Encouraging Positive Self-Talk
Feeling Fixers – A visual support to grow resilience & perseverance, and more!
Some questions filled my inbox after my newsletter a few weeks ago, as some of you were wondering about the genesis of my Feeling Fixers, so here’s the story!
It all started with work on empathy. Watching animated videos, I often ask students “If you were ___the character's friend, what could you say to help them feel better/stick with it/be more flexible?” Students loved doing this…
Or we talked about what the characters could say to themselves:
Then, over time, we all realized that those same thoughts could help us, and that SEEING them was often more effective than someone TELLING us – like a kindly adult trying to be helpful. Our discussions also included that, just like it’s important to be helpful and kind to others, we can show that same help and kindness to ourselves:
But these looked pretty homemade (because they were,) so I had them made up by a local print shop – and made them 4 different ones (“Game Playing”, “Feeling” and “Stuck” Fixers as well as “Encouragers”)that were cleanable and durable:
People wanted to buy them (!) and not only clinicians, but parents and teachers started using them in different, creative ways:
In the backseat for easier car rides!
As screensavers (regulation tool) on their middle school student’s phone
But they were pricey, so I made them into a wallet-friendly download.
I find them super-valuable as a bridge to that internal positive self-talk so many of our students need! I just prop them up and students know they are there when they need them, so they support self-agency and self-advocacy. After all, sometimes we all need a little help. Okay, sometimes in a tough moment I take a look at them myself, take a deep breath or two, and feel better!
Take good care,
