Dynamic Visual Supports for Emotional Regulation
What are dynamic visual supports?
Visual supports are anything you can see that helps you do the things that you need to do. Dynamic visual supports include:
- Video
- Animations/ cartoons
- Animated Powerpoint Presentations
- Gestures/ body language/ facial expressions /sign language/ modeling
Benefits of using Dynamic Visual Supports for Emotional Regulation:
- Promote Shared Understanding of language and other visual supports (ie. The listeners understanding is the same as the speakers)
- Develop and enhance Trust
- Increase Predictability, especially regarding what will happen, for how long, and what comes next
- Highlights salient features
- Promote “top down” emotional regulation by engaging the pre-frontal cortex
- Can increase Motivation: - Intrinsic through increased understanding, feelings of power and control and predictability
- Extrinsic, through use of additional animations or “bells and whistles”
The downloadable resources available on this website DO NOT REPLACE, but work in partnership with, other strategies, such as…
- Sensory preparation/ calming
- Minimising the sensory input to which child is sensitive
- Environmental supports
- Social-emotional supports
- Consistent routines
The following resources, which are archived powerpoint presentation, can be used to help with emotional regulation for a range of grooming/ self care tasks. They may also give ideas for how you can make your own supports to suit your clients’ needs.
