Differentiated break cards help kids recognize when they're getting upset and ask for a break before losing control. Kids signal they need one, use coping strategies during the break, then return when they feel calm. Cards come in picture and text versions for different ages.
I love these differentiated break cards. This is what we want to teach our kids to use when they experience a trigger or a precursor behavior. So at the start of a behavior, before we escalate, we can teach our kids to start to ask for a break. I need a break because I'm overwhelmed, because I'm angry. And then in a break, what coping strategies are they going to do? And then how will they know that the break is over? Because my body feels calm, or because I feel ready to work. I have a few different versions of it, of, you know, with pictures with just text, but starting to teach our kids to identify that low-level response before it escalates is really key to this de-escalation process.
