Teaching your child self-regulation skills is extremely important.
In fact, I think it might be one of the most important things you can teach your child. Hence, why I spend a lot of time blogging about emotional regulation and calming strategies for kids.
We already have tons of tools in my kids' calm down toolkit, but as my kids grow, so do their preferences and their needs.
For my oldest, J, we are working more on how to manage his anxiety and worries and building his emotional vocabulary. He's more open to trying meditation and mindfulness techniques, whereas his younger brother, K, finds them "too boring" (his exact words).
What works for one child, might not work for the other, which is why we try a lot of different coping strategies out.
One strategy that we are currently working on with both of them is teaching them this simple five senses grounding technique. It's a way to help them be more mindful and regulate their bodies by engaging the five main senses.
And since visual aids are key when you're raising an autistic and hyperlexic child, I created this set of free printable coping cards to teach grounding techniques to kids.
About the Free Printable Visual Coping Cards for Teaching Grounding Techniques to Kids
This one page printable contains six coping cards: one cover image and five cards that cover the five basic senses.
Simply print, cut, and laminate. Then hole punch and put on a binder ring so that you can take them on the go.
Then any time your child is feeling overwhelmed or anxious, you can encourage them to work their way through all the cards as a way to ground themselves and regulate their bodies. It's a tool to help them be mindful of what is happening right here and right now.
To use these cards, simply encourage your child to read through each card, one by one, and follow the written prompts written on the cards.
You can also find a poster version of this technique here.
Download the Free Printable Cards
