During the summer break, it’s important support a child with their emotional development for a variety of reasons, but most especially for their mental health and your sanity.
Can you imagine your child having to go through two months of unpredictability- not knowing what activities they can engage in, when they can eat meals, where they are going, and much more. This can be frustrating to most children, especially for those who have autism.
When your child feels confused and overwhelmed, you’ll start to notice a rise in their emotional outbursts. This will be difficult for both of you to manage in time. Instead focus on developing their emotional regulation skills so that they feel more in control of their mind and body and have a chance to grow at their own pace and enjoy their summer off from school. You can do it in the following three ways.
Actionable Steps:
#1. Create a Visual Schedule
In order to reduce anxiety and create a sense of predictability for your children, it’s important to create a visual schedule. Post these up in places where your child will need them. Use pictures, simple words or symbols to help them understand what activities or events they’ll be participating in that day. It will give them a sense of control and calm their nerves.
If you want a ready made one, CLICK HERE or on the following image.
#2. Express Coping Skills
Teach your children how to understand and manage their emotions. Show them different ways to cope with their big emotions. You can do that my creating a safe space for them where they can care for themselves by checking out the following out the following image or CLICK HERE to join ADHD and Autism Self Regulation for a step-by-step tutorial.
I also recommend modeling this for them by regulating your emotions alongside them because children learn best when they watch and practice with the trusted adults in their life.
#3. Teach Thought Verbalization
Show your children how to verbalize their thoughts and how to navigate through different social contexts so that they feel more comfortable when they are in familiar or unfamiliar situations.
You can teach your children how to do this in the following three ways:
- Check out my Social Stories Playlist where I will teach your children how to interact with people in different situations and how to make friends.
- Subscribe to my channel so that you are always in the loop when I upload new videos.
- You can also check out additional resources like activity packs or join us inside the I Am Awesome Club.
Recap:
Let’s recap really quickly. Today, we looked at the following:
- The importance of teaching children to emotionally regulate in summer.
- Three simple ways to support your child with autism with emotional development during summer: create a visual schedule, expressing coping skills, and teach thought verbalization.
Free Resources:
For a taste of the resources that were mentioned in step two, check out the following resource in my FREE Education Resource Library.
Teach your little ones how to make good choices with the following FREE Resource:
Next Steps:
If you found this video beneficial, would you do me a favor? Share this with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers or someone who you think could benefit from this. Thank you!
I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
Disclaimer: I’m a teacher and a parent. I’m not a medical professional, so please don’t take this as medical advice. The advice that I provide in my videos and online are strategies that I have used in my own class or at home that have worked beautifully.
