At our event ‘Health and Wellbeing for Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum’ in October 2015, we asked attendees what things they know of that can help with emotional regulation. Below is a summary of what they told us.
Finding activities that are fulfilling
- This could be anything that makes you feel good, for example:
- Sports activities
- Pets
- Dancing
- Singing
Having opportunities to relax
- Programmes such as Chill Skills from Relax Kids
- Getting away from everything for short breaks
- Find calming distractions
- Such as Fluidity app
Developing strategies and supports that are calming
Understanding emotions
- Start early in learning about/teaching emotions
- Learning to recognise signs of stress/not coping
- Available programmes to support understanding include:
- Other techniques include
- Thermometers
- Self-regulation – use coloured cards to indicate feelings to others
- Mood boards
- Using visual analogies such as ‘emotional brain’ vs ‘thinking brain’
Understanding sensory sensitivities and related needs and triggers
Supporting others to understand signs
- Key people should know what indicators there are that someone isn’t coping
- Others knowing triggers for anxieties can help prevent them
- Have key words that can indicate subtly to others when not ok
Planning and managing expectations
- Knowing what to expect can reduce anxiety
- Research new places in advance
- Talk things through with someone
