A–Z Glossary

gradual exposure

Gradual exposure is practicing increasingly difficult steps toward a feared situation while learning to remain present as anxiety rises and falls.

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Improving social interaction skills

Improving social interaction skills

What social interaction skills are Social interaction skills are the behaviors that help a child connect with other people. They include noticing another person’s face or body language, waiting for a turn, asking a follow-up question, and adjusting words or tone to fit the moment. In medical and educational language, this area may be described […]

Practicing a family emergency drill without frightening children

Practicing a family emergency drill without frightening children

Start with the purpose: practice, not prediction Before scheduling a drill, explain that families practice safety plans in the same way they practice crossing a road or learning a fire-escape route. A child-friendly explanation might be: “We are going to practice how our family stays together and gets help. This is practice, and everyone is […]

Managing anxiety before speaking in front of the class

Managing anxiety before speaking in front of the class

Understand what the child is experiencing Presentation anxiety is a situational form of nervousness that can occur when a child expects scrutiny, embarrassment, forgetting, or negative evaluation. The brain may interpret standing before a group as a threat, activating sympathetic arousal. This can produce a fast pulse, muscle tension, dry mouth, gastrointestinal discomfort, dizziness, sweating, […]