For a lot of kids, verbally communicating how they're feeling, especially when they feel out of control is very difficult. It can be frustrating for both the child and adult and can escalate behaviors even more. So improve communication with this activity on identifying sensory speed with a self-odometer!
Visual aides are very helpful for assisting a child and adult when trying to communicate feelings and “energy levels”. Based on “How Does Your Engine Run”, children compare themselves to cars. Keeping things very simplistic for the child, use 3 “engine speeds” which the child selects as most closely resembling their own current “speed: Too slow, Just Right, or Too Fast. Make this special internal odometer with your child when he is calm and discuss what each of the speeds feels and means to him. Incorporate pictures like these faces into a drawing of a speed odometer to help illustrate the various speed levels to help reinforce the concepts.
Then work on constructing the odometer with the child so that the child feels a sense of ownership of it once its completed. (Every child, no matter what the skill level can help construct the odometer in some way, even if its just picking out the colors they want to use).. Here is the directions and pictures to make one for your child...
at KidsPlaysmarter.com
