How to tackle chores when regressed :
Ello!! I’m here bc sometimes I find it sooo hard to check off my to-dos bc my liddol(s) out ૮꒰ྀི⊃⸝ ⸝ ⸝⊂꒱ྀིა
Here are some ideas for folks tht may be struggling getting up &&doing the tingz !!
♡ Print off a sticker chart !! Ik for me having external motivation aka cute lil stickers showing how good I’ve been can rly rly help !!
♡ Bring along your stuffie/favorite toy !! They’re your fren & wanna help u do the thing !!
♡ Play age-appropriate music & dance & sing along while u work !! This can make the thing feel less daunting & more silly & fun !!
♡ Have a kid-appropriate movie/tv show on in the background !! Just be sure to not get too distracted, little one !! ଘ(੭˃ᴗ˂)੭
♡ Ask your cg for a reward if u complete all da tingz !! Rewards can be things like regression time w them that night, sweets, etc !! If u don’t have a cg, thts totally ok !! U can also do these things solo !! ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )
♡ Make urself a snack/meal first !! Ik for me sometimes the energy boost is definitely needed !! Some age-appropriate foods can be apple slices w peanut butter/caramel, mac n cheese, milk in a baba, etc !! Just stay healthy little ones !!
♡ This one’s may be harder for some, but try calling another liddol fren/someone who supports your regression if you’ve got any !! I’m lucky enough to have this option, it’s ok if u don’t !! But sometimes talking to somebody helps me get up & at’em !!
♡ Play a regression podcast !! This one’s good for those of us tht may not have a cg/regression buddies to talk to !! When I’ve been cg-less these have rly rly helped me !! ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა
Feel free to add more, & have fun bein a good little kiddo !!
~ Starry ⋆⭒˚.⋆
716 notes
·
View notes
A child is having outbursts at school, or at home, or wherever else, on a pretty regular basis. And at some point, someone suggests that they need to learn better coping skills.
They suggest therapy, or maybe there’s even a special program at school. Because yes, better coping skills/self-regulation skills/frustration tolerance really would solve everything, wouldn’t it?
Well those are fine skills to have, to be sure, but more often than not, it’s not what that child (or adult) needs most. What they really need is someone to figure out what’s stressing them out so much and then do something about THAT.
Because it’s not actually weird to be distressed over distressing things. Maybe *you* don’t understand what’s so distressing about school or the grocery store or that new person in the house, but that doesn’t mean *their* distress isn’t legit.
People reeaalllly like to suggest better coping skills for autistic, ADHD, and otherwise ND folks. (Since we already have a diagnosis, it’s that much easier to locate the problem in US.) And what they’re really saying with this an awful lot of the time is, “Can you please stop being so distressed by distressing things because it’s making a lot of work for us and we’re not about to change anything for you.”
So before you put someone in some sort of therapy that will teach them that they’re wrong to be upset about the things that upset them and how to get better at pretending to be okay, maybe consider that you might be expecting them to “cope” with more than they can reasonably be expected to.
973 notes
·
View notes
So... what exactly are executive functioning supports...?
Planners, checklists, and reminders are definitely executive function supports, but they aren't the only things that are available. ...so, I've made a list of some examples. A thread (🧵)
Executive functioning includes so much, so executive function supports can be SO MANY things. Executive functions include decision making, working memory, task initiation, planning, prioritizing, many forms of self-regulation, and more.
So let's talk in broad categories
Category 1: Decisionmaking
Avoiding a decision altogether,
Choosing randomly,
Reducing the number of options to decide between,
Always doing the same decision (such as having a uniform for yourself),
Outsourcing decisions,
Having outside structure/expectations
Category 2: Working memory
Keeping things visible,
Reminders,
Collaborators who gently remind you of things,
Writing it down (i.e., notebooks, post-its, to-do lists, etc.),
External structure such as lunch hours,
Understanding why and how working memory fails
Category 3: Information processing
Avoiding weak processing areas (eg. reading for dyslexics like me)
Have information in multiple forms,
Make information processing context relevant,
Reduce incoming information or competing demands
Category 4: Task Management
Body doubling,
Transition time,
To-do lists,
Breaking tasks down (including people to help with that),
External structure for identify the next step,
clear, explicit instructions,
Schedules, planners, itineraries.
Category 5: Organization
Mind maps,
Labels,
Notetaking templates,
Physical organizers,
Organizing methods (Kondo, Only 4 Things, etc.),
House cleaners, professional organizer, etc.
Clear bins,
An ability to toggle visibility
Category 6: Cognitive Flexibility
Transition time,
Pre-change warnings,
External support for identifying and reminding the new direction,
Context-based exemplars of similar change,
Visual schedules,
Reminders of when structure will start again
I've listed a lot of things here, but there are just so, so, so many more options.
Executive function supports can be ways that we think or approach situations (internal) or structures imposed on us by others (external). They can be physical tools that we can touch and interact with (tangible) or completely abstract ideas or approaches (intangible)
The big takeaways are that executive function supports can be any tool, structure, or communication that supports any of our executive functions.
Executive functioning struggles are core to the ADHD and autistic experiences (and secondary to other ND conditions). This means executive functioning takes a lot of energy for ADHD and/or autistic people, and the more support we have the more energy we can use for other things
So, yeah, planners, checklists, and reminders are definitely executive function supports, but so is a highschool bell schedule, hobby-related groups, professional services, and colleagues (consensually) harassing you to remember to send that email.
There are a lot of options!
2K notes
·
View notes
It's okay to not know how to take care of yourself
Learning to take care of yourself is a skill, one that we often aren't taught as children. For example, I didn't know that procrastination didn't count as an effective rest until like 2 months ago. I also knew very little about nutrition until like a weeks ago (and I took hospitality in high school).
Self care is fucking hard and we need to give ourselves more credit for just /trying/. We're all learning at our own pace and there is no guide book on what self care you specifically need. You'll learn, we all do eventually. Unfortunately, it just takes time.
494 notes
·
View notes