EMOTIONAL REGULATION

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EMOTIONAL REGULATION

• Cheryl Abel, LSSP
• Daniela Roberts, LSSP
• Wendy Smartt, LSSP
• Autism Spectrum Support and
• Evaluation Team Members, ASSET

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Social Emotional Development

• Social-Emotional Development includes the childs
  experience, expression, and management of
  emotions, as well as the ability to establish
  positive and rewarding relationships with others
  (CA Dept of Education, Cohen 2005).
• Core Features of Emotional Development (CA Dept
  of Ed)
• Ability to identify and understand ones own
  feelings
• Accurately read and understand emotional states
  in others
• Manage strong emotions and their expression in a
  constructive manner
• Regulate ones own behavior
• Develop empathy for others
• Establish and maintain relationships

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Emotional Regulation

• Emotion Regulation defined
• the process by which individuals influence
  which emotions they have, when they have them,
  and how they experience and express these
  emotions.
• (2010 C.L. Scanlon, University of Pittsburg)

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Behavior is the Symptom NOT the Problem

• It is disrespectful to reduce the discourse on
  autism to the level of behavior without
  considering the experience of, and the challenges
  faced by the person with autism to stay
  well-regulated emotionally.
• -Ros Blackburn

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Emotional ProcessingTypical Development

• Able to reflect on their experiences and evaluate
  them based on social feedback (i.e. read peoples
  reactions/facial expressions)
• Able to understand the causes of emotions and
  evaluate their significance in relation to self
  and others
• Able to interpret feelings in complex and subtle
  ways (i.e. move from angry to frustrated,
  displeased, disappointed, uncomfortable etc.)
• This is an intuitive process that occurs without
  conscious effort in most people.

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Emotional ProcessingChildren with an Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Requires a conscious effort is NOT intuitive
• Basic emotions are sometimes in tact (angry, sad,
  happy), yet they struggle with more complex
  emotions (pride, embarrassment, shame)
• Experience one level of emotions, that is, an
  intense level (i.e. sadness tears)
• Do not understand varying levels of emotions and
  scenarios (big problems v. little problems and
  size of their reaction).
• Children with ASD fluctuate dramatically because
  of their over responsiveness to stress

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Common Stressors

• HOME
• Sensory (food, haircuts, dentist, clothing,
  showers)
• Completing routines (getting ready for school,
  doing homework, chores)
• Family Activities (adjusting their agenda and
  interests with family plans)
• Physical (hunger, fatigue, illness)

• SCHOOL
• Unstructured times (bus, before/after school,
  transitions, lunch, recess, P.E.)
• Sensory (crowds, space, noise, lights)
• Academic (understanding what to do and how to do
  it, breaking down tasks, writing, organization)
• Social (turn taking, group work, group
  discussion, sharing space, making friends)
• Changes (environmental, schedule, substitutes,
  transitions)

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Be ProactiveVisuals, Visuals, Visuals!

• Provide a visual structure to the environment
• Visual schedules
• Task lists/mini schedules
• Advance notice for changes in schedule (surprise
  card)
• Visual countdowns for transitions
• First-then chart
• MAKE THE ENVIRONMENT AS PREDICTABLE AS POSSIBLE
• LIVE OUT LOUD

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Visual Schedules
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Mini-Schedules

• Mini-schedules break down an activity into
  manageable steps. They are a visual form of task
  analysis.
• Examples of other routines
• which lend themselves well to
• a mini-schedule
• washing dishes
• circle time activities
• assembly tasks
• cooking tasks
• bathroom routine

Here is an example of a mini- schedule for
getting ready for a recess.
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Jons Morning Routine
Check when done
Choose Your Breakfast
Eat Your Breakfast
Rinse the Dishes
Take Your Medicine
Get Dressed
Brush Your Teeth
Put Your Shoes On
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Surprise Card
Time for a surprise. That is O.K.
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First Then Strategy

You get what you want!
I get what I want!
First Then
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THEN WHAT?

• Effective emotion regulation is not automatic for
  individuals with ASD, it must be TAUGHT.

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Teaching ER to children with ASD

• CREATE AN EMOTIONAL TOOLKIT- AFFECTIVE
  EDUCATION
• Make it concrete and visual
• Include thinking, calming and physical strategies
  as well as check ins to increase self awareness
• Utilize everyday experiences to teach ER (label
  emotions when you see them, empathize, console
  when necessary)
• I understand how frustrating it is when..
• It is disappointing when we dont get to.
• You seem very excited to go to.
• Atwood, 2010

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PROCESSING

• Visual examples of specific emotions
• - picture book of a child engaged in a variety
  of experiences, video clips, model, role play
• Increase repertoire of emotions understood
• - emotion color wheel, word banks, color code
  emotions, match expressions to emotions

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Emotions Color Wheel

• Do2Learn Educational Resources for Special Needs

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MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

• Must teach how to measure and evaluate
• the intensity of their emotions
• the appropriateness of their reaction
• Is my response expected or unexpected
• Strategies a thermometer, 5 point scales, size
  of the problem, inner coach v. inner critic,
  social behavior maps

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The Incredible 5 Point Scale
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PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES SUPPORTS

• Sensory Box (scarves, fidget toys, textured
  materials, visual materials)
• Heavy work activities (stacking chairs, carrying
  weighted objects, wall pushups, monkey bars)
• Movements breaks (run an errand, get a drink of
  water, run the track, jumping jacks, stand at
  desk)

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Calming Activities
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What is Mindfulness?

• Paying attention to the present moment with
  acceptance or focusing on now with kindness and
  curiosity. Kristen Race, Ph.D.
• Mindfulness means paying attention in a
  particular way on purpose, in the present
  moment, andnonjudgmentally. John Kabot-Zin

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Research Supported and Documented Benefits of
Mindfulness Increased emotional regulation,
social skills, ability to orient attention,
working memory, planning and organization, self
esteem, sense of calmness, relaxation, self
acceptance, and quality of sleep Decreased test
anxiety, ADHD behaviors- specifically
hyperactivity and impulsivity, negative affect/
emotions, anxiety, depression, conduct and anger
management problems
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Mindfuleducation.org

• Research over the past few decades has found
  that mindfulness training develops- attention
  and concentration, - social-emotional
  awareness, - body awareness and coordination, -
  interpersonal skills.
• (All areas frequently recognized
• as deficits for a child with ASD)

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Just Breathe!
Using the following script, guide your
students/your child through a simple breathing
exercise theyll try to monitor their breathing
in a way that helps their brain think more
clearly Sit in a comfortable position. Close
your eyes or look down. Pay close attention to
your breathing. Feel air come in through your
nose, then fill your chest and your belly. Calmly
and slowly, let the breath leave your belly, then
your chest, and finally your nose.
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Keep your shoulders dropped and relaxed. Think
about the air coming into your body and the air
going out. Bring your attention back to your
breath, if your mind tries to think about other
things. Notice your stomach rising and falling.
Let your belly be soft and relaxed. Open your
eyes slowly and take a slow, deep
breath. Discuss How did it feel to control
your breathing? What did you notice? How did you
keep your mind focused on your breathing? Was it
easy or difficult?
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Deep Belly Breathing What to Do Give each child
a small object, such as a domino or a favorite
small toy. Invite them to lie down on their backs
and place the object on their belly. Guide them
through mindful breathing by drawing attention to
the object as it rises and falls with each breath
they take. They can also do this in a sitting
position by resting their hand on their belly and
watching their hand rise and fall if they are
more comfortable in this position.
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What to Say One great way to relax our bodies and
minds is to lie on our backs (or sit comfortably)
and breathe deeply. Put your object on your belly
(or your hand on your belly) and focus on filling
your belly with air. Watch your object (hand)
rise and fall as you inhale and exhale. See if
you can make it ride the wave of your breath
evenly, rising up for five slow counts and down
for five slow counts. breathe through your nose
if you can. Why Its Important This breathing
exercise is a great tool for settling down after
high-energy activities such as a day at the park,
physical education or recess. It requires
tremendous concentration to keep the object
(hand) moving at an even pace. Ask your
child/student to rate their mood and to describe
how their body feels before and after the
breathing exercise.
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OTHER MINDFULNESS ACTIVITIES

• Listen to sounds identify sounds that are
  close, and step by step work your way to the
  farthest ones ring a bell and notice when the
  sound stops
• Body Scan bring your attention to your toes,
  try to feel each toe, gradually move your
  attention up through your body
• Really Look quietly notice your immediate
  environment colors, shapes, shadows, lighting,
  textures (how many circles do you see, how many
  different shades of green, etc.)

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Activities Continued

• Start your day breathing together for two minutes
  (at home or in the classroom)
• Listen to a few minutes of calming music
• Share how you would like your day to go
• Share how you would like to feel at the end of
  the day and imagine that feeling
• Breathe together at the end of the day
  reflect/share how close each came to achieving
  what was imagined that morning

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Self-Awareness Activities
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Social Narratives

A story written to teach social behaviors,
skills and comprehension for specific situations,
cues, and responses.
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Sometimes I am just not ready to do my school
work.
I am starting to feel like I am at a 3. Its
hard to stay calm and I feel like I might yell or
cry or argue.
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I can give my teacher a break card. I can pick
the kind of break card that I want to use.
I need a break
I need a break
Taking a little break will help me to go down
to a 1 or 2.
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These are some things I can do for a short break
When my break is over, I will be able to focus
and do my work when I am calm.
By Leah Davied, SLP
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The Zones of Regulation

• It is a curriculum that provides strategies to
  teach students to become more aware of, and
  independent in
• controlling their emotions and impulses
• managing their sensory needs
• improving their ability to problem solve
  conflict.
• Incorporates social thinking concepts
  (www.socialthinking.com)

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Emotional Regulation as a Social Process

• Most of us learn to understand emotion in the
  context of a social interaction
• We tend to process our emotions in a social
  context throughout our lives
• The inability to regulate emotional states has
  serious impact on social standing

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Resources/References

• The Zones of Regulation by Leah M. Kuypers, MA
  Ed. OTR/L
• The Incredible 5 Point Scale by Kari Dunn and
  Mitzi Curtis
• www.Socialthinking.com
• www.Do2Learn.com
• Behavior is Not the Issue by Barry M. Prizant,
  Ph.D., CCC-SLP Amy Laurent, OTR-L, Ed.M, Autism
  Spectrum Quarterly Spring 2011
• http//jillkuzma.wordpress.com/emotion-awareness-a
  nd-management
• Emotional Regulation and Anxiety Management in
  Autism by Chuck Edgington, Ph.D.
• Emotion Regulation in Children A Guide for
  Teachers by Chrisina L. Scanlon, University of
  Pittsburg, April 20, 2010

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• Applications of Mindfulness-Based Interventions
  with People with Developmental Disabilities and
  their Caregivers by Nirbhay N. Singh, Ph.D.,
  American Health and Wellness Institute, Raleigh,
  NC
• Mindfulness A Promising Approach to Overcoming
  the Challenges of Aspergers Syndrome by Ashley
  Davis Bush, LCSW, The Wise Brain Bulletin
• Mindful Life brain based solutions for todays
  families, Kristen Race, Ph.D, President and
  Founder. www.mindfulllifetoday.com