Using Comic Strip Stories to help Social Thinking
Using Comic Strip Stories to help Social Thinking
Drawing connections:
The power of comics for autism
The simple yet powerful format of comics can offer a really creative and engaging way for autistic young people to explore different scenarios and practice problem solving.
Whether used at home, in the classroom, creating and sharing their own graphic comic strip stories can be a valuable tool for empowering young people to communicate their thoughts and feelings, offering insights that otherwise may be difficult to express verbally. They offer a tool to parents and teachers to coach social thinking concepts for young people who might be finding this tricky, and help them navigate emotions.
Creating comic strips with free comic generators like MakeBeliefsComix.com or drawing them by hand can be a fun and connecting way to to this together, and can offer your young person a sense of accomplishment.
Get in touch for more support to support young people through graphic comic strip stories.
Taking a PACE-ful approach
Taking a PACE-ful approach
“The experience of safety seems to have a profound effect on pupils in school”
Louise Bomber, 2013
When children feel accepted, understood and that someone is genuinely empathic with them and openly curious about what is going on with their feelings, it can help them manage big emotions. Using these ideas in your relationship with young people can help deepen your connection with them, to help them feel secure in their emotions and find ways to cope.
Read more about PACE-ful interactions here.
If you want to think more about using paceful interactions to support a young person for whom you are concerned or if you are a practitioner who would like to learn more, I can help illustrate ways to use this approach.
What is interoception and how do we support it?
What is interoception and how do we support it?
I didn’t learn what interoception is until I had been practicing for many years, and it wasn’t until I learned what interoception is that I began to connect the dots about emotional regulation.
Many emotional regulation strategies do not effectively work when the interoception system is dysregulated so I find the “interoception lens” can help identify some important building blocks to help young people with their emotional regulation.
“Interoception gives us the sense that "this is me; this is my body; this is how I feel”
Kelly Mahler, 2017
Read more about what interoception is and how to build interoceptive awareness here.
If you would like a chat about a young person you know who would benefit, please get in touch and I can talk more about this with you.
Regulating your nervous system and the window of tolerance
Regulating your nervous system and the window of tolerance
Developed by Dan Siegel, the Window of Tolerance describes the best state ‘in which we are able to function and thrive in everyday life’.
When we feel comfortable within our window of tolerance, we are able to better learn, play and are in a better place to relate better to ourselves and others.
You can find out how more about what adults can do to help a young person stay in their window of tolerance or bring them back into their window of tolerance by watching this Beacon House animation here
Taking care of yourself and each other
Taking care of yourself and each other
“A dysregulated adult cannot regulate a dysregulated child”
Bruce Perry
Click below for some reminders for your self care
A Glass Half Full Approach To Re-Building Relationships
A Glass Half Full Approach To Re-Building Relationships
“Relationships are the most powerful mental health intervention of all time”
Karen Treisman, 2017
Reconciliation gestures (or sometimes called reconnection gestures) are especially useful when things are feeling really challenging. They can be be a helpful way to begin a journey of rebuilding the connection in your relationship with a young person.
Find out more about Reconciliation Gestures by watching Sarah Fisher’s video below.
Relational gestures are part of a wider approach of helping calm heightened stress and conflict when our young people are struggling with this.
Emotionally based avoidance of speaking
Emotionally based avoidance of speaking
For some young people it can feel impossible to speak in certain social settings. Pooky Knightsmith helpfully explores what might be going on, and most importantly, how we can support young people in school and you can listen to her podcast here.