All calming strategies must be practiced before the child is experiencing the situation if there is to be any possibility of using calming techniques when the child becomes upset.

Set up a crystal-clear daily structure before the day begins and decrease the power struggles. Learn to cut down on directing with words and begin to choose and use words sparingly. A little goes a long way.

Escape plan – Sensory basket – Yoga poses – Simple exercises or routines – Meditation / mindfulness – Self regulate – Physical exercise – Routines & schedules.

Corinna’s blog: “I describe the energy levels in my battery with colour levels. In each colour level, there is an “early” and “late” stage, meaning, how long I’ve been in each colour. The longer or “later” I’m in a colour, the harder it is to recharge. I have four colours, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red.”

Spoon theory is a metaphor that is used to describe the amount of mental or physical energy a person has available for daily activities and tasks. The theory was developed by Christine Miserandino as a way to express how it felt to have lupus. She used spoons to provide a visual representation of units of energy that a person might have and how chronic illness forces her to plan out her days and actions in advance so as not to run out of energy, or spoons, before the end of the day.

• Muscles are tight
• A headache
• Stomach-ache
• Breathing rapidly
• Feeling faint or lightheaded
• Feeling sweaty
• Feeling cold or heated
• Clenched fist
• Feeling like losing control

We need to teach children to recognise feelings in their own body, however we also need to teach them how to recognise feelings in other people too.

To begin, get children to ask themselves, ‘how would I feel in this situation?’

Stress Scales also turn emotions, which are abstract concepts that require imagination to understand fully, into concrete examples of numbers or colours, which are easier to understand. See more soon in the upcoming book Effective Communication by Anna Tullemans and Rhonda Valentine Dixon.

Stress Table & Barometer