Articles & Resources
Children’s Activity: Mandala Colouring
Sometimes, we just need an activity that allows us to switch off and zone out, to process our thoughts, feelings and experiences. Free Downloadable Colouring Sheet Download here Free Activity So, this week, our free activity is a downloadable mandala colouring sheet, so you can unwind together. Why not make it a family
7 Reasons girls are not recognised as having autism
We frequently find that parents of girls with autism report their daughters being missed for significant periods of time. In my own therapy and coaching practice, I invariably meet a large number of girls aged 14 and above who have not been referred for assessment, and who have had significant challenges emotionally, socially and with
Children’s Activity: All about me
When we think about self-esteem, we want to consider how easily children can identify their strengths, areas of development and their abilities. So, this week we have a reflection task to support those conversations and reflections. All About Me Download here Next steps Download the sheet here (download) Collect pens and pencils Read through
The Dangers of Victim Blaming
Have you ever noticed that when we see or hear tragedies, challenges or bad news on the news, internet or social media that so many people will leap to comment: “They should have done XYZ and it would have stopped that” “In my day, they wouldn’t have been allowed to do that” “Where were their
Children’s Activity: Art Board Prompts
Exploring our identities can feel tricky when working with children. Asking questions such as ‘who am I?’ can feel challenging, after all, how many of us understood ourselves when we were younger? So, this week we are sharing a board of 12 activity prompts you can use to learn more about children and encourage some
Sensory Seeking or Sensory Avoiding?
Sensory Behaviours Our brains work 24 hours a day. Every day, our brains are taking in information from the world around us. For many of us, we give this little thought, perhaps even taking for granted the inputs and stimuli we receive from the environment. For others, the world around them offers a constant stream
Children’s Activity: Calm and Colour
Sometimes, we just need an activity that allows us to switch off and zone out, to process our thoughts, feelings and experiences. When we have something to focus on, we can often find it easier to talk as well. So, having therapeutic colouring sheets to work on, whilst having conversations about our challenges or feelings
ADHD, Boredom and Sensory Seeking
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition. This means that the brain structure is different in those with ADHD in comparison to someone who is neurotypical. ADHD is associated with a dysregulated dopamine system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and motivation. Dopamine is linked with movement, memory, pleasurable reward and motivation, behaviour
Children’s Activity: Draw my faces
In surveys completed by Brene Brown and her team, they found that of 7,000 people over a period of five years, on average people can identify only three emotions as they are actually feeling them: happiness, sadness and anger. If you have followed Dandelion for any length of time, you will know that we are
Are you stopping a speeding train?
Are you someone who sees the challenges that others are getting into and finds yourself involved in their worlds, trying to stop them? Are you someone who, when you see someone struggling, you feel an overwhelming need to relieve their struggles? Who shortly afterwards finds yourself exhausted and the other person feeling irritated with you?
Children’s Activity: Where are your feelings?
Identifying that our feelings are fluid, and ever moving supports children to understand that they do not need to always feel ‘happy’. For so many children and adults, there is a pressure to always be ‘happy’, when in reality our feelings move continually throughout the day. Learning to differentiate between different feelings is an important
Why we need to stop blaming social media for diagnosis
Something that has become more prevalent over recent years is the number of professionals that I speak to who blame social media for individuals (adolescents and adults) seeking a diagnosis. Often, this surrounds needs such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit disorder, but can branch out to a number of different diagnoses. This might
Children’s Activity: Feelings Planner
So often, we find that children (and some adults) struggle to identify their feelings, and are unsure or do not know how to respond to them. A frequent struggle I see in my coaching work, is the challenge of differentiating boredom from sadness and stress from anger. Being able to recognise our warning signs of
5 Ways to Boost Child Self-esteem
We talk a lot about self-esteem, and supporting children to recognise their own value. However, many of our systems have not yet adapted to support children to develop this vital skill. We hear a number of people talk about the influence of ‘social media’ and ‘influencers’ making children feel bad about themselves, and whilst they
Children’s Activities: Monster Feelings
Empathy It is thought that children develop empathy around 2 years old. At this stage, children begin to show an understanding of how other people feel and recognise that they don’t feel the same way themselves. However, empathy continues to develop throughout life and as children’s brains continue to develop until around 25 years old,
When compassion fatigue strikes
When we are supporting the emotional needs and mental health of others, we can find that caring for ourselves can fall by the wayside. When the balance of self-care and working practice is not well managed and monitored, it can quickly fall out of balance and cause a wide number of implications. The nature of supporting
Children’s Activity: Therapeutic Colouring
Sometimes, we just need an activity that allows us to switch off and zone out, to process our thoughts, feelings and experiences. Colouring has many benefits: Develops fine motor skills Supports concentration skills Develops colour recognition Strengthens handwriting skills Encourages relaxation Develops focus Creates a focus on the present Calms a restless mind Develops inner
Tantrum or Meltdown?
When children become dysregulated, it can frequently be seen that they are referred to as having a ‘tantrum’. On face value, tantrums and meltdowns can often look similar, but their role is different. A tantrum A tantrum is usually associated with wanting something. It will normally come to an end once the child has what
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