CYPS, SENDIS
Teaching Emotions to CYP with ASD.
Strands:
 Facial expressions
 Posture
 Other non-verbal cues
 Sounds e.g. sigh
 Tone of voice
Begin with raising awareness of body, how your body feels after exercise
(heart rate, breathing etc.)
1. Choose one emotion. Perhaps start with happy.
2. Find as many possible illustrations of happy as possible:
 Photos, magazines, pictures, symbols, newspapers.
3. Make a happy scrap book.
4. Make a page of photos of significant people in the child’s life
demonstrating their version of happy.
5. Copy emotion in mirror.
6. Take photo of the child and add to scrap book.
7. Draw attention to people who are happy and how you know that e.g. facial
expression, posture, tone of voice etc. Create a page of pictures, ‘She/he
is happy because…’ Use comic strip conversations to explain the
perspective of someone who is happy.
8. Write a social story about being happy.
9. Incorporate emotions into other activities:
 Mr Men books, Dr Who being happy, newspaper sport pages.
 Mr Potato Head i.e. activities where face and expression can be
constructed by the child.
10. Grading activities from happiest through to pleased using photographs
and words. Use a visual/kinaesthetic rating scale (5 point scale).
11. Introduce another emotion e.g. sad.
12. Carry out the work as above on the new emotion.
13. Introduce comparison tasks between the two emotions:
 Sort picture
 Identify happy/sad music
 Role play emotions.
14. Personalise emotions:
 What makes you happy/sad? ‘I feel happy when…’ etc.
 What makes your mum/dad/sister/brother/friend happy/sad?
15. Introduce daily feelings chart.
Additional activities:
 Use social storiesTM to reinforce emotions.
 Link into bodily feelings if appropriate, e.g. anger:
 Increased heart rate, tingling, sweating, headache, tension.
 Link into thought, feelings, behaviour, physical symptoms which are all
connected.
 Teach strategies to deal with emotions e.g. anger
 Relaxation, time out, do something you enjoy (anxiety CD).
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CYPS, SENDIS
Published Programmes:
 Time to Talk: A Programme to Develop Oral and Social Interaction Skills
(Reception and KS1).
 Socially Speaking: A Pragmatic Social Skills Programme for Primary
Pupils (KS2).
 Talk About: A Social Communication Skills Package/Talk About Activities
and DVD/Talk About Relationships/Talk About for Teenagers (KS2-KS4).
 Exploring Feelings: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to Manage Anxiety (or
Anger) by Tony Attwood. Programme aimed at 9-12 year old CYP but can
be modified for older CYP.
 Transporters DVD and booklet available from www.thetransporters.com.
 Anxiety Programme available via SENDIS.
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