Happy Autism Acceptance Day!!
For the full video, click here: https://youtu.be/QE8Cf7a3EEw
We all have things that make us feel nervous or anxious and the same goes for our children. Sometimes it just feels that our kids may be getting stuck in these worries and we need to help them deal with it appropriately.
Now, if you have a child who tends to feel anxious, nervous, scared quite easily, I understand that it is more difficult to help them manage that. Sometimes it’s almost as if they believe they need to feel that way even if they know they cannot control whatever it is they are anxious about. Let’s look at some strategies to help our children and ourselves manage these stressors.
The first thing we have to do is to identify what it is that increases anxiety. Think about it (or discuss it with your child in a relaxed setting) and write down what it is.
Add a section where you “challenge the anxiety”. Ask yourself: -Is it rational or irrational?
If it’s irrational, think of a way to manage the anxiety.
We all have things that make us feel nervous or anxious and the same goes for our children. Sometimes it just feels that our kids may be getting stuck in these worries and we need to help them deal with it appropriately. Now, if you have a child who tends to feel anxious, nervous, scared quite easily, I understand that it is more difficult to help them manage that. Sometimes it’s almost as if they believe they need to feel that way even if they know they cannot control whatever it is they are anxious about. Let’s look at some strategies to help our children and ourselves manage these stressors. The first thing we have to do is to identify what it is that increases anxiety. Think about it (or discuss it with your child in a relaxed setting) and write down what it is. Add a section where you “challenge the anxiety”. Ask yourself: -Is it rational or irrational? If it’s irrational, think of a way to manage the anxiety. This can be something like doing slow, deep breathing, counting to 10 in a different language or even doing a “5 senses exercise”. When you’ve done the exercise that you have selected, tear up the anxiety trigger and throw it away.
If it’s a rational fear or anxiety – find facts about the event and look at statistics to figure out if this actually happening. Find ways that you can manage this if the event actually occurs. Once dealt with, we can also tear this up (as you dealt with it).
This is just a simple activity, but really helps us and our children to move through the different thought processes of dealing with things that cause our kids to feel anxious. Some children may need to go through this activity more often than others, but we would recommend doing it together at least a few times per week to start off with as this will help them get into the habit of changing their thinking and the way they feel in control of their experiences and feelings.
Here is the link for the full video again: https://youtu.be/QE8Cf7a3EEw