![]() ![]() ![]() Occupational therapists are known primarily for their work with sensory integration, but a major component of that work is addressing a child’s self-regulation and social emotional processing. This program is a great precursor to teaching children about more nuanced emotional states. Kids are taught their body has an engine and it can run too fast, too slow, or just right. Similar to the “Zones” curriculum, it provides various zones (only 3- red, blue, and green) and gives children a framework to monitor their actions. This program focuses primarily on self-regulation in younger aged children. This curriculum tends to do well with young school-aged children who are motivated by superheroes but have difficulty recognizing when they’re acting more like the villains! Children are taught to act like Superflex, who is “super flexible,” in problem solving and addressing challenging moments. Superflex is another component of the “Zones” curriculum, which introduces a superhero, Superflex, who battles the “ Unthinkables ,” characters who represent common behaviors. They’re also provided tools and strategies to help them move between zones and problem solve in challenging moments. There are four different “zones” (blue, yellow, green, and red) with corresponding emotional states, and kids learn to identify their “zone” in different moments. The Zones of Regulation was created by an occupational therapist and its goal is to help kids learn to regulate their actions. Self-regulation is another important factor in helping kids manage their emotions, so most curriculums address this, as well. To be used effectively, parents and educators need to start at the beginning, introduce core concepts, and work through the Superflex Curriculum before. A therapist will typically look at a child’s age and developmental level to determine which curriculum would best fit their needs. There are several recognized protocols that are frequently used by occupational therapists to address social emotional processing. It’s important to address these moments so children learn their emotions are acceptable and they can then work on strategies to manage them. However, this can bring out various emotions, including fear, anxiety, and frustration. Therapists provide exposure to sensory experiences within a safe, supportive environment so children can develop and integrate their sensory systems. Rigid thinking can greatly affect a child’s ability to socialize appropriately, as well as their ability to learn.Occupational therapy focuses heavily on sensory integration, or the ability of the brain to organize sensations in the environment and generate an appropriate response for participation in daily activities. It can also be caused by literal thinking patterns. They can become combative verbally when they are sure they are 100 percent right and you are 100 percent wrong. Rigid thinking goes along with black and white thinking, i.e. Their brain becomes rigid, and problem solving diminishes. They are not able to think outside or act outside of whatever box they have found themselves in. Rigid thinking is when someone gets stuck on an idea, thought, behaviour, or fear. Part of teaching children with ASC is recognising that they may be prone to rigid thinking. Superflexprovides opportunity for increased self-awareness. Since self-regulation of emotion and behaviour drives development of executive functioning skills, we consider the sources of dysregulation within our learners.Īt Westhaven, we use a number of Social Thinking teaching concepts and tools, one of which is the ‘Superflex’ series. Social competencies involve our social learning processes and these are central to many aspects of academic learning. We use Social Thinking at Westhaven to teach social competencies and not just social skills.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |