Some people with a disability, in particular people with Autism, can find it difficult to recognize and understand different feelings and emotions. It can be frightening and confusing for a person to understand why they are feeling a particular way and why the other person is expressing different type of feelings and emotions.
Some people may avoid eye contact which contributes to a lack of awareness of how the other person is feeling.
Visual supports can teach a person to better understand how they are feeling and develop empathy and awareness of how other people are feeling.
Emotions are a reaction to how a person is feeling.
Different ways visuals can improve understanding of feelings and emotions
There are different ways visual supports can improve awareness of different facial expressions and body language that relates to a particular feeling and emotion.
- Picture cards – Images/pictures of different feelings and emotions. These supports are great tool for a person who has limited language to explain how they are feeling.
- Charts of different feelings and emotions. A person can be supported to point to how they are feeling.
- Social stories – simple text with clear images with the name of the feeling and emotion and explaining how that will feel in their body.
- Drawings – simple drawings of different feelings and emotions.
Different ways visuals can improve understanding of feelings and emotions
Some people find it difficult to read a person’s facial expression and body language.
Visual supports (images) matched with a verbal label can be a powerful tool to better understanding the facial expression that align with how they and others are feeling.
To develop eye contact/eye gazing, raise the visual support to the eye level, model the facial expression and wait for the person to look up at eye level.
Visual supports as a tool to express how a person is feeling
Some people have difficulty identifying and expression their feelings and emotions. People with limited language can be prompted to exchange the visual of how they are feeling. For example, if a person is feeling sad, you can provide support to prompt the person to point to or exchange a visual support of a sad face.
Other ways to support awareness of different feelings and emotions
Support the person to draw a picture of how they are feeling.
Play matching games – have two visual supports (pictures) of each emotion and support a person to match the emotions.
Demonstrate where you feel that emotion in your body. Place your hand on your heart to demonstrate your feeling of happiness.
Emotional regulation is the coping skills needed to regulate how they are feeling, sometimes due to stress. Some people may like to practice breathing techniques, sensory activities to calm their nervous system.
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