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- Encourage\u00a0your client to take a break and \u201cself-calm\u201d when they are feeling overwhelmed.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Help your client\u00a0recognize stress and uncomfortable feelings in their body and support them in developing coping skills. \n
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- This may help them cope with stressors and challenges in healthy ways. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Examples of calming strategies include:<\/strong>\n
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- Taking deep breaths\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Counting to 10<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Imagining your favourite place<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Thinking of your favourite things<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Relaxing and tensing your muscles\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Help your client\u00a0to label and define their feelings. \n
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- When children are able to talk about how they are feeling, and what may be causing it, their emotions can feel more manageable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Encourage your client\u00a0to get to know the signs their body gives them about what they are feeling. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Help them identify things they can do when they are having uncomfortable feelings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Demonstrate and model ways of coping with different situations.\n
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- For example, you could say, \u201cI am going to take five deep breaths to help myself relax.<\/em>\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Model helpful thinking and encourage your client to use helpful thinking to cope with challenging situations.\n
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- Helpful thinking is about promoting positive coping\u00a0skills and encouraging children to feel good about\u00a0themselves. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- This will help her to feel more\u00a0confident in new situations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Encourage your client\u00a0to challenge negative thinking with positive, helpful thinking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Continue to work on building your clients emotional and behavioural regulation capacity. \n
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- They may benefit from fostering his\/her emotional intelligence (i.e., his\/ her ability to identify and manage his\/her own emotions), and from developing healthy coping strategies (e.g., relaxation strategies to use during times of increased stress).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Contingency management<\/strong> is a strategy that can be used to help improve behaviour problems. \n
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- This involves establishing clear behavioural goals that gradually shape a child\u2019s behaviour in a specific area of concern, developing a system to monitor whether the child is reaching these goals, reinforcing appropriate steps towards reaching these goals, and providing consequences for inappropriate behaviour. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- This strategy may be helpful in reducing your client’s video game use (if this is an area of concern).\n
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- A technology use contract or behaviour contract may be beneficial in establishing clear and consistent goals:\u00a0\n
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- Technology use contrac<\/strong>t example: http:\/\/www.lorigetz.com\/uploads\/1\/2\/7\/2\/12729682\/acceptable_use_policy_parent_child.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Behaviour Contrac<\/strong>t Example: https:\/\/www.understood.org\/en\/family\/managing-everyday-challenges\/daily-expectations-child\/download-parent-child-behavior-contracts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Encourage your client’s teachers to become aware of and recognize signs when\u00a0your client\u00a0is becoming dysregulated (i.e., frustrated; overwhelmed). Prompt them to use a self-calming strategy during times of need.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Anxiety and Stress Reduction Strategies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Anxiety\/stress can be reduced by changing the physical and mental state.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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- Your client may benefit from incorporating some of these strategies into his daily life and during times of increased stress:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Anxiety and Stress Reduction Strategies<\/strong>
\u25a0 Practice mindful breathing.<\/strong> Breathe normally and count how many seconds it takes to completely exhale. Keep breathing and see for how many seconds you can extend your exhale. Repeat until your exhale is as long as it can possibly be.
\u25a0 Try using progressive muscle relaxation<\/strong>. This strategy reduces tension in the body that children may be holding on to, and creates a looser, more relaxed physical state. It involves going through different body parts and flexing and relaxing muscles.\u00a0
\u25a0 Visualization strategies (e.g., guided imagery)<\/strong> may help Student<\/em> settle their mind by temporarily shifting focus away from worries and concerns. For example, get them to imagine a \u201ccalming place,\u201d with its sounds, feelings, colours, and contents. \u00a0
\u25a0 Try playing the \u201c5 Things Game<\/strong>.\u201d This involves sitting comfortably where ever you are and thinking of five things you can feel, hear, see, smell, and taste<\/em>. This can be done at any point throughout the day (e.g., in the car, in class, before bed, etc.). This is a quick mindful activity that helps re-orient a student\u2019s mind to the present moment.\u00a0
\u25a0 Consider engaging in regular exercise<\/strong>, particularly mindfulness-based exercise such as yoga.
\u25a0 Check your the\u00a0Anxiety tab<\/a>\u00a0for more information related to anxiety strategies<\/p>\n\n\n\nSelf Regulation Tools<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
These visuals<\/strong> that can be used to support children to become more effective at deep breathing\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/files\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-22-at-10.35.42-AM-300x142.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/files\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-22-at-10.35.48-AM-300x171.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nAdditional\u00a0Self-Regulation\u00a0<\/strong>Tools:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Your client may benefit from incorporating some of these strategies into his daily life and during times of increased stress:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Anxiety\/stress can be reduced by changing the physical and mental state.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Behaviour Contrac<\/strong>t Example: https:\/\/www.understood.org\/en\/family\/managing-everyday-challenges\/daily-expectations-child\/download-parent-child-behavior-contracts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Technology use contrac<\/strong>t example: http:\/\/www.lorigetz.com\/uploads\/1\/2\/7\/2\/12729682\/acceptable_use_policy_parent_child.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A technology use contract or behaviour contract may be beneficial in establishing clear and consistent goals:\u00a0\n
- Contingency management<\/strong> is a strategy that can be used to help improve behaviour problems. \n
- They may benefit from fostering his\/her emotional intelligence (i.e., his\/ her ability to identify and manage his\/her own emotions), and from developing healthy coping strategies (e.g., relaxation strategies to use during times of increased stress).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Continue to work on building your clients emotional and behavioural regulation capacity. \n
- Model helpful thinking and encourage your client to use helpful thinking to cope with challenging situations.\n
- For example, you could say, \u201cI am going to take five deep breaths to help myself relax.<\/em>\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Demonstrate and model ways of coping with different situations.\n
- Counting to 10<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Taking deep breaths\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Help your client\u00a0recognize stress and uncomfortable feelings in their body and support them in developing coping skills. \n