One thing we work on with our
children is self monitoring how they are feeling. This helps them learn how to
gain control of their feelings to prevent meltdowns. The self monitoring
program we use at home is an ABA tool called “How is your engine running?”
This tool compares your body and
the way it is feeling to an engine in a car. When the child’s engine is running
low, the child may feel tired, sad, or lonely. When the engine is just right,
the child is happy and their body feels good. When the engine is running high,
the child might be excited, angry, anxious, scared, or overwhelmed.
To help my kids self monitor with
this tool, we made a visual. You can find several examples of these visuals
online. It looks like a gauge with a moveable arrow (green- low, yellow- just
right, and red- high).
Once the child is able to
recognize their feelings, they can learn how to get in the middle of the gauge
to feeling just right. For example, if the child’s engine is low, they might
need a nap, hug, crunchy or sour snack, or movement activity to get them to
just right. If the child’s engine is high, they might need a break, deep
pressure (weighted blanket/ vest), hug, calming music, fidget, or movement.
Using this tool in our house has
been a huge blessing. It has helped my children express their feelings/ needs
and learn tool on how to self regulate. I hope this tool can help your child
too.
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