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Why Practicing Can Help with Emotional Regulation, by Oregon Behaviour Consultation
- Being mad “makes us dumb”.
- Make a plan.
- Practise to make the best choice ahead of time.
- Use visual prompts (talk less) to support the person having a hard time.
- Adjust the plan as needed and practice again.
5 Unhelpful Responses
- Don’t talk.
- Don’t try to reason, explain, or lecture.
- Don’t shout or use a loud or intense voice
- Don’t respond to oppositional or defiant behaviour.
- Don’t bring up consequences.
Instead…
- Use visual prompts.
- Take a break.
- Allow thinking time (for both of you) – wait.
- Use a calm and gentle tone of voice.
- Allow more thinking time.
- Have a plan that you have practiced.
- Be quiet but let them know that this is part of the plan, you are not ignoring them.