There is SO
much I could say about teaching emotions, the complexities of nonverbal
communication, facial scanning, emotional self-regulation, perspective taking and
“mind reading” that this post could go on for pages and pages. So to keep
things concise, I will focus on specifically teaching a child to recognize and label
the emotions of others.
This really
isn’t even a topic specific to Autism. Many young children struggle with
identifying the emotions of others, and being able to respond appropriately.
Many of us know of that emotionally immature 3, 4, or even 7 year old who
struggles to make and keep friends, due to annoying and outrageous behavior. They
play silly, rude, or mean jokes on their friends that no one else finds funny.
They don’t seem to notice when their friends are upset, sad, or embarrassed.
They are uncomfortable with their friends crying around them, and instead of
asking “What’s wrong?” they just walk away.
Although
typically thought of as a social skill, learning to identify emotions can also
influence communication, play skills, academic success, and even the ability to
get and keep a job. Just think about a 17 year old with Aspergers who tells
inappropriate sex jokes at work because he can’t tell when other people are
annoyed. Or a 7 year old with Autism who can’t maintain friendships because he
never looks at his friends faces.
I love
teaching emotions because it is a life skill that is vital to meaningful interaction
with society, but a specific reason I love emotion programs is because my
kiddos have to look at faces in order to learn the skill. Many children with
Autism will go to great lengths to avoid looking at someone’s face, or especially
into someone’s eyes. Yet most nonverbal communication happens in the face, and
in the eyes. So whether I’m holding up a flashcard or making exaggerated facial
expressions, beyond teaching the child to label an emotion I am also teaching
them that a key to understanding other people is their face.
The sooner you
can start teaching emotions, the better. There really isn’t a prerequisite for
teaching emotions; it’s more of a pivotal skill that opens pathways to teach a
variety of other skills. Always be sure
to model appropriate facial expression, voice tone, and affect when
demonstrating a behavior. If you are modeling “happy” then talk in a louder
tone of voice, smile, widen your eyes, and clap your hands or shout “Hooray”.
Do more than just make a face. When teaching a child with Autism the skill of
recognizing emotions, it is helpful to exaggerate. Many of these kiddos don’t
want to look at someone’s face, so give them a reason to want to study your
face. Put your inner actor/actress to the test and really give it your all. If
you are modeling sad, pretend to cry, talk in a quivering voice, and lower your
head. Demonstrate the depth of emotion you want the child to mimic.
Emotion
programs can become quite complex, or can be taught in a very simple way, just
depending on the age and functioning level of the child. A toddler with PDD can
be taught to touch the “happy” doll and the “sad” doll. Or a teenager with
Autism can be taught to watch a short video clip of a couple breaking up, and
then discuss how each person felt (yes, that could be a way to teach emotions.
I told you emotion programs are fun!).
Depending on
how the child communicates, you can begin teaching emotions receptively or
expressively. Unless the kiddo is a strong vocal communicator, I usually will
start a program receptively (“Touch sad”) and then move to expressive (“How
does she/he feel?”). There are 9 main emotions that you want to be sure to
teach, and beyond these 9 I usually consult with the primary caregivers to see
how complex they want to get:
Happy, Sad, Angry, Surprised, Scared,
Confused, Sleepy, Bored, Shy
Here is a
sample hierarchy of teaching basic emotions:
Receptively
identify emotions using object (e.g. doll)
-SD: “Give
me the sleepy doll”
|
Receptively
identify emotions using picture card (large color photos are preferred)
-SD: “Touch
happy”
|
Expressively
identify emotions using picture card
-SD: “How
does he feel?”
|
Expressively
identify emotions as another person makes a face
-SD: “How do
I feel?”
|
Child makes
a face to demonstrate an emotion
-SD: “Show me
scared”
|
Child labels
an emotion using image of a scenario
-SD: (Child
looks at a photo of a little girl crying who just dropped an ice cream cone)
“How does she feel?”
|
Child acts
out a scenario or brief scene featuring an emotion
-SD:
Therapist tells child to pretend he is at a birthday party and is opening
presents. “Show me excited!”
|
Once a child
can understand emotions, you will find that its often much easier to prompt
appropriate social interactions (“You hurt your friends feelings, look, she’s
crying”), generalize those skills to self regulation (“You look like you’re
upset, lets go take a walk”), help children communicate better (“When you yell
and make that face it makes me think you’re angry. I need you to ask me nicely
with a calm face”), etc. The importance of teaching children with Autism to
understand emotions cannot be overstated.
**Quick Tip:
Parents, as your child’s 1st teacher be sure to model a wide range
of emotions for your child with Autism. I often find that children with Autism
are strongest on two emotions: mad and happy. Often the reason why is those are
the emotions they see the most on the faces of their parents…super happy with a
big smile, or very angry with a raised voice. What about fear? Embarrassment?
Pride? Excitement? When was the last time you let your child see you afraid? It
may sound like an odd thing to model, but for a child with Autism your face may
be the only face they are comfortable looking up into. As a parent of a special
needs child, you go through a rollercoaster of emotions on a regular basis!
Don’t be afraid to let your child see your vulnerability, and a range of
emotions.
Resources on teaching Emotions: