism spectrum don't need love because they might not enjoy being touched or hugged," Maja says. "However, they absolutely do - oftentimes, they just need it to be expressed differently.

"You could express your love verbally rather than physically, or give a smile instead of a touch. You can also ask if the child wants to be hugged. And remember, if they don't want to be touched, don't see it as a rejection."

4. I am different from every other person on the spectrum

"Each person with autism is as different to the next as each person without autism," Maja says. "Children on the autism spectrum have different personalities, ways of expressing themselves, unique sensitivities, and diverse backgrounds.

"For these reasons, you can't - and shouldn't - assume a child is just like every other child on the spectrum. Instead, you should view a child with autism as being every bit as unique as someone who doesn't have autism."

5. I am trying

Parents of children with ASD may get frustrated when it doesn't seem like their child is trying. Their child might even be viewed as lazy.

Maja urges parents to trust their child is doing the best he or she can.

"Rather than viewing your son or daughter as not putting forth enough effort, it's important to understand they also wish they could do more and live up to others' expectations."

6. I need space

People can be overwhelming to be around. By contrast, spending time in solitude can be restorative for children on the autism spectrum.

"So, avoid the tendency to equate a child's need for alone time with loneliness," Maja says. Although children with ASD may experience loneliness, for the most part, they view solitude as desirable and restorative.

7. My energy is spent quicker

You can generally expect a child with autism's energy to run low before your own. Maja explains, "Because people with autism have sensory and processing programs that require active attention, their 'batteries' drain faster."

Parents and teachers should remember this when planning activities and setting expectations for a child with autism.

8. Sometimes, I need a day off

Maja asks parents to imagine what it would be like to never have a day off for the rest of their lives. This can be how children with ASD feel, because the only time they can relax is when they're alone.

While Maja realises that parents may view this statement as a slap in the face, she urges them to understand that it in no way diminishes their important role in a child's life.

9. Chill out

Although Maja understands that this is easier said than done, she encourages parents and teachers to do the best they can to 'chill out'.

"Feelings are contagious. So, when you get stressed out, your child picks up on this and becomes stressed as well."

"Rather than allowing that to happen, it's important to remain calm and act like everything will be okay. A child with autism is likely to pick up on these feelings and, as a result, your easygoing demeanour will go a long way toward maintaining a more harmonious household."

10. I need you to catch me, not carry me

"All too often, parents want to 'carry' their children and prevent them from experiencing any hardships along their journey," Maja says.

"You need to allow your child to get bruised from time to time. By doing so, you're showing them you believe in them. This mindset is incredibly important, because it helps children develop the confidence to succeed and is the foundation of self-worth."

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The Energy Accounting Activity for Autism

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When Maja Toudal was 18 years old she was at the shops with her boyfriend when she had a meltdown. She says, while the situation was very new to her partner at the time, he understood her Asperger's...

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Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

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What is the Sensory Service?

The Sensory Service is a multi-disciplinary team based at the Ryegate Children's Centre in Sheffield. We aim to help parents, carers, school staff and young people to have a better understanding of sensory processing and how this impacts on every day life. We provide information and advice on how to adapt activities and the environment to support children's sensory needs. The team includes Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Clinical Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy.

What is sensory processing?

Sensory processing is the way that our body takes in and makes sense of information. Our senses include hearing, vision, touch, taste and smell, as well as vestibular processing (which helps with balance and movement), proprioception (which is the awareness of our body in the space around it), and interoception (our awareness of our internal body feelings). We use our senses every day to interact with the world.

What might happen when sensory processing becomes a problem?

Children might find sensory information overwhelming and they might struggle to cope with certain sensory experiences. They may try to avoid certain things, people or places.

Children might find everyday tasks difficult to tolerate, such as showering, wearing certain clothes, eating or teeth-brushing.

Children may seek out sensations to help them to regulate in a way that creates a problem in another way, (for example, needing to move a lot during lessons).

When children are overwhelmed by sensory information it can make it more difficult for them to communicate their needs.

Sensory sensitivities can lead to higher stress and anxiety levels in a child. This in turn can mean they're more tuned into sensory information and can become overwhelmed more easily.

Children may present differently from one day to the next and their sensory needs may be context specific or be influenced by other factors, such as mood, tiredness or stress levels.

Who is the service for?

The service is for any child aged 3-16 years, living in Sheffield, who is having day to day difficulties because of the way that they process sensory information. Children known to the CAMHS Learning Disability service will be re-directed to CAMHS Occupational Therapy, if needing support beyond Universal Provision.

What is the Virtual Therapy Area?

The Virtual Therapy Area is our universal provision, the first level of service for all families. It aims to provide parents and carers with knowledge, ideas and strategies to support your child or young person with sensory needs that may be impacting on their every day life. These resources are primarily aimed at supporting children who are neuro-divergent; for example, your child may have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) or a combination of these. However, your child may not have any diagnosis, but may present with sensory needs that are creating challenges in everyday life. Or your child might have a different diagnosis and also have sensory needs that are impacting on their day to day life.

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists states "The term Sensory Processing Disorder is not recognized as an independent diagnosis...and should be avoided" (RCOT Informed View, 2021). Therefore, at the Sheffield Sensory Service, we do not formally assess or provide diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder. Our focus is to offer sensory interventions that support a child's sensory needs by adapting tasks or the environment, and by improving a child's capacity for self-regulation.

In addition to the virtual resources, our multi-disciplinary team deliver sensory training to Sheffield schools and educational establishments, and we are aiming to support all schools in Sheffield to be 'sensory accessible'.

If you need these resources in a different language, look at the bottom of the page for a guide to Google Translate.

How to use these resources

Translating information to your home language: Google Translate

1) Click the Google Translate button:

2) Click on your home language. The text will then change

Google Translate may not translate all words correctly. Please contact us on 0114 271 7645 if you have any questions about the text.

Translating information to your home language: subtitles

1) Click the subtitles icon

2) Click the settings icon then ' subtitles/CC'

3) Click Auto-translate

4) Choose your language

You need to turn on the subtitles for all the videos.

The subtitles are translated through YouTube. Some words may not be translated correctly. Please contact us on 0114 271 7617 if you have any questions about the videos. We can arrange a telephone call with an interpreter if needed.

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Sensory processing difficulties - Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

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What is the Sensory Service? The Sensory Service is a multi-disciplinary team based at the Ryegate Children's Centre in Sheffield. We aim to help parents, carers, school staff and young people to have a better understanding of sensory processing and how this impacts on every day life.

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Anxiety can lead us to avoid situations and activities that are important for us to do. Avoidance teaches our brain that we are in danger, and over time our anxiety gets worse! Exposure is a strategy for facing and overcoming your fears by systematically taking steps to confront them. By practicing exposure, we practice tolerating discomfort and learning that we can do hard things even when we are scared! These materials help students do the things they want or need to do but tend to avoid because they cause distress. This section contains handouts, worksheets, activities, and multimedia.

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TRAILS is on a mission to bring effective mental health care to all students.

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How to teach kids about emotions and feelings?Like teaching them everything else - using clear words, familiar situations, exciting pictures and a lot of hands-on activities (games, puzzles, coloring pages, etc.) One can, of course, spend time and find various resources online. Or one can get just one book.This book is an excellent educational source that has is all. The book includes a cute story that kids can relate to, beautiful illustrations that capture children's attention, calming-down activities for kids, instructions to adults on the follow-up activities, emotions cards, feelings cards, coloring pages and related short stories to teach kids empathy.

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My Body Sends a Signal: Helping Kids Recognize Emotions and Express Feelings

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How to teach kids about emotions and feelings?Like teaching them everything else - using clear words, familiar situations, exciting pictures and a lot of hands-on activities (games, puzzles, coloring pages, etc.) One can, of course, spend time and find various resources online. Or one can get jus...

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Dr Dora Raymaker, Research Assistant Professor at Portland State University, discusses research exploring autistic people's experiences of autistic burnout. This includes what autistic burnout feels like, why it might happen and what can be done to prevent it.
Autistic people often talk about autistic burnout as a source of distress, but it's just starting to be recognised in wider conversations. Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) conducted a qualitative study to better understand and define autistic burnout (Raymaker et al. 2020). The study involved interviews with autistic adults and analysis of public internet sources.

Definition of autistic burnout

From what we learned we created the following definition of autistic burnout.

Autistic burnout is a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate supports. It is characterised by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus.

Characteristics and impact

The research participants describe the experience of autistic burnout as chronic exhaustion, loss of skills, and reduced tolerance to stimulus. They described it as affecting every part of their lives and lasting for long periods of time. Many first experienced autistic burnout during puberty, graduation from secondary education, or at other times of transition and changes in developmental expectations.

Autistic burnout had many negative effects on their lives. Many highlighted difficulties with their health, especially their mental health. They talked about struggling with independent living, loss of self-belief, and being frightened that the loss of skills from the autistic burnout might be permanent. They also talked about a lack of empathy from neurotypical people, who had difficulty understanding or relating to the autistic person's experiences. Some people related an increase in suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviour.

Reasons why autistic burnout might occur

People described a collection of life stressors.

Masking their autistic traits, for example by suppressing autistic behaviours, pretending to be non-autistic, or working very hard to act in a non-autistic way.

Difficult or unreachable expectations from family, school, work, or society in general.

Stress from living in a world not set up to accommodate autistic people, for example managing the stress of having to be in noisy environments.

Life-changes and transitions that are stressful for anyone, for example transitioning from school to work, experiencing a mental health crisis, or the death of someone close.

They also described barriers to getting support or relief from the stress.

Gaslighting or dismissal when attempting to describe the autistic burnout, for example being told that everyone has these experiences, that they just need to try harder, or that they are making it up.

Poor boundaries or self-advocacy with respect to saying no, taking a break, or asking for help. This may be due to trauma, fear, lack of assistance in learning how, and a history of negative responses from others when they tried.

Inability to take a break from stress that is so pervasive ("How do you take a break from life?").

Insufficient external resources and supports, for example inadequate disability services, lack of useful social support.

Together, the life stressors contributed to a cumulative load of stress and the barriers to support meant they were unable to get relief from the stress. At some point, the expectations on the person far exceeded anything they were able to do. Every part of them gave up and autistic burnout resulted. Or, as one study participant summarised:

''Autistic burnout is a state of physical and mental fatigue, heightened stress, and diminished capacity to manage life skills, sensory input, and/or social interactions, which comes from years of being severely overtaxed by the strain of trying to live up to demands that are out of sync with our needs.''

Reducing or Preventing Autistic Burnout

Participants told us about ways that they found to relieve or prevent their autistic burnout, and advice they have for others.

Acceptance and support - interacting with others who could accept them for who they were, without any need to masking or pretend. This could be one-on-one with family members or friends; on a community level of groups with accepting cultures; or on a peer level, especially finding other autistic people who could validate their experiences and offer information and emotional/social support from lived experience.

Being autistic - attending to autistic needs like stimming and spending time with intense interests and comfort items, unmasking, using autistic strengths or doing things in an autistic way.

Formal supports - receiving reasonable adjustments at school or work, physical support like someone to provide groceries, and mental health support.

Reduced load - taking time off, more breaks, reducing social activity or other types of more stressful activities.

Self-advocacy and health - learning how to set healthy boundaries and expectations from others, and what to do when others aren't respecting boundaries. Learning how to ask for help in a way others might be responsive to, and leading as healthy a lifestyle as possible (for example participants described how exercising, sleeping, eating well, and doing things that made them happy helped them out of autistic burnout once they had enough energy to do them).

Self-knowledge - learning how to recognise and act on the early signs of autistic burnout (for example by cancelling social plans to have more rest), having an autism diagnosis, and understanding one's own patterns of behaviour and feelings.

Recommendations and next steps

We recommend increasing awareness about autistic burnout, and connecting with the autistic community and peers that understand autistic burnout. The experiences of people who describe being in a state of autistic burnout should be validated, whether they use the term or not. We recommend that therapists and clinicians learn to recognise autistic burnout in clients and offer strategies for relief.

In general, we recommend others be aware of the potential dangers of teaching autistic people to mask or suppress their autistic traits. Suicide prevention programs may want to consider the potential role of burnout. We strongly support interventions to decrease the discrimination and stigma associated with autism and disability in society, and to improve access to reasonable adjustments and acceptance.

Though an important start to the conversation, our findings are from a small qualitative study of a non-random sample. They are also limited to autism; we feel that this may be a broader experience of people who experience disability. Therefore we highly recommend more research in this new and urgent area, especially in collaboration with autistic people who can contribute the expertise of their lived experience.

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Dr Dora Raymaker, Research Assistant Professor at Portland State University, discusses research exploring autistic people's experiences of autistic burnout. This includes what autistic burnout feels like, why it might happen and what can be done to prevent it. Autistic people often talk about autistic burnout as a source of distress, but it's just starting to be recognised in wider conversations.

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5 Reasons We Need the Interoception Curriculum in Schools - Kelly Mahler

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Hi everyone. Kelly Mahler, occupational therapist. I want to talk about five reasons why we need the Interoception Curriculum in the schools right now.

Reason 1: It Provides a Framework for Curiosity

Reason number one is all about the amazing push for social emotional learning in our schools. This is happening across many different countries around the world. This whole emphasis on building social emotional learning, to me, is really important. Where many of our existing social emotional learning curricula or programs fall short is incorporating the interoception science. We know that interoception is the neurobiological foundation for many of the skills that are often targeted in these SEL or social emotional learning programs. For example, many of these programs target helping students to identify their emotions, to regulate their emotions, to identify the feelings or emotions of other people; all of those skills require interoception. Interoception is the underlying foundation to successfully achieve those skills. We need to lay that foundation, the interoception foundation, in order for those SEL programs to be effective. The Interoception Curriculum is that step one, that foundation for social emotional learning programs.

Reason 2: It Empowers Self Regulation

Reason number two is all about the Interoception Curriculum and how it empowers self-regulation, and it does so in a way that is in line with current neuroscience understanding. We know that our body sensations, those interoceptive sensations, are vital to helping us understand how we feel and what our body needs for comfort, for safety, and for regulation in the moment. If we want to empower our students with self-regulation, we need to start with interoception. I see so many IEP goals that have really great intentions; the student will independently seek out a break or the student will use a help card. Those skills are wonderful, but they also require an underlying interoceptive piece. You need to be able to identify in your body that something's off and that it's probably a good time to request a break. Or, you have to be able to identify in your body that you may be struggling right now, you might need help, and it's time to use a help card. So those interoceptive sensations are what provide clues to needing the break, needing the help card and so forth. We need to start with interoception, and the Interoception Curriculum helps us do just that.

Reason 3: It Provides a Framework for Compassion and Curiosity

Reason number three that we need interoception in the schools right now is because it provides a framework of compassion, curiosity, and a way to nurture our students' success both in the classroom and outside of the classroom; even when they graduate, when they leave us, when they become adults. I got into education because I love working with children. I wanted to be in a field where I could inspire curiosity and learning about the world and about themselves. That is what the Interoception Curriculum is all about. It really provides a framework for us to be more curious about our students' inner experience, to help validate their unique experience in the world. This framework is providing such a nice shift away from these compliance-based models that many of our educational institutions are based on right now, where we have this hierarchy of power and it's all about controlling the students and modifying their behaviors. This shift towards interoception, to me, is really exciting because it's honoring each student and who they are individually, and really trying to get at the heart of why they might be struggling to participate in the classroom. That's what the Interoception Curriculum is all about. It's about compassion, it's about curiosity, it's about honoring that student's unique inner experience in helping them to discover that.

Reason 4: It Promotes Positive Mental Health

The fourth reason we need the Interoception Curriculum in the schools right now is all about mental health. Did you know that interoception extremes, regardless of the extreme, whether it's too big or too small, are connected to almost every single mental health diagnosis that exists? That is a profound finding. Interoception extremes are connected to almost every single mental health diagnosis that exists. We know there's a very tight connection between interoception and mental health. Especially as we're living in a pandemic right now, mental health is a challenge for all of us as educators, as students, as caregivers at home. The interoception piece is something we really need to be looking at and focusing on. The Interoception Curriculum provides an already made framework for implementing this important support in the school setting.

Reason 5: It's important!

The number five reason why we need to be using the Interoception Curriculum in the schools is because it is simply important. That might seem very generic but let me explain. As a school based OT, sometimes my workload can get very overwhelming. So many demands, so many requests, so many student consults, et cetera. This has forced me, from a very early point in my career, to consider priorities; what are the priorities that my students need to be successful in the here and now, in the school setting, but also as adults? It is necessary to think critically about what the most important skills are to nurture in our students to be able to achieve that lifelong flourishing.

OTs were always asked to do a lot of things, from handwriting all the way to self-regulation. We thought a lot about what is going to empower that success in our students, thinking really critically about that prioritization, so that we can focus our efforts where it most counts. We know that interoception has a vast influence in all of our lives; it's incredibly important. Considering that, perhaps it might have more of an impact to focus our supports in the area of interoception, mental health, self-regulation, and social emotional learning, as opposed to some of the other places that we sometimes get accidentally stuck in, like handwriting. I know a lot of people who have very rich lives that have very poor handwriting, but I don't know many people who have very rich lives that struggle interoceptively. It is imperative to think about priorities and make sure that interoception is at the top of that importance list.

Until next time.
Interested in learning more about this topic? Tune in to this month's live course on Providing Interoception-Based Supports in Various School Settings!

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5 Reasons We Need the Interoception Curriculum in Schools - Kelly Mahler

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Hi everyone. Kelly Mahler, occupational therapist. I want to talk about five reasons why we need the Interoception Curriculum in the schools right now. Reason number one is all about the amazing push for social emotional learning in our schools. This is happening across many different countries around the world.

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Tony Attwood & Michelle Garnett on Behaviour & Emotion Management 4 Children&Adolescents with Autism

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Watch from 29 minutes 23 secs - Energy Accounting 

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Watch from 29 minutes 23 secs - Energy Accounting 

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Dr Tony Attwood  - Good Mental Health for Autistic Girls and Women (taken from full video)

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The Incredible 5-Point Scale is a great visual tool that can be used to help children identify, understand, express and manage their emotions. It's particularly (although not exclusively) useful for supporting autistic children. However, it's also a resource that is sometimes misunderstood in schools. We're going to take a look at the best way to leverage the tool and how you can create personalised versions of it.
How was the Incredible 5-Point Scale developed?

The scale was created in 2003 by Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis, highly experienced teachers from Minnesota who have many years of experience teaching autistic students. It was designed so that each level represents a different level of intensity surrounding a specific emotion and its associated behaviour/s. Together with helping to recognise emotions and planning how to respond and self-regulate (or seek help), the tool can also be used to explore 'what happened' after a problem incident.

It can be used for almost any kind of emotional regulation such as anger management, learning about social interactions (such as respecting physical space or dealing with winning and losing) or even particular behaviours such as modulating tone of voice.

Autistic children and adults often have a strong preference for using systems, but may struggle with the vocabulary for emotional introspection. Talking in numbers and colours instead of describing or naming an emotional state can help make this activity easier for some people.

The broad benefits of the scale include its:

application to any age group

ability to create a shared language to easily discuss emotions or behaviour

avoidance of language that could be seen as blaming

capacity to quickly communicate needs and generate self-awareness in the moment

flexibility and the fact that it can be easily personalised to the individual

How to use the scale and create personalised 5-Point Scales

Identify the behaviour that you would like to work on. The child should be involved as much as possible; this will depend on their age and communication capability. A starting point would probably be asking questions such as, 'What is happening that we would like to stop happening?' or 'What is not happening that we would like to be happening?'. This will probably be a behaviour that is underpinned by an emotion / several emotions (e.g., walking out of class, calling out answers or not speaking in school).

1. Identify the skill or understanding of concepts that needs to be learnt in order for the thing to happen/stop happening (e.g., tolerance to 'wait', impulse control or ability to manage fear).

2. Break the intensity of feeling into five parts. For example, let's say the skill you were trying to develop is managing anxiety while interacting with other children. You sit down with your pupil, Joe, and talk about how he is feeling at each level and how this relates to his behaviour.

For Joe, this might look something like the following;

Level 1: How am I feeling and what is happening? I am feeling happy and relaxed. I am talking with others, playing games and joining in easily.

Level 2: How am I feeling and what is happening? I am feeling a little bit nervous, but I can still manage. I might need to ask for a little extra help or take a short break.

Level 3: How am I feeling and what is happening? I'm starting to feel anxious. My tummy might hurt, and I might avoid talking or doing things I usually enjoy. I need to tell an adult or one of my close friends how I am feeling.

Level 4: How am I feeling and what is happening? I feel really anxious and I am not sure what to do to make myself feel better. I need to ask an adult for help.

Level 5: How am I feeling and what is happening? I can't manage at all. I don't feel like I can use my words. I need to wave or grab an adult to come and help me.

1. Create a visual scale. Talk with Joe about the levels (1-5) and develop a descriptor for each. The different levels will then be assigned different colours. Sometimes a picture can also be used to depict what each level 'looks like' for them. If a young person has a particular affinity with characters or animals (Disney, Mario World, Harry Potter, cats etc. you could consider using these).

2. Discuss strategies to help manage the feeling when thinking about what each level looks like, together with describing the feeling, ask the child to suggest what they 'might' do [i.e., a behaviour] to help. Returning to our example, for Joe this might look like Level 3: I need to tell an adult or one of my close friends how I am feeling.

3. Teach the scale. A story might be a good way to explain to the child what each level means and how it feels. Real-life examples can also be used to illustrate each level.

4. Use the scale - and review it. Encourage the pupil to use the scale to monitor their own emotions and behaviours. A 'check-in' at the start and the end of the day can help with this. The pupil might rate themselves according to where they were on the scale at different times of the day. This information could be used to jointly identify triggers or warning signs - and how to manage and/or avoid these.

[Take a look at our free downloadable examples for social anxiety and anger, as well as generic scales - remember templates are just a starting point]

IDEA: You might want to create a smaller portable version that the pupil can carry around in their school bag and refer to more discretely. Once the young person knows the scale well, they may just need a slimmed-down 'prompt' version. Take a look at this example that's designed to fit on a keyring (below) from Cheshire East Council.

Things to try to avoid when using the scale

1. Taking a top-down approach

2. Using it with children who aren't yet able to reflect and regulate

3. Using the tool for behaviour modification

Avoid: Using the scale as a punishment/behaviour modification tool or linking it too closely to school rules.

Why it matters: This risks shaming the individual, and increasing anxiety or disengagement, reducing its effectiveness by removing agency and trust. Instead, talk about possible natural consequences of specific actions if required.

4. Not using it consistently

5. Overwhelming complexity

Avoid: Adding too much detail/ too many levels.

Why it matters: The strength of the Incredible 5-Point Scale lies in its simplicity. Overloading the scale can cause confusion.

6. Not linking to coping strategies in line with emotional regulation development

7. Not reviewing the scale appropriately

Avoid: Treating the scale as static and unchanging.

Why it matters: Children are developing all the time and so are their needs as well as their coping strategies. It may be that the individual no longer needs the scale for a particular behaviour or that they need greater support if other stressful things are going on in their lives or their normal coping mechanisms are exhausted. Sometimes things about the school routine, peer dynamics or available support changes and their Incredible 5-Point Scale needs adjusting to reflect this.

Further reading

Read the original book from Kari Buron and Mitzi Curtis:
Buron, K.D., & Curtis, M. (2003). The incredible 5‐point scale: Assisting students with autism spectrum disorders in understanding social interactions and controlling their emotions responses. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.

Kari Dunn Buron's accompanying blog has some great downloads and her blog covers extended applications www.5pointscale.com/

Autism Classroom Resources have written up a useful introduction to the scale: autismclassroomresources.com/the-incredible-5-point-scale-review-and/

Southwark Council's autism support team have produced a helpful overview including quite a few examples for anger/volume etc: localoffer.southwark.gov.uk/assets/attach/677/5-Point-Scale.pdf

Example 5 Point Scale for Maths assignments: from OCALI (Ohio Centre for Autism and Low Incidence) Take a look at several examples of what you can do with a scale by relating it to an individual's special interests, as well as a video about how practitioners are using the scale.

The Incredible 5-Point Scale Fact Sheet from Autism Empowerment - useful resource that also describes the anxiety curve model: Download the factsheet.

Autism Toolbox: Example of a scale completed for a particular individual pupil:
autismtoolbox.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/5-point-scale-example.pdf

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Using the Incredible 5-Point Scale to Support Autistic Children

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Discover how the Incredible 5-Point Scale can help autistic children understand and manage their emotions. Example templates included.

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UMBRELLA | Oscar® Qualified and Multi-Award Winning Animated Short Film

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The 5-4-3-2-1 Method: A Grounding Exercise to Manage Anxiety

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Check out the FUNDA TV breathing videos...

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Check out the FUNDA TV breathing videos...

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Tracking character emotions in books through English lessons

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Tracking character emotions in books through English lessons

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Looking for teaching materials to make interoception instruction more fun? Want to explore videos, podcasts, articles on interoception and emotional regulation? Check out our resources page!

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Zones of Regulation Home Page Zones of Regulation Blog Link to Social Thinking to order The Zones of Regulation Plus overview of program

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Alexithymia & autism guide | Embrace Autism

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Alexithymia is very common among autistic people. Research indicates 40-65% of us have alexithymia-or even as high as 70%-compared to 4.89-13% in the general population. It's so common that some symptoms generally attributed to autism (to the point of being part of the diagnostic criteria for autism) actually stem from alexithymia instead!

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Life can be pretty challenging for autistic children as they try to fit within a world that doesn't always makesense to them on terms that don't quite work for them. Sometimes, anxiety, anger or sheer exhaustioncan bubble over and result in challenging behaviour which is distressing both for the child and the adults supporting them. There is a lot that we can do to change the environment rather than the child, but this course focuses in on how we can support autistic children to recognise and regulate how they're feeling, togive them the best chance of managing alongside their peers because maybe the whole world needs tochange, but until that happens, these simple ideas can change how the world feels for the child you're supporting.

THE WINDOW OF TOLERANCE

In order to get by in day-to-day life, we all need to stay within our window of tolerance which basically describes how much we can handle before we lose it...

There are things we can do to widen our window oftolerance, and things we can do to keep within in.

Our emotions are in a constant state of flux

Our window of tolerance describes the optimal zone; i.e. when we're managing

Hyper-arousal can lead to a fight or flight response

Hypo-arousal can lead to a freeze or faint response

It's cumulative but micro adjustments can help us stay in the optimal zone

UNDERSTANDING SHUTDOWN AND MELTDOWN

When a child feels overwhelmed sometimes things get big and shouty and sometimes the child seems to completely retreat within themselves.

Meltdown tends to demand more attention because it's loud

Shutdown is a lot quieter and easier to ignore

Both shutdown and meltdown signal a child in significant distress who needs help

We can help both in similar ways

The child needs us to be: safe, soothing, supportive

NAME IT TO TAME IT

We need to talk to children about their feelings and find ways of communicating them. When a child is able to indicate their rising anger, fear or sadness to an adult then an adult is far more likely to be able tooffer the appropriate support before things escalate.

Children need emotional literacy and can learn this vocab from a young age

You can use age and stage appropriate language to start from very young

Sometimes colours, numbers or animals can help

Or you can use things like touch or play dough for non-verbal children

Practice pulling faces and talking about feelings

Explore the physiology of feelings too

There are no good and bad feelings, it's what we do with them that matters

SELF-SOOTHE AND SELF-CARE SUPER POWERS

There is a lot that we can do to support a child to regulate their emotions, but the most powerful lessons are those the child can learn for themselves. Building their skills to recognise and respond to rising emotions and also taking proactive steps to exercise self-care. This can help the child feel more in control and can significantly boost their self-esteem and wellbeing as well as providing them with the tools they can take with them wherever they go in life.

It can feel like your feelings are controlling you; learning self-soothe skills flips that

Breathing, relaxation or activities that get rid of anxious energy can really help

It takes practice and we should practice at times of calm

We will need to support a lot at first, but support the child to learn to self-soothe

REGULAR RESETS AND PROACTIVE SOOTHING
Look for patterns and be inquisitive about why a child is more likely to struggle at certain points in the day or week and consider what can be done to proactively manage their feelings and get them to the best possible starting point before entering potentially tricky environments as well as bringing them back to a relatively calm baseline after situations that are draining or stressful.

We don't have to be responsive all the time, we can proactively calm too

Use mood journaling to look for patterns

Build in resets or proactive soothing to manage tricky moments

Distress is cumulative and sometimes we don't see the signs until it's too late

Consider our emotional energy like a computer character's energy bar

Try to be positive, proactive and inquisitive rather than judgemental

IT STARTS WITH YOU: CO-REGULATION

One of the most powerful tools for calming a child is a calm adult. How can you be that cool calm collected adult when faced with a distressed (and often distressing) child?

We need to be the swan

Calm communication - slow - low - low

Our own emotional regulation matters, how can we help ourselves?

We can be emotional regulation role models to children when we regulate aloud

Sometimes we'll get it wrong, that's okay so long as we apologise and learn from it

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Emotional Regulation in Autistic Children

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Life can be pretty challenging for autistic children as they try to fit within a world that doesn't always makesense to them on terms that don't quite work for them. Sometimes, anxiety, anger or sheer exhaustioncan bubble over and result in challenging behaviour which is distressing both for the child and the adults supporting them.

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Wellbeing and Emotional Literacy USEFUL LINKS

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Overcoming the Double Empathy Problem Within Pairs of Autistic and Non-autistic Adults Through the Contemplation of Serious Literature

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Recent research based on the needs of the autistic community has explored the frequent social misunderstandings that arise between autistic and non-autistic people, known as the double empathy problem. Double empathy understandings require both groups to respect neurodiversity by focussing on indivi…

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Difficulty navigating social interactions pervades even the earliest accounts of autism. This defining trait of the condition has informed prevailing theories of its roots as well as the design of many autism treatments.

But an emerging line of work supports a more nuanced look at the social abilities of autistic people. Proponents of an idea called the 'double empathy problem' believe that communication breakdowns between autistic and non-autistic people are a two-way issue, caused by both parties' difficulties in understanding. This 'double problem' challenges long-held theories of autism that point to social shortcomings of people with autism as the reason interactions flop. It also echoes principles of neurodiversity in its assumption that autistic people simply have a different way of communicating rather than a deficient one. "As a theory, it matches autistic phenomenology coming from insider accounts," says autistic researcher Damian Milton, lecturer in developmental and intellectual disabilities at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.

Although scientific support for the theory is building, it is not yet rock solid. And not all researchers are tuned in to this new direction, says Matthew Lerner, associate professor of psychology, psychiatry and pediatrics at Stony Brook University in New York. "The double empathy problem is a younger theory empirically," he says.
What is the double empathy problem?
The basis of the theory is that a mismatch between two people can lead to faulty communication. This disconnect can occur at many levels, from conversation styles to how people see the world. The greater the disconnect, the more difficulty the two people will have interacting.

In the case of autism, a communication gap between people with and without the condition may occur not only because autistic people have trouble understanding non-autistic people but also because non-autistic people have trouble understanding them. The problem, the theory posits, is mutual. For example, difficulty in reading the other person's facial expressions may stunt conversations between autistic and non-autistic people.

This conception of social issues in autism as a two-way street is decades old. Autistic activists such as Jim Sinclair have argued since the 1990s that autistic modes of communication conflict with neurotypical ones.

Milton first coined the term ' double empathy problem' in a 2012 paper. For him, the idea offered a way to reframe the long-held notion that individuals on the spectrum have impaired theory of mind - the ability to infer the intentions or feelings of others - to include potential misunderstanding by non-autistic people.

Instead of focusing on how people with autism perform in social situations, new studies probe how non-autistic people perform when interacting with autistic people. The results hint that non-autistic people's blind spots contribute to the communication gap. For example, in one study, non-autistic people had trouble deciphering the mental states autistic people portrayed through animations. Other work shows that non-autistic individuals struggle to accurately interpret autistic people's facial expressions.

Non-autistic people may also make snap judgements of autistic people that prevent, curtail or sour interactions between the two. For example, non-autistic people may be prone to having negative first impressions of autistic people without knowing their diagnosis - rating them less approachable and more awkward than neurotypical people - or to misjudging them as deceptive.

Yes, plenty of evidence shows that people with autism differ from those without the condition across several social domains, such as facial expressions, speech patterns and eye gaze (though the last notion may be shaky).

But a number of studies also show that autistic people's social and communication issues are not evident when they interact with other people with autism. For example, in the game of "telephone," in which a message is relayed in whispers from one person to the next, chains of eight autistic people maintain the fidelity of the message just as well as sets of eight non-autistic people do. It's only in mixed groups of autistic and non-autistic people that the message quickly degrades.

There are other signs that people on the spectrum connect well with one another. Autistic people report feeling more comfortable with other autistic people than with non-autistic people. Many adolescents with autism prefer to interact with autistic peers over non-autistic ones. And people with autism often build a greater sense of rapport and share more about themselves when conversing with others on the spectrum. One reason for this pattern may be that autistic people are less concerned with typical social norms, such as conversational reciprocity, and so don't mind as much when these rules are not followed.

The principle of social compatibility may extend beyond autism diagnoses to autism traits. For example, the more similar two non-autistic people rate themselves on an autism trait assessment, the closer they rate their friendship.

The double empathy problem stands at odds with several widely adopted ideas about autistic people, namely that their social difficulties are inherent, Milton says. For example, one of the main diagnostic criteria for autism, as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is "persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts." Similarly, the social motivation theory of autism holds that people with autism have a diminished drive for social interaction.

But the new theory isn't necessarily incompatible with these ideas, says Simon Baron-Cohen, professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. Instead, the theory highlights the importance of examining both sides of social interactions instead of focusing solely on the ways autistic people diverge from the norm.
Are autism researchers changing their approach in light of the double empathy problem?
Some are. For instance, scientists are rethinking how they examine social skills, calling for a revamp of autism studies to gauge the strengths, rather than the limits, of autistic communication. Researchers are also finding ways to probe the dynamics of social interactions instead of studying the isolated behavior of people lying in a brain scanner or sitting at a computer, says Noah Sasson, associate professor of behavioral and brain sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. "I had grown a bit jaded iterating on the same face-processing and eye-tracking studies I had been doing that really didn't tell us too much new," he says.

In addition, researchers who study predictive coding - the way people form internal models of the external world - are exploring how a mismatch in people's predictions could hinder their interactions. For example, if an autistic person's expectations about how a conversation might unfold diverge from a non-autistic person's, their interaction may falter.
If the theory pans out, what are its implications?
Still, not everyone is convinced, or even aware, of the theory, Lerner says. Some questions at the core of the theory remain unanswered, he says. For example, researchers are still figuring out why communication is smoother when people with autism interact with one another than it is when they engage with non-autistic people. And much of the existing evidence for the theory rests on anecdotal reports and small studies.

In addition to suggesting new research angles, the double empathy problem may help explain why some autism assessments and treatments fall short, Sasson says. For example, standard measures of social abilities don't seem to predict how autistic people fare in actual social interactions.

And therapies designed to teach autistic people normative social skills are not all that effective in helping them navigate real-life situations, such as forging friendships, studies suggest. "The emphasis is purely on the autistic person to change, a lot of the time," Milton says. Evaluating the social situations surrounding autistic people and finding ways to facilitate their unique communication styles may be a more useful approach, he says.

Similarly, the double empathy problem underscores the importance of training programs - say, for doctors or law enforcement professionals - that help non-autistic people interact appropriately with autistic people.

The theory also hints at possible causes of mental health problems in autistic people, a team of researchers suggested in a paper published in January. Being routinely misperceived can lead to loneliness and feelings of isolation. And attempts to conform to social norms by suppressing who you are can be exhausting, many experts say.

Cite this article: https://doi.org/10.53053/MMNL2849

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Double empathy, explained | Spectrum | Autism Research News

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Difficulty navigating social interactions pervades even the earliest accounts of autism. This defining trait of the condition has informed prevailing theories of its roots as well as the design of many autism treatments. But an emerging line of work supports a more nuanced look at the social abilities of autistic people.

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Video resources to teach - emotion - zones of reg - sarcasm

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What do the Zones of Regulation Look like?

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Kelly Mahler - Occupational Therapist - training excerpts

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Kelly Mahler - Occupational Therapist - training excerpts

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The Worrysaurus Book + Zones + activities

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Editable Coloured Zones Cards and adapted examples

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Emotional Reg + Interoception Staff CPD 10.06.21

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Discover practical tools for
regulation and emotional control

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10 years of helping students-over 260,000 copies of The Zones of Regulation curriculum sold worldwide!

Hearing a lot of buzz about The Zones of Regulation? Find out first-hand why this best-selling social emotional learning curriculum has been adopted across thousands of mainstream classrooms worldwide. Students ages 4-18+ learn how to organize their feelings into four different Zones and use metacognitive strategies to regulate within specific Zones to meet their personal, organizational, and social goals. This easy-to-teach regulation curriculum provides important practical social emotional learning tools to practice regulation of one's feelings across situations at home, school, and in the community.

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Engage children in learning about their feelings and emotional zones with two charming, illustrated storybooks ( The Road to Regulation and The Regulation Station, sold as a one-product set), The Road to Regulation Poster, which summarizes an important learning pathway, and a hands-on regulation strategy-filled Tools to Try for Cards for Kids card deck. These new visual, multisensory products function at their best when all used together to supplement The Zones of Regulation curriculum. The storybooks and very practical card deck, which provides over 50 tools and strategies, can also easily be used at home and in the community to extend learning about managing within one's Zones of Regulation. The Tools to Try Cards for Kids card deck and the 2-Storybook Set are also available as digital products. The digital 2-Storybook Set includes audio files.

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The Road to Regulation & The Regulation Station: Understanding and Managing Feelings & Emotions | 2-Storybook Set: The Zones of Regulation Series

The Road to Regulation & The Regulation Station: Understanding and Managing Feelings & Emotions | 2-Storybook Set: The Zones of Regulation Series Ages: 5-11 A 2021 multi-award winner! Two award-winning storybooks engage children ages 5-11 in learning The Zones of Regulation framework and curriculum. The first, The Road to Regulation, describes and explains four different emotional zones and how we feel in each of them. Through an imaginary adventure to "The Regulation Station," the second storybook introduces the use of "tools" (strategies) to help students identify ways they can manage their different feelings at school and home. Learn more

Tools to Try Cards for Kids: Regulation Strategies to Focus, Calm, Think, Move, Breathe, and Connect | The Zones of Regulation Series

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The Zones of Regulation: A Curriculum Designed to Foster Self-Regulation and Emotional Control

The Zones of Regulation: A Curriculum Designed to Foster Self-Regulation and Emotional Control Ages: 4+ New updated emotions illustrations! This popular framework and curriculum teaches strategies for managing emotions and sensory needs to individuals ages 4+. Rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy, the framework uses four colors to help individuals identify how they are feeling in the moment given their energy, emotions, and level of alertness, creating a colored system to guide them to metacognitive strategies and tools to support regulation. Help students learn how to increase their ability to regulate their emotions, manage their sensory needs, and become more self-aware and skillful problem solvers. Learn more

Tools to Try Cards for Tweens & Teens: Regulation Strategies to Focus, Calm, Think, Move, Breathe, and Connect | The Zones of Regulation Series

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The Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation is a framework and easy-to-use curriculum for teaching regulation strategies for managing emotions and sensory needs to children, students, and clients ages 4+. Rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy, the framework uses four colors to help individuals identify how they are feeling in the moment given their energy, emotions, and level of alertness. By understanding how to read their bodies, detect triggers, think about the social context, and consider their reactions, individuals learn a system for how to increase their ability to regulate their emotions, manage their sensory needs, and become more self-aware and skillful problem solvers.

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Resources to use at school & home

Further supplement the development of your students' regulation as part of their social emotional learning with these free, timely strategies and tools when specifically using The Zones of Regulation curriculum to help individuals ages 5-18+. These free resources provide select examples of deeper instruction when using some of the 11 Zones of Regulation products.

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Explore our convenient Zones of Regulation product bundles that help teach and implement The Zones of Regulation framework, curriculum, and strategies across developmental ages in mainstream primary and secondary classrooms-and save while you're doing it!

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Testimonials from Parents, Teachers, and Clinicians

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New Resources to Use With The Zones of Regulation Curriculum

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Hearing a lot of buzz about The Zones of Regulation? Find out first-hand why this best-selling social emotional learning curriculum has been adopted across thousands of mainstream classrooms worldwide. Students ages 4-18+ learn how to organize their feelings into four different Zones and use metacognitive strategies to regulate within specific Zones to meet their personal, organizational, and social goals.