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file:///C:/Users/ThomasE158/Downloads/Brain-is-autistic-neuroinclusive-story.pdf

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https://www.childautism.org.uk / 01344 882 248
https://www.cardifffamilies.co.uk/cy/cysylltu-a-ni/   03000 133 133
https://www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/cy/living/social_care/children_and_young_people/families_first/Families-First-Advice-Line.aspx  0800 0327 322
www.familylives.org.uk
https://parents.actionforchildren.org.uk
https://www.youngminds.org.uk
Home - Awtistiaeth Cymru | Autism Wales | National Autism Team

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NHS wellbeing support-Single Point of Access

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NHS wellbeing support-Single Point of Access

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Do you need to speak to someone about your emotional wellbeing?

Single Point of Access

The entry way to specialist Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health services.

The Single Point of Access (SPOA) is the entry point for referrals to specialist Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health services.

Our clinical team also offer consultations to professionals working with children, young people and families.

We recommend that you read the following resources before contacting us:

About Us

What to consider before making a referral

What to include in a referral

Who can refer

How do I make a referral

About Us

We provide specialist Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health services to children and young people under the age of 18 in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

We are part of Children, Young People and Family Health Services at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Our approach to Children and Young People's Emotional Wellbeing:

Our aim is to develop a shared understanding with children, young people and their families about their strengths and difficulties

We acknowledge that social circumstances contribute to children's mental health problems e.g. poverty/poor housing/racism

We acknowledge that for most children their distress is understandable given their context

We use a generalist approach, integrating a number of models in our work e.g. systemic, CBT, Solution focused.

We deliver the 5 functions of the Primary Mental Health (CYP) as defined by Mental Health - Part 1 Mental Health Measure 2010 including:

1. Comprehensive mental health assessments for individuals

2. Treatment, by way of short-term psychological interventions, delivered individually or in group settings. Such treatment may include counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, solution-focussed therapy, stress management, anger management and education.

3. Provision of information and advice to individuals and their carers about treatment and care, as well as 'signposting' them to other sources of support including third sector organisations.

4. Support and advice to professionals and other primary care workers to enable them to safely manage and care for people with mental health problems.

5. Supporting the onward referral and co-ordination of next steps with secondary mental health services, where this is felt to be appropriate for an individual.

Basic information

Name and date of birth of referred child / young person

Their address, telephone number and email address - this must be confirmed to be correct at the most recent appointment / meeting

Who has parental responsibility?

Surname of parent (if different to child)

Name of school and attendance record

Who is living in the family home - with details of separated parents if appropriate

Reason for referral

What are the specific difficulties that you want us to address?

How long has this been a problem?

Why is the family seeking help now?

Is the problem situation specific or more generalised?

Your understanding of the problem / issues involved

What has been tried already?

How is the concern affecting the young person? What is their opinion about the referral?

Your assessment of any risks

Description of the functional impact

Other helpful information

Are other professionals involved and in what capacity?

Has there been any previous contact with our department?

Has there been any previous contact with Social Care? If you have any safeguarding / child protection concerns, please ensure appropriate referral has been made to Social Services

Have you spoken to the child / young person directly?

Details of any known protective factors

Any relevant history (i.e. family, life events and/or health development factors)

During working hours 9 am - 5 pm Monday to Friday

For the CAMHS Crisis Liaison Team, referrals can be made by phoning through to the team during office hours on 02921 836 730.

Out of hours, weekends and bank holidays

Call the UHW Switchboard on 02920 747 747 and ask for CAMHS Crisis team.

Our referral cut off point is 8 pm.

Following this emergency advice is available from the CAMHS Psychiatry on call doctor also via switchboard. It is worth noting that the CAMHS psychiatry rota covers 3 Health Board Areas

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SPOA - Children, Young People And Families

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The Single Point of Access (SPOA) is the entry point for referrals to specialist Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health services. Our clinical team also offer consultations to professionals working with children, young people and families. We recommend that you read the following resources before contacting us: About Us What to consider before making a referral [...]

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Skip to content

For mental health and social change

We work with people who are experiencing challenges with their mental health, and with communities who want to create a greater sense of connection, ownership and wellbeing in the places that they live

Learn more

Hope is a way of being - what could that mean for communities?

Over the next two years, we will be developing a trauma informed community development model alongside residents in Caerphilly. We will have a community budget, which residents will allocate to what matters to them. We will have a community coordinator, with two coaches, who will be there to bring people together, but also address support needs, and help people reach their potential.

Read more

Equality: a Platfform for all

Mental health is a universal human experience. Here's what we're doing to be an organisation for all.

Read more

Do you or someone you know need help right now?

Read more

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Skip to content We work with people who are experiencing challenges with their mental health, and with communities who want to create a greater sense of connection, ownership and wellbeing in the places that they live Learn more Over the next two years, we will be developing a trauma informed community development model alongside residents in Caerphilly.

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https://youtu.be/suEjXwnxaYY

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Your Child's ADHD Circuit: How ADHD Works #ADHD

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https://youtu.be/YeamHE6Kank

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NCMH (National Centre for Mental Health)

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https://youtu.be/xYBUY1kZpf8

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Childhood Trauma and the Brain | UK Trauma Council

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Amazing Things Happen - by Alexander Amelines

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Mental Maths challenges

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Daily 10 - Mental Maths Challenge - Topmarks

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Daily 10 is a primary maths resource for teachers of Years 1 to 6. It asks ten random questions on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, ordering, partitioning, digit values and more. Ideal for use on a IWB and as a starter or plenary activity.

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Quick fire maths questions covering a range of key maths facts

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QR CODE

Scan this on mobiles and tablets to quickly open this web page.

Hit the Button is an interactive maths game with quick fire questions on number bonds, times tables, doubling and halving, multiples, division facts and square numbers. The games, which are against the clock, challenge and develop mental maths skills. An untimed, practise mode is available in our Hit the Button app along with lots more extra features.

The activities can be matched to appropriate mathematical ability. Regular use of Hit the Button can help students to sharpen their recall of vital number facts in a fun way and learning multiplication tables need not be boring.

AGE

6-11 Years

SUBJECTS

Maths Times Tables Division Number Bonds Doubles Halves Square Numbers

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Hit the Button - Quick fire maths practise for 6-11 year olds

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Quick fire questions on number bonds, doubles, halves, times tables, division facts and square numbers against the clock. Superb!

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Motivational maths practice for schools and families.

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You will need individual login details for this. Please speak to your Class Teacher if you are not sure.

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Learning to Read for Kids | Learn to Read with Phonics | Free Trial

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Reading Eggs is the online reading program that helps children learn to read. Hundreds of online reading lessons, phonics games and books for ages 2–13. Start your free trial!

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Fun and practical phonics activities you can do at home

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Fun and practical phonics activities you can do at home

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Nessy apps have no advertisements or in-app purchasing. Have fun learning the alphabet, phonics, sight words, syllable division and more with Nessy!

Nessy also offers a complete suite of online products to help with literacy and dyslexia. Click here for details.

Climb the mountain and play the yeti games. Each game will test memory and learning skills. The Yeti Master will explain signs of dyslexia.

More info

By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. I agree

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Climb the mountain and play the yeti games. Each game will test memory and learning skills. The Yeti Master will explain signs of dyslexia. More info By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. I agree

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Nessy apps have no advertisements or in-app purchasing. Have fun learning the alphabet, phonics, sight words, syllable division and more with Nessy!

Nessy also offers a complete suite of online products to help with literacy and dyslexia. Click here for details.

Climb the mountain and play the yeti games. Each game will test memory and learning skills. The Yeti Master will explain signs of dyslexia.

More info

By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. I agree

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Climb the mountain and play the yeti games. Each game will test memory and learning skills. The Yeti Master will explain signs of dyslexia. More info By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. I agree

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Dyslexia is a learning difference which primarily affects reading and writing skills.

However it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is all about how you process information.

Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning.

And when we're almost all stuck at home studying, that can cause huge challenges if not managed in the right way.

"It must be quite overwhelming"

Mollie King is an ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association. She was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in primary school.

"I was about 9 years old when I got the diagnosis," she says. "Suddenly everything made sense... I now understood why I found my reading so hard compared to my classmates.

"I found homework so hard because I learned through having a conversation and having a teacher talk to me about something."

When you're working at home on your own and not having conversations with friends and teachers that can make learning really tough. And if you have dyslexia, with virtual deadlines, it can be even tougher.

"It must be so overwhelming at points... If someone said to me you've got to read this quicker now all that's going to do is make me read more words in the wrong order... I'm best when I'm most relaxed and have time to process things."

And that's the key to getting a grasp of your dyslexia. Time to process.

Top tips for managing your dyslexia:

Setting the scene - make sure you're in a quiet place and minimise your distractions.

Take a brain break - take time out to help process information into bite size chunks... BUT don't watch TV!

Keep a learning journal - like a scrapbook it will help you keep track of what you've learnt.

Mollie and Donna from the British Dyslexia Association have shared their insights into how best you can handle your dyslexia in lockdown and help you form strategies that will have a positive effect on your learning, whether you are remote-learning or in the classroom.

Dyslexia can be your superpower

Mollie, who's a member of the girl group 'The Saturdays', and now a Radio 1 presenter, says her dyslexia has never held her back - and she's not met anyone who's dyslexic that hasn't had the "fire in their belly" to work hard.

Dyslexia is definitely not something to hold you back, and in some ways can actually be a superpower

She says being dyslexic has only meant she, like many others, have just had to work that bit harder.

Whilst recognising that learning in lockdown must be incredibly challenging if you have a learning difference like dyslexia, identifying and understanding how to manage it can actually make you better equipped to deal with difficult circumstances, like home learning.

And with that determination to succeed it can be your superpower.
How have you been handling your dyslexia in lockdown? Do you have any tips for what's worked for you? Let us know.

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Mollie King on dyslexia: In some ways it's your superpower - CBBC Newsround

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Dyslexia is a learning difference which primarily affects reading and writing skills. However it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is all about how you process information. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning.

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About one in every 10 children has dyslexia.

There's probably somebody in your class with it - but do you know what it is? My Dyslexic Mind explores what dyslexia is and some of the ways it affects children.

The show's presented by 12-year-old Ben, who really struggled at school until he found out he had dyslexia.

It's a learning disability, which means reading and writing are harder than for other kids. It also affects his memory.

As part of the show Ben meets Dominic - one half of Dick and Dom. He only found out he had Dyslexia when he was 15. He says it's been good for him, because it's pushed him forward to being a great TV presenter!

For more information, check out our guide to dyslexia and have a go at 'Try Being Me', an interactive experience, which aims to put you in the shoes of the children featured in the latest Newsround special.

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Watch 'My Dyslexic Mind - A Newsround Special' - CBBC Newsround

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About one in every 10 children has dyslexia. There's probably somebody in your class with it - but do you know what it is? My Dyslexic Mind explores what dyslexia is and some of the ways it affects children. The show's presented by 12-year-old Ben, who really struggled at school until he found out he had dyslexia.

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Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that lots of people have. It affects about one in ten people in the UK, including adults as well as children.

If somebody has dyslexia, they may have difficulties with their reading, writing or spelling.

It doesn't affect intelligence and it is not a disease or an illness - it is a condition that someone is born with.

The British Dyslexia Association hold an annual event called Dyslexia Week to raise awareness of the condition.

In 2020, the week will run from 5-11 October.

Read on to find out more about dyslexia and also check out our Newsround Special on it here.

Getty Images

What is it like having dyslexia?

Some people learn special techniques to help them to live with dyslexia on their own, whilst others may need special support to help them to do this.

Figures suggest that even though the condition is quite common, there are a lot of people who are living with it without knowing that they've got it. This means that they are 'undiagnosed'.

As with many learning difficulties and conditions, not everybody with dyslexia has the same experience.

Some people might struggle with their reading and writing, while another person with dyslexia might find maths more tricky.

One experience that is quite common is finding it difficult to remember things.

This can affect tasks like going to the shop or remembering what to pack for a particular trip.

People with dyslexia often have good skills in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem solving.

Another way that people with dyslexia might experience the condition is finding that words move about on the page when they try to read.

This can make school work difficult to complete without special help and support.

Radio 1 DJ Mollie King, who has dyslexia, explained: "The prospect of reading out loud in class filled me with dread. It got to the stage where I was so panicked that I'd make up an excuse to leave the room when it was my turn. That's when my teacher suggested I get tested for dyslexia."

When I was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 10, it came as a huge relief. I'd been feeling like I was stupid and somehow worse than my classmates, and I didn't understand why. But with the diagnosis, everything clicked into place. I knew I wasn't worse than everyone else - I was just different.

How do you manage dyslexia?

There are lots of different ways that children with dyslexia manage their condition. It also depends on their experience of it and how it affects them.

Some children who struggle to remember things may use a voice recorder to set reminders.

Children who have trouble reading might use a coloured overlay over the top of their text to help them to read.

"Reading through a coloured sheet really helps - the colour that works for me is yellow," explains Mollie. "If I put it over, it means I can read from left to right and it stops the words popping out on the page."

Others may benefit from special learning techniques or personal tutoring.

Dyslexia is caused by differences in the language areas of the brain and the connections between them.

It often runs in families and it can affect people of any age from any country.

Dyslexia can't be cured and people who are born with dyslexia have it all their lives - but it can usually be managed if a person is given the right support.

People with dyslexia can go on to be as successful as somebody without the condition - like successful businessman Sir Richard Branson.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Mollie King has some great advice for anybody who is living with dyslexia.

"You're not alone - it's something to be proud of we shouldn't be embarrassed or ashamed and really focus in on those things you are good at," she said.

"For me it knocked my confidence because I couldn't keep up with the pace they read at [in school]. Focus on those things that you're good at - maybe you're sporty or maybe you're very creative."

Dyslexia isn't something that defeats you. The key is being diagnosed as early as possible. It breaks my heart that there could be people out there struggling through life unnecessarily because they've not been diagnosed, and are still feeling stupid the way I did. The better we all understand dyslexia, the more we can help people who have it to reach their full potential.

Getty Images/BBC

If you watched CBBC's music talent show 'Got What it Takes?' then you may remember Georgie.

Georgie has dyslexia and finds it hard reading things like song lyrics.

"It's something that I've found difficult and people don't always understand what it means to have dyslexia" Georgie said.

Georgie says she didn't wanted 'to make a big deal' out of having dyslexia and says it's just something she has.

But she still finds it hard and and hopes that other kids know that it's ok to struggle sometimes.

"I've had so many supportive messages, it's been amazing and that's why I wanted to talk about having dyslexia, I want other people know it's a completely normal thing."

Georgie isn't alone, she even had a special message from musician Freya Ridings who also has dyslexia.

"It was so amazing to get the message from Freya, she has achieved all the things she's achieved.

"That makes you feel as if nothing can stop you from doing the things you want to do."

And, Georgie said Freya is right: "Dyslexia is a superpower!"

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Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that lots of people have. It affects about one in ten people in the UK, including adults as well as children. If somebody has dyslexia, they may have difficulties with their reading, writing or spelling.

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Newsround has made a special programme about autism.

It's a condition that affects the way you live your life and see the world around you.

Our presenter Rosie was born with it. She says even though living with autism is difficult, it makes her unique and who she is.

As well as telling her own story, you'll find out how Ben, Tony and Lenny are affected by the condition.

Lots of children with autism get bullied at school and find it hard to get jobs when they grow up.

In our special film Rosie wants to tell the world what autism is and help people understand what it's like to live with it.

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My Autism and Me - a Newsround Special - CBBC Newsround

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Newsround has made a special programme about autism. It's a condition that affects the way you live your life and see the world around you. Our presenter Rosie was born with it. She says even though living with autism is difficult, it makes her unique and who she is.

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A number of games to help strengthen your memory in different ways

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MentalUP used trustfully by schools and thousands of families, helps memory matching improvement and learning ability of children and contributes to their success at school.

There are over 150+ online exercises for free! Let's test, train and improve your mind:

MentalUP is a participant of the University College London Institute of Education EDUCATE Program.

Trusted by World Leading Communities

We recommend the MentalUP which is developed by academicians and pedagogues and is filled with educational brain teasers.

MentalUP Educational Games will enable your child to use technology in a beneficial way.

MentalUP is an online innovative games resources for teachers and parents.

MentalUP does brain training well. Its games are easy to understand while challenging the skills which they are designed to stretch.

MentalUP is a UK-based award-winning scientific-educational application containing cognitive learning games for K-8 learners.

MentalUP developed by game designers and academics incorporating innovative teaching methods to offer dozens of mind games.

CONTENTS OF THE MEMORY IMPROVEMENT GAMES

ONLINE VISUAL MEMORY AND AUDITORY MEMORY GAMES.

FREE & FUN EXERCISES IMPROVING SHORT-TERM AND LONG TERM MEMORY.

EFFICIENT MEMORY IMPROVING TECHNIQUES.

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HELP TO REMEMBER MORE

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Try MentalUP Memory Training Games and Improve Your Skills!

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Memory Games for Kids Online & Free | MentalUP

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You can boost your skills with MentalUP's memory games for kids online, memory card games, memory match games, memory board games, working memory games.

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Supporting children, adults & their families affected by Cerebral Palsy. This website is a useful net based resource only, providing information, support & advice for those affected with and by cerebral palsy in the uk.

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Supporting children, adults & their families affected by Cerebral Palsy. This website is a useful net based resource only, providing information, support & advice for those affected with and by cerebral palsy in the uk.

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HappyMaps - Find the best support, advice and information on young people's mental health, all in one place. For Parents, Professionals and Young People.

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Read reviews

"I think this is a fabulous resource-very clearly laid out with the full range of supports available, from parenting tips through to professional help" (Parent)

"This is great to recommend to parents when they are worried about their children. It's the best website for mental health issues that I've found" (Teacher)

"Excellent. I work for CAMHS Bristol and regularly recommend this website" (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)

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Home - HappyMaps: Help and Resources for Children's Mental Health

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An award-winning website on children's mental health collating sensible and professional advice on common problems. With new self-help pages for young people.

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Life can be tough for children with modern day pressures. It can result in anger, worry, anxiety and emotional overwhelm. If your child is experiencing stress at school or home, such as friendship issues, exams or sibling rivalry Chatterminds can help.

Chatterminds helps to...

Equip children and adults with the skills and benefits of mindfulness

Enable young people to name and recognise different emotions and how they feel in the body

Empower young people to regulate their emotions and foster an ethos of kindness and gratitude

Support young people with their friendships, giving them the confidence to stand up for themselves whilst still being kind

Build resilience and self-esteem

Equip young people with skills to nurture their mental health, with an emphasis on positive self-care

Why not join the Chatterminds Facebook group?

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Life can be tough for children with modern day pressures. It can result in anger, worry, anxiety and emotional overwhelm. If your child is experiencing stress at school or home, such as friendship issues, exams or sibling rivalry Chatterminds can help.

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Resources for Emotional Literacy Support Assistants - ELSA Support

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Emotional literacy support assistants - or ELSAs - are teaching assistants trained to provide emotional and social skills support to children.

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We're an ed-tech company at heart, but we're also aware that too much screen time can have a negative effect on children's well-being. To get the kids off the screens, but still having some serious fun we've compiled a series of free, downloadable non-screen activity sheets for kids so you can print and share. There are six sheets in total and they cover everything from cooking and crafting to music and movement!

Download your copies below:

Download your copy of this sheet here

Download your copy of this sheet here

Want to know more about Pobble?

Pobble provides exciting daily writing resources to inspire your young writers. You'll find incredible images with ready-made writing activities that engage and motivate your class, 365 days a year.

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Non-screen activities for kids! 6 printable sheets

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We're an ed-tech company at heart, but we're also aware that too much screen time can have a negative effect on children's well-being. To get the kids off the screens, but still having some serious fun we've compiled a series of free, downloadable non-screen activity sheets for kids so you can print and share.

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BBC - 5 ways to support children's mental health

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BBC - 5 ways to support children's mental health

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An easy way to understand wellbeing is to say it's 'feeling good and doing good'.

Here are five ways you can help children keep their wellbeing topped up - and your own, too.

For many, it's going to be harder to get outside and move around, but we still need to keep active. When we move our bodies, it has a positive effect on how our brain works, as the brain starts releasing chemicals that make us feel good.

* Host a home disco. Play the family's favourite dance songs and have a boogie for ten minutes.

* Watch BBC Super Movers videos. These short films can get the whole family moving (and learning). Learning routines (or just attempting them) means your child's brain and body (and yours!) are keeping active and engaged.

* Blow up a balloon. Once you've tied it, see how long you can keep it up in the air while passing it between you.

Having more time at home together may also put additional stress on family relationships so give everyone in the family a chance to refuel. It can be as simple as curling up on the sofa together and watching a film or some cartoons - and then chatting about your favourite bits.

Having these sorts of conversations can help to make the positive buzz of watching (and laughing) together last for longer. It'll also improve your child's ability to reflect on their experiences and talk about their preferences.

Stories are another great way to help children recharge as they lose themselves in wonderful fictional worlds. There are likely to be some old favourites they want you to read again, as they'll take comfort from hearing a familiar tale (for children, knowing how it ends is a good thing, not a spoiler alert!).

It's helpful for children (and adults) to have a healthy balance of emotions in a day. Fears and anxieties about the current situation may, at times, overpower our positive emotions unless we make a conscious effort to re-address this balance.

Here are a couple of ways you can help your child to achieve this balance:

* Make a 'Top Times' scrapbook. Help your child to create a scrapbook of memories, with printed out photos, drawn pictures, saved tickets and other bits and pieces stuck in to help them remember. These don't have to mark occasions; they can capture smaller moments of joy, like throwing a ball for a dog or seeing a rainbow.

Once you've built a collection of pages (and maybe several scrapbooks), you can enjoy looking through them together.

* Create a gratitude jar. Another way to take in the good stuff is to write down a little note when something's gone well and keep it in a jar or box. Younger children may prefer telling you what to write so you can record the experiences for them. As they get older, they may want to write their own notes.

You can encourage them by doing this alongside them. The great thing about a gratitude jar is you can revisit it on days when you need a little boost to remind everyone of the things you've been grateful for.

Building gratitude habits doesn't mean we diminish the struggles that children (and we) experience. It's really important to talk about these difficult moments too. But, having a time in the day when you focus on the positive can be useful in helping children to keep their thoughts balanced.

Having more time at home offers an opportunity to set some goals about new things you and your child want to learn. It could be something that helps encourage their independence when they return to school, like tying their own shoelaces or buttoning up their coat. Or it could be something that helps at home, such as how to put their clothes away or helping out with washing up. When children feel they're contributing to family 'work', it can enhance their sense of belonging. If your child is capable of doing things for themselves, give them as many opportunities as you can to practise these skills.

Whatever the learning goals, it can be helpful if children understand they can improve their skills and abilities. This is often referred to as a 'growth mindset' since it's about realising we all have the ability to change the way we think and do things. So, whether it's tying shoelaces, learning to spell, or even how to hop on one leg, the way adults talk to children about the learning will influence those children's beliefs.

Here are two ways to encourage your child to adopt a growth mindset:

* Add the word 'yet'. Changing the way you talk about intelligence and ability can help your child understand that learning is a process - our skills and traits aren't fixed from birth. When your child claims "I can't do this" (whether they're talking about a new hobby, homework, or anything else), say: "You can't do it yet".

Adding and emphasising this tiny word subtly reinforces the learning process and may help them to try again.

* Practise (and fail) with your child. Trying new things can be scary, but it's often less daunting when you do it with others. As a family, you might decide to try something new and celebrate your learning and your failures when it doesn't work (the first, second, or even the ninety-ninth time!).

Being able to support your child's wellbeing also involves taking care of yourself. As a starting point, try and eat nutritious healthy food; it's a great idea to turn cooking into an activity the whole family takes part in. Life can often feel very busy and parents give themselves a hard time about being unable to do everything perfectly. Remember, though, there are no 'perfect parents'.

We all get things wrong, we all have days when we struggle. And while it may be true that you might not have done everything 'perfectly', you've probably done more things to support your child's wellbeing than you realise. So, try and focus on what you're doing well - it's not you being boastful, it's actually really helpful for your child to do this. Children can learn a lot from hearing adults respond kindly to themselves when things don't work out - and then from seeing the grown-ups try again. Notice how you speak to yourself about your mistakes. If you can cultivate kindness towards yourself, your child is more likely to practise this when they get things wrong too.

It might also be useful to take a moment and think about the activities, people and places that help you to feel brighter and refuelled. Even if you can't do these things at the moment, perhaps there are new ways that you can connect with the things that matter to you, like chatting with friends on the phone instead of meeting up. No matter how busy you are, try and squeeze in a little time for yourself. It's likely to help you with the many joys and challenges that parenting can bring.

Dr Hazel Harrison is a Clinical Psychologist with a particular focus on mental health and wellbeing.

For further information check out the rest of Starting Primary School which has lots of ways to help prepare children for different aspects of school life - both practically and emotionally.

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Five ways to support children's mental health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Clinical psychologist, Hazel Harrison, suggests five ways you can support your child's mental health.

# data[].attributes.headline
BBC - 5 ways to support children's mental health

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BBC - 5 ways to support children's mental health

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An easy way to understand wellbeing is to say it's 'feeling good and doing good'.

Here are five ways you can help children keep their wellbeing topped up - and your own, too.

For many, it's going to be harder to get outside and move around, but we still need to keep active. When we move our bodies, it has a positive effect on how our brain works, as the brain starts releasing chemicals that make us feel good.

* Host a home disco. Play the family's favourite dance songs and have a boogie for ten minutes.

* Watch BBC Super Movers videos. These short films can get the whole family moving (and learning). Learning routines (or just attempting them) means your child's brain and body (and yours!) are keeping active and engaged.

* Blow up a balloon. Once you've tied it, see how long you can keep it up in the air while passing it between you.

Having more time at home together may also put additional stress on family relationships so give everyone in the family a chance to refuel. It can be as simple as curling up on the sofa together and watching a film or some cartoons - and then chatting about your favourite bits.

Having these sorts of conversations can help to make the positive buzz of watching (and laughing) together last for longer. It'll also improve your child's ability to reflect on their experiences and talk about their preferences.

Stories are another great way to help children recharge as they lose themselves in wonderful fictional worlds. There are likely to be some old favourites they want you to read again, as they'll take comfort from hearing a familiar tale (for children, knowing how it ends is a good thing, not a spoiler alert!).

It's helpful for children (and adults) to have a healthy balance of emotions in a day. Fears and anxieties about the current situation may, at times, overpower our positive emotions unless we make a conscious effort to re-address this balance.

Here are a couple of ways you can help your child to achieve this balance:

* Make a 'Top Times' scrapbook. Help your child to create a scrapbook of memories, with printed out photos, drawn pictures, saved tickets and other bits and pieces stuck in to help them remember. These don't have to mark occasions; they can capture smaller moments of joy, like throwing a ball for a dog or seeing a rainbow.

Once you've built a collection of pages (and maybe several scrapbooks), you can enjoy looking through them together.

* Create a gratitude jar. Another way to take in the good stuff is to write down a little note when something's gone well and keep it in a jar or box. Younger children may prefer telling you what to write so you can record the experiences for them. As they get older, they may want to write their own notes.

You can encourage them by doing this alongside them. The great thing about a gratitude jar is you can revisit it on days when you need a little boost to remind everyone of the things you've been grateful for.

Building gratitude habits doesn't mean we diminish the struggles that children (and we) experience. It's really important to talk about these difficult moments too. But, having a time in the day when you focus on the positive can be useful in helping children to keep their thoughts balanced.

Having more time at home offers an opportunity to set some goals about new things you and your child want to learn. It could be something that helps encourage their independence when they return to school, like tying their own shoelaces or buttoning up their coat. Or it could be something that helps at home, such as how to put their clothes away or helping out with washing up. When children feel they're contributing to family 'work', it can enhance their sense of belonging. If your child is capable of doing things for themselves, give them as many opportunities as you can to practise these skills.

Whatever the learning goals, it can be helpful if children understand they can improve their skills and abilities. This is often referred to as a 'growth mindset' since it's about realising we all have the ability to change the way we think and do things. So, whether it's tying shoelaces, learning to spell, or even how to hop on one leg, the way adults talk to children about the learning will influence those children's beliefs.

Here are two ways to encourage your child to adopt a growth mindset:

* Add the word 'yet'. Changing the way you talk about intelligence and ability can help your child understand that learning is a process - our skills and traits aren't fixed from birth. When your child claims "I can't do this" (whether they're talking about a new hobby, homework, or anything else), say: "You can't do it yet".

Adding and emphasising this tiny word subtly reinforces the learning process and may help them to try again.

* Practise (and fail) with your child. Trying new things can be scary, but it's often less daunting when you do it with others. As a family, you might decide to try something new and celebrate your learning and your failures when it doesn't work (the first, second, or even the ninety-ninth time!).

Being able to support your child's wellbeing also involves taking care of yourself. As a starting point, try and eat nutritious healthy food; it's a great idea to turn cooking into an activity the whole family takes part in. Life can often feel very busy and parents give themselves a hard time about being unable to do everything perfectly. Remember, though, there are no 'perfect parents'.

We all get things wrong, we all have days when we struggle. And while it may be true that you might not have done everything 'perfectly', you've probably done more things to support your child's wellbeing than you realise. So, try and focus on what you're doing well - it's not you being boastful, it's actually really helpful for your child to do this. Children can learn a lot from hearing adults respond kindly to themselves when things don't work out - and then from seeing the grown-ups try again. Notice how you speak to yourself about your mistakes. If you can cultivate kindness towards yourself, your child is more likely to practise this when they get things wrong too.

It might also be useful to take a moment and think about the activities, people and places that help you to feel brighter and refuelled. Even if you can't do these things at the moment, perhaps there are new ways that you can connect with the things that matter to you, like chatting with friends on the phone instead of meeting up. No matter how busy you are, try and squeeze in a little time for yourself. It's likely to help you with the many joys and challenges that parenting can bring.

Dr Hazel Harrison is a Clinical Psychologist with a particular focus on mental health and wellbeing.

For further information check out the rest of Starting Primary School which has lots of ways to help prepare children for different aspects of school life - both practically and emotionally.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Five ways to support children's mental health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Clinical psychologist, Hazel Harrison, suggests five ways you can support your child's mental health.

# data[].attributes.headline
BBC - 5 ways to support children's mental health

# data[].attributes.subject
BBC - 5 ways to support children's mental health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An easy way to understand wellbeing is to say it's 'feeling good and doing good'.

Here are five ways you can help children keep their wellbeing topped up - and your own, too.

For many, it's going to be harder to get outside and move around, but we still need to keep active. When we move our bodies, it has a positive effect on how our brain works, as the brain starts releasing chemicals that make us feel good.

* Host a home disco. Play the family's favourite dance songs and have a boogie for ten minutes.

* Watch BBC Super Movers videos. These short films can get the whole family moving (and learning). Learning routines (or just attempting them) means your child's brain and body (and yours!) are keeping active and engaged.

* Blow up a balloon. Once you've tied it, see how long you can keep it up in the air while passing it between you.

Having more time at home together may also put additional stress on family relationships so give everyone in the family a chance to refuel. It can be as simple as curling up on the sofa together and watching a film or some cartoons - and then chatting about your favourite bits.

Having these sorts of conversations can help to make the positive buzz of watching (and laughing) together last for longer. It'll also improve your child's ability to reflect on their experiences and talk about their preferences.

Stories are another great way to help children recharge as they lose themselves in wonderful fictional worlds. There are likely to be some old favourites they want you to read again, as they'll take comfort from hearing a familiar tale (for children, knowing how it ends is a good thing, not a spoiler alert!).

It's helpful for children (and adults) to have a healthy balance of emotions in a day. Fears and anxieties about the current situation may, at times, overpower our positive emotions unless we make a conscious effort to re-address this balance.

Here are a couple of ways you can help your child to achieve this balance:

* Make a 'Top Times' scrapbook. Help your child to create a scrapbook of memories, with printed out photos, drawn pictures, saved tickets and other bits and pieces stuck in to help them remember. These don't have to mark occasions; they can capture smaller moments of joy, like throwing a ball for a dog or seeing a rainbow.

Once you've built a collection of pages (and maybe several scrapbooks), you can enjoy looking through them together.

* Create a gratitude jar. Another way to take in the good stuff is to write down a little note when something's gone well and keep it in a jar or box. Younger children may prefer telling you what to write so you can record the experiences for them. As they get older, they may want to write their own notes.

You can encourage them by doing this alongside them. The great thing about a gratitude jar is you can revisit it on days when you need a little boost to remind everyone of the things you've been grateful for.

Building gratitude habits doesn't mean we diminish the struggles that children (and we) experience. It's really important to talk about these difficult moments too. But, having a time in the day when you focus on the positive can be useful in helping children to keep their thoughts balanced.

Having more time at home offers an opportunity to set some goals about new things you and your child want to learn. It could be something that helps encourage their independence when they return to school, like tying their own shoelaces or buttoning up their coat. Or it could be something that helps at home, such as how to put their clothes away or helping out with washing up. When children feel they're contributing to family 'work', it can enhance their sense of belonging. If your child is capable of doing things for themselves, give them as many opportunities as you can to practise these skills.

Whatever the learning goals, it can be helpful if children understand they can improve their skills and abilities. This is often referred to as a 'growth mindset' since it's about realising we all have the ability to change the way we think and do things. So, whether it's tying shoelaces, learning to spell, or even how to hop on one leg, the way adults talk to children about the learning will influence those children's beliefs.

Here are two ways to encourage your child to adopt a growth mindset:

* Add the word 'yet'. Changing the way you talk about intelligence and ability can help your child understand that learning is a process - our skills and traits aren't fixed from birth. When your child claims "I can't do this" (whether they're talking about a new hobby, homework, or anything else), say: "You can't do it yet".

Adding and emphasising this tiny word subtly reinforces the learning process and may help them to try again.

* Practise (and fail) with your child. Trying new things can be scary, but it's often less daunting when you do it with others. As a family, you might decide to try something new and celebrate your learning and your failures when it doesn't work (the first, second, or even the ninety-ninth time!).

Being able to support your child's wellbeing also involves taking care of yourself. As a starting point, try and eat nutritious healthy food; it's a great idea to turn cooking into an activity the whole family takes part in. Life can often feel very busy and parents give themselves a hard time about being unable to do everything perfectly. Remember, though, there are no 'perfect parents'.

We all get things wrong, we all have days when we struggle. And while it may be true that you might not have done everything 'perfectly', you've probably done more things to support your child's wellbeing than you realise. So, try and focus on what you're doing well - it's not you being boastful, it's actually really helpful for your child to do this. Children can learn a lot from hearing adults respond kindly to themselves when things don't work out - and then from seeing the grown-ups try again. Notice how you speak to yourself about your mistakes. If you can cultivate kindness towards yourself, your child is more likely to practise this when they get things wrong too.

It might also be useful to take a moment and think about the activities, people and places that help you to feel brighter and refuelled. Even if you can't do these things at the moment, perhaps there are new ways that you can connect with the things that matter to you, like chatting with friends on the phone instead of meeting up. No matter how busy you are, try and squeeze in a little time for yourself. It's likely to help you with the many joys and challenges that parenting can bring.

Dr Hazel Harrison is a Clinical Psychologist with a particular focus on mental health and wellbeing.

For further information check out the rest of Starting Primary School which has lots of ways to help prepare children for different aspects of school life - both practically and emotionally.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Five ways to support children's mental health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Clinical psychologist, Hazel Harrison, suggests five ways you can support your child's mental health.

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Mental Health film made by children (Anna Freud)

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Mental Health film made by children (Anna Freud)

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Insightful tips and strategies for working with ADHD children remotely - ADHD Foundation

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Insightful tips and strategies for working with ADHD children remotely - ADHD Foundation

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Childhood Trauma and the Brain | UK Trauma Council

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Talking to your child is the most important thing you can do to support them and get them ready for nursery, school and life. Learning a language should be easy, fun and interactive and it should come naturally. It's also very complex and sadly many, many children find it hard.

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Talking to your child is the most important thing you can do to support them and get them ready for nursery, school and life. Learning a language should be easy, fun and interactive and it should come naturally. It's also very complex and sadly many, many children find it hard.

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To produce clear speech a child needs to be able to hear the difference between different sounds as well as be able to make individual sounds. This is called discrimination and it is one of the most important skills your child needs to master for learning to read as well as talk.

We have divided this page into two sections. In the first section, you'll find some online games for your child to play. These games are graded listening tasks and early phonics tasks.

In the second section, you will find some activities for you to complete with your child to encourage good sound discrimination to help their reading and talking.

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To produce clear speech a child needs to be able to hear the difference between different sounds as well as be able to make individual sounds. This is called discrimination and it is one of the most important skills your child needs to master for learning to read as well as talk.

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Language Activities

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The best way to encourage your child's speech and language development is to do lots of talking and listening together. There is no need to have special tasks or extra time in the day to do this, it is always good to talk. This is why everyday activities like mealtimes, having a bath and even household chores, such as organising the washing, are perfect for developing your child's speech and language skills. By using everyday activities, you can talk about events and situations that are very familiar to your child and it enables them to practice the language skills that they have already learned and to build on these skills.

Almost any daily event can be used, there are some ideas below to get you started.

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We have put together lots of games and activities for you to use with your child at home to encourage their understanding and talking. Use our everyday activities to see how to transform daily routines into language opportunities for your child.

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A powerful animation on the importance of Inclusion

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This is an AMAZING website for teachers, parents and therapists! It includes paid and free resources/activities for: executive functioning, fine motor skills, handwriting, sensory barriers vision and functioning skills

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Easy, actionable, and functional Occupational Therapy activities and interventions. OT resources and information to help kids thrive.

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Executive Functioning Skills Archives - The OT Toolbox

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Occupational Therapy activities and interventions for pediatric OTs. Therapy resources and information for parents and teachers.

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Break-down/description of games here

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What its like for ASD - a VR experience

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Approaches and strategies for adults (teachers and parents)

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ColorVeil: Reduce eye strain, help with Dyslexia and Visual Stress

A screen color filter over any application you are using

Helps users with Dyslexia and Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome

Reduce eye strain along with screen brightness

Easily customize the color and opacity of the filter

Match the prescription from the optometrist

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Dim screen brightness, reduce eye strain, and save energy. It helps with eye strain, Dyslexia, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, or Visual Stress.

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A guide to challenging behaviours and how to unpack and process them with your child/student

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An editable document for choices and consequences based on positive and negative behaviour

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Getting your little ones to sleep can be tricky. Here are 10 tips that may help your kids settle into bed.

Sleep is an important part of maintaining good health, but issues with falling asleep aren't just problems that come with adulthood. Kids can have trouble getting enough rest, and when they can't sleep... you can't sleep.

Bedtime can become a battle zone when little ones won't settle in and fall asleep. But there are ways to even the odds of victory. Try using these 10 tips to learn how to fight the battle... and win!

School-age children need between 9 and 11 hours of sleep each night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. But there's a lot of variability in sleep needs and patterns. Most kids have patterns that don't change much, no matter what you do.

Early risers will still rise early even if you put them to bed later, and night owls won't fall asleep until their bodies are ready.

That's why it's important for parents to work with their children in setting a responsible bedtime that allows them to get plenty of sleep and awake on time, says Ashanti Woods, MD, a pediatrician in Baltimore, Maryland.

Set a wake-up time based on how much sleep your child needs and what time they go to bed. Woods recommends creating a wake-up routine as early as the preschool years to help prevent stress for parents down the road.

And remember to be consistent with the schedule. Allowing your child to sleep later on weekends is generous, but could backfire in the long run.

Those extra hours of sleep will make it hard for their body to feel tired at bedtime. But if you can try to make bedtime and wake-up time the same, within an hour or so every day, you'll be making everyone's lives sooooo much easier.

Routines are especially important for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Woods recommends that after dinner the remainder of the evening should include light playtime, bath, brushing teeth, a bedtime story, and then bed.

Aim for a routine that is comforting and relaxing, setting the ideal bedtime atmosphere. Before long, your child's body may automatically start to become sleepy at the beginning of the routine.

Melatonin is an important piece of sleep-wake cycles. When melatonin levels are at their highest, most people are sleepy and ready for bed.

Research from 2011 found that blue light from a television screen, phone, or computer monitor can interfere with the production of the hormone melatonin.

Watching TV, playing video games, or scrolling web pages on a phone or computer right before bed keep your child up an extra 30 to 60 minutes, according to this 2017 study.

Make the bedroom a screen-free zone or at least make sure all screens are dark at bedtime. And keep your phone on silent when you're in your child's room - or don't carry it in there at all.

Instead of screen time, Abhinav Singh, MD, director of the Indiana Sleep Center, recommends reading to your child in the evening to allow their brain to rest.

Another hormone that plays a role in sleep is cortisol, also known as the "stress hormone." When cortisol levels are high, your child's body won't be able to shut down and go to sleep.

Keep pre-bedtime activities calm. This can help avoid excess amounts of cortisol in your child's system. "You need to reduce stress to make it easier to fall asleep," says Dr. Sarah Mitchell, chiropractor and sleep consultant.

Soft sheets, room darkening shades, and relative quiet can help your child differentiate between day and night, making it easier to fall asleep.

"Creating a sleep-inducing environment is important because it sets the stage for sleep by reducing distractions," says Mitchell. "When you're calm you are not distracted, and can fall asleep more quickly and with less help."

Your child's sleep cycle isn't just dependent on light (or the lack thereof). It's also sensitive to temperature. Melatonin levels help to regulate the drop of internal body temperature needed to sleep.

However, you can help regulate the external temperature. Don't bundle your child up too much or set the heat too high.

Whitney Roban, PhD, clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, recommends dressing your child in breathable cotton pajamas and keeping the bedroom temperature around 65 to 70°F (18.3 to 21.1°C) at night.

Ghosts and other scary creatures may not actually roam around at night, but instead of dismissing bedtime fears, address them with your child.

If simple reassurance doesn't work, try using a special toy to stand guard at night or spray the room with "monster spray" before bed.

Roban recommends scheduling time during the day to address any fears and avoiding using bedtime for these type of conversations.

"Children are very smart and will quickly learn that they can stall bedtime if they use the time to express their bedtime fears," she says.

Kids can have trouble shutting their brains off for the night. So, instead of increasing that anxiety by insisting that it's time to go to bed ("now!"), consider focusing more on relaxation and keeping your child calm.

Tryteaching your child a deep breathing technique to calm their body. "Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds," says Roban.

Younger children can just practice taking long, deep breaths in and out, she says.

Sometimes, your best-laid plans just don't yield the results that you want. (Hello, welcome to parenthood!)

If your child has trouble falling asleep, has persistent nightmares, snores, or breathes through their mouth, they might have a sleep disorder, says Mitchell.

Always talk to your pediatrician if you have any concerns about your child's sleeping habits. They may recommend a sleep consultant or have other suggestions for you to try so the entire family can get a good night's sleep!

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Bedtime can become a battle when little bodies don't abide by the clock. Here are 10 tips to learn how to win the fight.

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Social, Emotional and Mental Health support & resources

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Attention Magazine August 2020
Help Children with ADHD Learn to Regulate Their Emotions

If you have a child with ADHD, you are probably intimately aware of the fact that people with this diagnosis often have trouble managing their feelings. This difficulty is referred to as emotional dysregulation. For clarification, emotions are physical states whereas feelings are the conscious labels we put on those sensations. For many people the emotion that is most difficult to deal with is anger. It can be very hard to deal with your child's rage, especially if it is directed at you. Anxiety is another feeling that is common among children with ADHD.

Managing feelings requires executive functions. Some experts view ADHD as a disorder of executive functions. Executive functions are so named because they direct and control the brain, just as a CEO performs in a company. The executive functions depend on the frontal lobes of the brain. For successful executive functioning, we also need to have good communication and support from within the brain. A good CEO must have the ability to stop and think, to transition, to plan and organize, and to monitor their own behavior.

Emotional regulation involves the same set of processes. They are:

You must stop and think (inhibit your behavior) and engage in self-monitoring.

Next you must notice physical sensations and label them with a feeling name.

Then you must rely on your working memory to retrieve strategies you have learned or things that have worked to handle these feelings in the past, hold those strategies in your mind while you consider the current situation, think about your goal, and then choose a strategy that is likely to lead to your desired outcome.

Then it is necessary to select a plan of action, organize your thoughts, determine the right time to act, and then initiate the action.

Underlying all of these mental activities, you must sustain your attention during this entire process.

The skills needed to regulate emotions involve the same skills that are often areas of difficulty for kids with ADHD.

Kids often tell me they don't always do this because their feelings go from zero to sixty like a racecar. I explain that sometimes emotions are initiated in the primitive area of the brain deep inside (the limbic system) and sometimes they are initiated by our thoughts, our thinking brain in the outer cortex. Some people refer to these as downstairs brain and upstairs brain. Downstairs brain initiates the urge to fight, run for your life, or freeze. Upstairs brain produces thoughts that can cause the downstairs brain to fire up or cool down. A thought that could cause a top down response might be "Oh no! This is a disaster!" A calming thought might be "It's just a problem to be solved."

In both situations the first step is to cool down the brain. When the emotional system is firing, the brain is clouded and can't think. This means that there is no point in trying to have a discussion or reason with your child while she is in the middle of a meltdown. Lectures won't help. In addition, meltdowns tend to be catching; when one person has one it can spread to other family members, which only makes things worse.

"Downstairs brain" initiates the urge to fight, run for your life, or freeze.
"Upstairs brain" produces thoughts that can cause the downstairs brain to fire up or cool down.

Here are some concrete ideas to teach your child to help him cool down:

1. The very first thing is to take a deep breath. Research has shown that taking a deep breath calms the part of the brain most involved in processing emotions (the amygdala). One idea is to imagine that when you inhale you are filling up a balloon in your belly and count to five. Then exhale to the count of five and imagine that you are sending out all the air until your belly button hits your back. This is called belly breathing. You can do this several times and focus on your breath or your counting while you breathe.

2. Meditation and yoga are very self-soothing activities for many people. Many kids have learned mindfulness meditation at school, which can be very helpful for regulating feelings. If not, there are apps and programs online to teach meditation. One example is Headspace, available at headspace.com/meditation/kids

3. I highly recommend learning and practicing relaxation exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation. A lot of sports coaches are teaching their kids how to do this. Other ideas for relaxation exercises are thinking of places you have been in the past where you were relaxed or imagining relaxing scenes. There are apps available to help with relaxation as well, such as Calm, calm.com.

4. There are other apps now available to help with tracking and regulating emotions. There is an app from the Zones of Regulation curriculum that may be very helpful for educating children about their emotions and about learning to regulate them. The app is available at zonesofregulation.com/exploring-emotions-app.html.

5. I suggest that you and your child locate or create a cooling off space, a place they can go when they need to cool off. Find a place to be alone and have activities already there for your child that you and he will think will be soothing. This is very different than a time out. This is not a punishment or a kind of discipline. It is just a place to go to be calm, associated with calming things. I knew a child once who set up a tent in her room with drawing materials and music to listen to. Her mother would put small snacks in the tent as well.

6. Sometimes kids find it helpful to put out the fire with a bath or a shower.

7. Exercise can be extremely helpful. I encourage kids who are upset to go outside for a run or a walk or a bike ride. I once knew a swim coach who told his kids that they were upset to go swim forty laps. Then if they were still upset to go swim ten more laps, and ten more until they weren't upset anymore.

8. Playing with your cat or dog or taking her for a walk can be helpful in many ways. One child I knew found petting her dog very soothing. Even cuddling a soft stuffed animal can be calming for some kids.

9. Getting out in nature can be very comforting. Go outside and go for a walk and take in some deep breaths.

10. Some kids find drawing or painting to be soothing. Drawing or writing about their thoughts and feelings can be very helpful in the moment and later for problem solving.

11. Many people find that listening to music is calming. Of course, music can be combined with any of the activities above.

12. Talking to someone is a great way to help calm down. As a parent the best thing you can do if your child wants to talk to you is to listen without interrupting. Just listen, calmly and with great interest. No need to paraphrase or offer advice.

Once all is calm, problem-solving can begin

Once your child's brain is calm, it is time to use access her thinking brain and do some advance problem-solving. I encourage you to try some of the activities I listed with your child to see what is most helpful, then make a list and post it. During an upset we are likely to forget what we have learned to, so it is important to have a visual reminder.

During problem-solving time, we can talk about the fact that what we think affects how we feel and how we act. So, if we can change how we think, we can change how we feel. This takes some practice. Understanding a situation from another person's perspective can really help change how you feel, especially if you can also have some empathy for that person.

If your child is able to write down all his thoughts and feelings from his upset, perhaps later when he is calm you can help him see the situation from a different perspective. Are there other ways of thinking about the situation that might change how she feels? Can she see things from another person's point of view? This is very important because changing how she feels may change how she acts and may change the impact of her behavior on other people.

For solving the problem, it is important to learn what triggers upsets or anxiety. Are there steps that your child can take to avoid having a meltdown? I suggest thinking back to the last time they felt calm. Then we talk about the events that led up to an upset such as a meltdown or anxiety attack. I have always found that there was a series of events that led the feelings to escalate.

I draw a ladder. At the bottom rung is #1, and that is where she is calm. At the top of the ladder is a #10, and it is where the feeling is out of control. When did she last remember being calm? What happened next? We write down the events at each step up the ladder. When she gets to 3 it is time to start taking some action like belly breathing to calm her brain and try to prevent the feeling from escalating. By the time she gets to 7, she must take action-like going to her cooling-off place. If she is not at home, she needs to try alternative ways to cool to cool down. She may need help with this. By the time she gets to 8 it is harder and harder to avoid losing control. We think this all out and practice what to do and write it down to take home.

As a parent, you can help your children learn these skills by learning and practicing with them. Children learn by what they see their parents do. So, start by taking one of these ideas and put it into practice right now. Learn meditation with your child. Practice belly breathing at night before bedtime. Try some other relaxation ideas as well. Talk about happy memories. Make a cooling-off place for each family member and practice using it before you need it.

Have a family meeting and discuss what is relaxing for each family member. Write these ideas down and post them. Then next time you can feel your feeling temperature rising you will have a reminder of how to cool it down and stay cool. So will your child.

Judith M. Glasser, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents, and their families. A graduate of Oberlin College and the Catholic University of America, Dr. Glasser completed an externship at the Georgetown University Child Development Center. She has worked in private practice in the Washington, DC, metro area for 36 years. Over the course of her career, Dr. Glasser developed special expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and related issues and diagnoses. Dr. Glasser is the coauthor, with Kathleen Nadeau, PhD, of Learning to Feel Good and Stay Cool: Emotional Regulation Tools for Kids with ADHD (Magination Press, 2014) and Learning to Be Kind and Understand Differences: Empathy Skills for Kids with ADHD (Magination Press, 2015).

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Help Children with ADHD Learn to Regulate Their Emotions If you have a child with ADHD, you are probably intimately aware of the fact that people with this diagnosis often have trouble managing their feelings. This difficulty is referred to as emotional dysregulation. For clarification, emotions are physical states whereas feelings are the conscious...

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Attention Magazine August 2020
Help Children with ADHD Learn to Regulate Their Emotions

If you have a child with ADHD, you are probably intimately aware of the fact that people with this diagnosis often have trouble managing their feelings. This difficulty is referred to as emotional dysregulation. For clarification, emotions are physical states whereas feelings are the conscious labels we put on those sensations. For many people the emotion that is most difficult to deal with is anger. It can be very hard to deal with your child's rage, especially if it is directed at you. Anxiety is another feeling that is common among children with ADHD.

Managing feelings requires executive functions. Some experts view ADHD as a disorder of executive functions. Executive functions are so named because they direct and control the brain, just as a CEO performs in a company. The executive functions depend on the frontal lobes of the brain. For successful executive functioning, we also need to have good communication and support from within the brain. A good CEO must have the ability to stop and think, to transition, to plan and organize, and to monitor their own behavior.

Emotional regulation involves the same set of processes. They are:

You must stop and think (inhibit your behavior) and engage in self-monitoring.

Next you must notice physical sensations and label them with a feeling name.

Then you must rely on your working memory to retrieve strategies you have learned or things that have worked to handle these feelings in the past, hold those strategies in your mind while you consider the current situation, think about your goal, and then choose a strategy that is likely to lead to your desired outcome.

Then it is necessary to select a plan of action, organize your thoughts, determine the right time to act, and then initiate the action.

Underlying all of these mental activities, you must sustain your attention during this entire process.

The skills needed to regulate emotions involve the same skills that are often areas of difficulty for kids with ADHD.

Kids often tell me they don't always do this because their feelings go from zero to sixty like a racecar. I explain that sometimes emotions are initiated in the primitive area of the brain deep inside (the limbic system) and sometimes they are initiated by our thoughts, our thinking brain in the outer cortex. Some people refer to these as downstairs brain and upstairs brain. Downstairs brain initiates the urge to fight, run for your life, or freeze. Upstairs brain produces thoughts that can cause the downstairs brain to fire up or cool down. A thought that could cause a top down response might be "Oh no! This is a disaster!" A calming thought might be "It's just a problem to be solved."

In both situations the first step is to cool down the brain. When the emotional system is firing, the brain is clouded and can't think. This means that there is no point in trying to have a discussion or reason with your child while she is in the middle of a meltdown. Lectures won't help. In addition, meltdowns tend to be catching; when one person has one it can spread to other family members, which only makes things worse.

"Downstairs brain" initiates the urge to fight, run for your life, or freeze.
"Upstairs brain" produces thoughts that can cause the downstairs brain to fire up or cool down.

Here are some concrete ideas to teach your child to help him cool down:

1. The very first thing is to take a deep breath. Research has shown that taking a deep breath calms the part of the brain most involved in processing emotions (the amygdala). One idea is to imagine that when you inhale you are filling up a balloon in your belly and count to five. Then exhale to the count of five and imagine that you are sending out all the air until your belly button hits your back. This is called belly breathing. You can do this several times and focus on your breath or your counting while you breathe.

2. Meditation and yoga are very self-soothing activities for many people. Many kids have learned mindfulness meditation at school, which can be very helpful for regulating feelings. If not, there are apps and programs online to teach meditation. One example is Headspace, available at headspace.com/meditation/kids

3. I highly recommend learning and practicing relaxation exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation. A lot of sports coaches are teaching their kids how to do this. Other ideas for relaxation exercises are thinking of places you have been in the past where you were relaxed or imagining relaxing scenes. There are apps available to help with relaxation as well, such as Calm, calm.com.

4. There are other apps now available to help with tracking and regulating emotions. There is an app from the Zones of Regulation curriculum that may be very helpful for educating children about their emotions and about learning to regulate them. The app is available at zonesofregulation.com/exploring-emotions-app.html.

5. I suggest that you and your child locate or create a cooling off space, a place they can go when they need to cool off. Find a place to be alone and have activities already there for your child that you and he will think will be soothing. This is very different than a time out. This is not a punishment or a kind of discipline. It is just a place to go to be calm, associated with calming things. I knew a child once who set up a tent in her room with drawing materials and music to listen to. Her mother would put small snacks in the tent as well.

6. Sometimes kids find it helpful to put out the fire with a bath or a shower.

7. Exercise can be extremely helpful. I encourage kids who are upset to go outside for a run or a walk or a bike ride. I once knew a swim coach who told his kids that they were upset to go swim forty laps. Then if they were still upset to go swim ten more laps, and ten more until they weren't upset anymore.

8. Playing with your cat or dog or taking her for a walk can be helpful in many ways. One child I knew found petting her dog very soothing. Even cuddling a soft stuffed animal can be calming for some kids.

9. Getting out in nature can be very comforting. Go outside and go for a walk and take in some deep breaths.

10. Some kids find drawing or painting to be soothing. Drawing or writing about their thoughts and feelings can be very helpful in the moment and later for problem solving.

11. Many people find that listening to music is calming. Of course, music can be combined with any of the activities above.

12. Talking to someone is a great way to help calm down. As a parent the best thing you can do if your child wants to talk to you is to listen without interrupting. Just listen, calmly and with great interest. No need to paraphrase or offer advice.

Once all is calm, problem-solving can begin

Once your child's brain is calm, it is time to use access her thinking brain and do some advance problem-solving. I encourage you to try some of the activities I listed with your child to see what is most helpful, then make a list and post it. During an upset we are likely to forget what we have learned to, so it is important to have a visual reminder.

During problem-solving time, we can talk about the fact that what we think affects how we feel and how we act. So, if we can change how we think, we can change how we feel. This takes some practice. Understanding a situation from another person's perspective can really help change how you feel, especially if you can also have some empathy for that person.

If your child is able to write down all his thoughts and feelings from his upset, perhaps later when he is calm you can help him see the situation from a different perspective. Are there other ways of thinking about the situation that might change how she feels? Can she see things from another person's point of view? This is very important because changing how she feels may change how she acts and may change the impact of her behavior on other people.

For solving the problem, it is important to learn what triggers upsets or anxiety. Are there steps that your child can take to avoid having a meltdown? I suggest thinking back to the last time they felt calm. Then we talk about the events that led up to an upset such as a meltdown or anxiety attack. I have always found that there was a series of events that led the feelings to escalate.

I draw a ladder. At the bottom rung is #1, and that is where she is calm. At the top of the ladder is a #10, and it is where the feeling is out of control. When did she last remember being calm? What happened next? We write down the events at each step up the ladder. When she gets to 3 it is time to start taking some action like belly breathing to calm her brain and try to prevent the feeling from escalating. By the time she gets to 7, she must take action-like going to her cooling-off place. If she is not at home, she needs to try alternative ways to cool to cool down. She may need help with this. By the time she gets to 8 it is harder and harder to avoid losing control. We think this all out and practice what to do and write it down to take home.

As a parent, you can help your children learn these skills by learning and practicing with them. Children learn by what they see their parents do. So, start by taking one of these ideas and put it into practice right now. Learn meditation with your child. Practice belly breathing at night before bedtime. Try some other relaxation ideas as well. Talk about happy memories. Make a cooling-off place for each family member and practice using it before you need it.

Have a family meeting and discuss what is relaxing for each family member. Write these ideas down and post them. Then next time you can feel your feeling temperature rising you will have a reminder of how to cool it down and stay cool. So will your child.

Judith M. Glasser, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents, and their families. A graduate of Oberlin College and the Catholic University of America, Dr. Glasser completed an externship at the Georgetown University Child Development Center. She has worked in private practice in the Washington, DC, metro area for 36 years. Over the course of her career, Dr. Glasser developed special expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and related issues and diagnoses. Dr. Glasser is the coauthor, with Kathleen Nadeau, PhD, of Learning to Feel Good and Stay Cool: Emotional Regulation Tools for Kids with ADHD (Magination Press, 2014) and Learning to Be Kind and Understand Differences: Empathy Skills for Kids with ADHD (Magination Press, 2015).

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Help Children with ADHD Learn to Regulate Their Emotions If you have a child with ADHD, you are probably intimately aware of the fact that people with this diagnosis often have trouble managing their feelings. This difficulty is referred to as emotional dysregulation. For clarification, emotions are physical states whereas feelings are the conscious...

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A lovely video/activity to promote understanding feelings

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Draw Your Feelings - Children's Mental Health Week 2021