By Holly Walther, MSW, LSW
Youth First
When your child needs help to self-regulate at school, it can sometimes be challenging to identify coping strategies due to the classroom being a more structured environment. For example, if a student prefers to walk their dog to release excess energy, they would not be able to utilize this strategy at school. Another example of a needed adjustment for the classroom would be if coping skills such as singing or dancing most resonate with your child. Most of the time, a student could not use these strategies in class, as these actions would distract the other students. Because a classroom involves a sense of community, it is important that the student be mindful of classmates and not impose upon their learning experience. Because of this, discovering coping skills that can be utilized in the classroom may require some creativity and collaboration with your child’s teacher.
Common coping skills that can be used in public settings are known as grounding techniques. Grounding techniques are used to help “ground,” or mentally reorient a person, by helping them recognize and notice details about the surrounding environment. A common grounding technique is 5-4-3-2-1. With this technique, a student thinks of five things they can see, four things they can touch (or feel), three things they can hear, two things they can smell, and one thing they can taste. For example, the student could see the trees outside the classroom window, feel their pencil between their fingers, hear the sound of the air conditioning system, smell the scented air freshener the teacher has on her desk and taste the ChapStick they just put on their lips.
Another coping technique for school might involve your child bringing a comfort item into the classroom. Of course, each teacher has their own rules for their classroom, so your child may not be able to bring their favorite stuffed animal, but they could possibly bring in a picture from home. This picture could be of the student’s family or of a special pet. With the teacher’s permission, the student could place the picture on their desk and look at it when they need extra support.
Finally, an appropriate fidget that is approved by your child’s teacher could also be utilized to help with self-regulation. Obviously, some fidgets that click or make other sounds would be too distracting, but there are a variety of choices that would be appropriate for the classroom environment. One type of fidget that is discreet is a sensory sticker. The sticker is made of a mildly grainy material and encourages the student to use the action of rubbing with their fingers to elicit sensations that calm and soothe. Not only is the sticker small, but it can be placed handily on a notebook or a desk. Again, a teacher would need to provide approval for a sensory sticker to be used by your child, but most teachers welcome strategies like these as long as they do not take away from classroom learning.
Collaborating with your child’s teacher to create appropriate coping strategies for use during the school day not only benefits your child individually, but it also increases success for the entire classroom community.
Holly Walther, MSW, LSW, serves as Youth First Social Worker for Holy Redeemer School in Evansville.