Zones of Regulation

As ____ is having challenges regulating his emotions, resulting in behaviors, I encourage you to introduce, “The Zones of Regulation”. Essentially, the Zones of Regulation is how we think about and manage our feelings and states. Please review the link below to further understand this strategy!

The Zones of Regulation: https://www.zonesofregulation.com/learn-more-about-the-zones.html

How to Teach: https://www.zonesofregulation.com/learn-more-about-the-zones.html

There is a kids movie produced by Pixar called “Inside Out”, which accurately depicts which zone is what! I recommend this as a resource for ____ to further understand emotion as well.

Should you choose to implement this at home, here is a blank template you can print out and fill with ___ strategies:https://mcbehavior.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/2/8/31281815/zones.jpg

Free downloadable: FREE Downloadable Handouts - THE ZONES OF REGULATION: A CONCEPT TO FOSTER SELF-REGULATION & EMOTIONAL CONTROL

Collect ABC’s on ___ Challenging behaviours.

A, stands for “antecedent”, which is anything that happens BEFORE a behavior/ tantrum.

B, stands for “behaviour”, which is anything you see ____ displaying DURING a behavior/ tantrum.

C, stands for “consequence”, which is anything you see AFTER ____ has a behavior/ tantrum.

By collecting “ABC” you will learn to predict and how to respond to ____ behavior/ tantrum.

I encourage you to write these findings down, so you are able to reflect on them in the future! This will also help you to realize how you can respond differently to better support _____.

Functions of Behaviour

Everything we do, or don’t do, is because it was either positively or reinforced by something. To understand why we engage in specific behaviour's, we must first determine is function. Those being:

Sensory- i.e. Hand flapping. A person’s own movements/actions feel good to that individual

Attention- i.e.: Child desires for access to social interaction(s). For example, the child screams, ‘Look at me!’ If screaming gets access to attention, then screaming will continue.

Escape- i.e.: Something is (or signals) an undesirable situation and the person wants to get away from it. For example, a therapist says, ‘Wash your hands,’ and the learner runs out of the bathroom.

Tangible- i.e.: Someone wants access to a specific item or activity. For example, Jane takes the iPad away from

 John, so John pinches her. If pinching gets access to the iPad, then pinching will continue.

Determining the function of behaviour helps us to further understand and apply to the ABCs of behaviour, as stated below. To read more on the functions of behaviour, please see here: https://www.kidsability.ca/uploads/Autism%20Services/AutismServices_FunctionsOfBehaviourHandout2.pdf

Be Mindful of Transitions

Often times, persons with ASD have challenges with transitions. Transitions are moving from one task or location to another. However, persons with ASD tend to struggle in this area as the next steps causes anxiety, stress and frustration. Simple tasks such as leaving the house to go to the grocery store may be so thoughtless for a neurotypical person, we grab our car keys and go. But, for someone with ASD, they process looks different as they may be “stuck” in doing a task and experience great stress in relocating their attention elsewhere. We can do a couple things to support transitions.

Priming statements: “In 30 minutes, its time to go to the grocery store.”, “In 25 minutes/ 20/15/10/5…”.

Use a timer: Using a timer and setting the exact time to prepare to transition to the next step

Using “First- then” statements, followed by a reinforcement (preferred item)

See more here: https://www.friend2friendsociety.org/eight-strategies-to-support-positive-transitions-for-children-with-autism/ and https://www.erinoakkids.ca/getmedia/524a2983-aaa5-4bdc-8e15-7ed8fc760b5c/000106-AODA-Supporting-Transitions.pdf

Transition Toolkit: PDF Link

Rewards

To increase willingness to learn, you may also choose to implement a reward system or statements. Such as first- then statements!

Example: FIRST: 30 minutes of work- THEN: Ice cream! The “THEN” is to serve as a motivator and be highly rewarding.

Here, you can find a downloadable PDF “Reinforcement Inventory” and find out ___ reinforcements: https://www.positivepartnerships.com.au/resources/practical-tools-information-sheets/reinforcement-inventory

To increase independence, we often use levels of prompting (without even knowing it)! When using prompting to teach new skills, it’s useful to think of it in terms of a prompt hierarchy. Although the hierarchy can include different types of prompts, the goal is to think of prompts in terms of how intrusive they are, i.e.: how involved YOU have to be. The top being least intrusive, the bottom being most intrusive.

Verbal. i.e: Go get your shoes.

Gestural. i.e.: Point at the shoes.

Visual. i.e.: Using a visual schedule, or first then board, etc.

Modelling. i.e: “Watch me”.

Physical. i.e.: Hand over hand, guiding from the elbow, etc.

Read more here: https://accessibleaba.com/blog/prompt-hierarchy

Similar to communication challenges, another common trait of Autism Spectrum Disorder is a lack of social skills. Thus, as support workers and caregivers, we need to teach them! For this, I often refer families towards “Social Stories”. Social stories are used to help create concrete examples of expectations and specific situations. Please review the link below to view various social stories!

Social Stories: https://www.abaresources.com/social-stories/

https://theautismhelper.com/teaching-conversation-skills/