Teaching your child calming techniques can help your child to self-soothe when they feel upset or overwhelmed. This can prevent an impending tantrum or meltdown. Calming techniques help children to focus on their senses by practicing mindfulness, it helps to develop children's resilience towards stressful situations.
#1 Calming Techniques for Autistic Child: Rainbow Grounding Technique
The rainbow grounding technique is a self-regulation strategy that you can teach children. It can relieve anxiety and calm the mind by focusing our attention on the present moment. The simple activity takes our mind off stressful, overwhelming thoughts and tune-in to our senses.
Take 3 deep breaths and look at your surroundings and look for each color of the rainbow. Find:
1 Red item. For example, it could be a red pencil, a red box.
1 Orange item. For example, it could be an orange table or chair.
1 Yellow item. For instance, a sunflower.
1 Green item. You could look to nature to find a tree and grass.
1 Blue item. It could be the color of your shoes or the color of your bag.
1 Violet item. It could be the color of a book or the carpet.
#2 Calming Techniques for Autistic Child: 5 Senses Grounding Technique
The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique helps us to focus on the present by using our five senses and distracting the mind from anxious thoughts and triggers.
1. Take a deep breath for 5 seconds, and breathe out for five seconds.
2. Name 5 things you can see by looking around your room or the environment. It could be a car, a tree, a house, a book.
3. Name 4 things you can hear. You can close your eyes to focus on your hearing. It could be the sound of birds flapping their wings, the sounds of cars, the sound of people walking.
4. Name 3 things you can feel. For example, the feeling of the wind blowing against your skin, the feeling of your socks, the feeling of your hands on the pillow.
5. Name 2 things you can smell. For example, the smell of grass, the smell of the sofa or pillow, the smell of books.
6. Name 1 one thing you can taste. For example, the drink you had for lunch, or the gum you are chewing.
#3 Calming Techniques for Autistic Child: 4-7-8 Breathing Technique
The 4-7-8 breathing technique helps to calm the body and mind by focusing on our breathing. Regulating our breathing has calming effects which can help us to relieve anxiety and stress. Here's how you can practice the 4-7-8 breathing technique:
1. Take a deep breath through your nose for a count of 4.
2. Hold your breath for a count of 7.
3. Exhale through your mouth for a count of 8.
4. Repeat this until you feel calm.
These breathing technique cards are part of our Calm Down Corner Bundle.
#4 Calming Techniques for Autistic Child: Take 5 Breathing Technique
Take five breathing is a simple calming technique that kids can use anywhere when they are feeling stressed or disregulated. This could also be used in the classroom so that children feel calm and focused before the lesson begins.
1. Start by opening your palm and placing it in front of you.
2. Using your pointer finger of another hand, trace your palm.
3. Breathe in as you trace upwards.
4. Breathe out as you trace downwards.
5. Repeat this for the other 4 fingers or until you feel calmer.
#5 Calming Techniques for Autistic Child: Lemon Breathing
Lemon breathing is a fun easy to use calming strategy for kids to stay in the present. It engages our hand and arm muscles and helps to relieve stress and tension. You could also use this as a calming technique for anger management.
1. First, visualize yourself holding a fresh lemon on each of your palms.
2. Pretend you are making lemon juice. Take a deep breath for a count of 3 as you squeeze the lemon and imagine a jar right below your hands that is collecting the lemon juice.
3. Breathe out for a count of 3 and relax your hands and arms. Repeat until you feel calmer.
#6 Calming Techniques for Autistic Child: Letter Grounding Technique
The letter grounding technique is a self-regulation technique you can teach your child. It helps us to stay in the present moment by observing objects around us.
1. First, look around and find items (object, nature, people, animals) according to each letter from A to Z.
2. You could find as many items as you can for each letter.
3. If you can't find items for some letters, you can skip to the next letter.
#7 Calming Techniques for Autistic Child: Balloon Breathing
Deep belly breathing can help to reset and recharge our body and mind. When your child is overstimulated, you can teach them to use this technique to regulate their breathing to relieve anxiety. Deep breathing also has multiple benefits, it could help to reduce stress and improve attention.
Balloon breathing is an engaging activity to teach kids how to breathe deeply. It is a useful self-regulation skill that kids can use when they feel upset or anxious.
1. Imagine that you have a balloon in your belly.
2. Place your hand on your belly. Take a deep breath through your nose and imagine a balloon filling up.
3. Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
4. Breathe out through your nose slowly to deflate the balloon. Repeat until you feel calm.
_______________
🚀 Check out our Mega Bundle Calm Down Corner Printable Kit to Manage Big Emotions and Tantrums (worth over $168 for just $27)