How Can I Help??

DIS-REGULATED children can be so HARD to manage!!

It is Emotionally, Physically and Mentally EXHAUSTING to deal with these kiddos day in and day out (and often in the middle of the night!).  AND, it seems like there are so few EASY TO FOLLOW strategies that might help relieve the pressure!

I THINK I can help!!

Kids often throw fits without being able to verbalize what they want.  It can be frustrating for the kids and the parents.  This is especially difficult for children with autism or other neuro-diversity.  Even children with trauma can really struggle to understand and explain why they are throwing a fit!

 So, what can we do?  These steps have usually worked for the kids in my life:

·      VALIDATE (recognize) THEIR FEELINGS (I did not say approve of their behavior).

·      GUESS why they are feeling this way and VERBALIZE this guess.  This helps them to learn to understand their own feelings. 

·      MODEL REGULATION

·      Only AFTER they have REGULATED, discuss how things can be better next time.

Continue to read my blog series on Dis-Regulation for more detail on each of these steps, real stories of what has worked and ideas for varying each method!