Inclusive Student Support Services

16/03/2026

Holiday Friendship Groups

📨susan@inclusivestudent.com.au to enquire

08/03/2026

This card game has turned into an absolute goldmine for learning — and the best part is the kids think they’re just having fun.

Here’s what you’re actually building:

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🧠 1. Sequencing & Predictive Thinking
Kids have to work out:
- What happened first?
- What caused the reaction?
- Why is the character responding that way?

That’s huge for:
- narrative skills
- understanding cause and effect
- early problem‑solving

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😃 2. Reading Facial Expressions
The illustrations give you:
- eyebrows
- eyes
- mouths
- body posture

Perfect for helping kids decode:
- emotions
- intensity (e.g., “a little annoyed” vs “really angry”)
- social cues

This is especially powerful for kids who benefit from explicit emotional mapping.

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🤝 3. Understanding
Each pair of cards shows a moment between characters, so kids naturally start talking about:
- what each character wants
- whether someone is helping, annoying, surprising, or scaring the other
- how the interaction might continue

You’re basically sneaking in social‑thinking therapy through a game.

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🔔 4. Fast‑paced Fun That Builds
The bell + matching pair + shouting “DOGMAN!” adds:
- excitement
- impulse control practice
- turn‑taking
- frustration tolerance
- quick decision‑making

It’s competitive but still silly enough to keep it light.

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🎉 5. And the best part…
Kids are learning all of this without feeling like they’re being taught.
They’re just:
- laughing
- flipping cards
- racing to the bell
- and absorbing social‑emotional skills in the background

It’s the perfect example of learning done right.

06/03/2026

DM for details



Blue Mountains Gazette


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05/03/2026

Why hands‑on making (like slime) works so well after school
These activities hit several regulatory systems at once:

— The tactile input of slime, dough, kinetic sand, or putty gives proprioceptive and tactile feedback that calms the nervous system and reduces the cognitive load of masking.
- — Kids can talk if they want to, but they don’t have to make eye contact or sit still. Conversation becomes incidental rather than pressured.
- Predictability — A simple recipe or step‑by‑step task gives structure without feeling like work.
— You’re “doing something together”, which feels safer than direct questioning.
- Micro‑successes — Mixing, kneading, choosing colours—these give quick wins that build confidence before any emotional processing.

This is why you often get those little windows of honesty: “Actually, something happened at recess…” or “My teacher got cranky today…”.

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What makes sessions feel engaging instead of demanding
A few elements tend to shift the whole tone:

- Choice — “Do you want to make slime, kinetic sand, or do a quick drawing challenge?”
Choice restores autonomy after a day of compliance.
- Movement — Letting them stand, pace, bounce on a ball, or stir vigorously keeps arousal regulated.
- Short cycles — 5–10 minute activities that shift naturally prevent overwhelm.
- Embedded check‑ins — “What colour should we add next?” often leads to “How was your day?” without pressure.
- Humour and playfulness — Lightness lowers defences and makes connection feel safe.

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Easy conversation starters that fit naturally into making activities
These work beautifully while hands are busy:

- “What was the funniest thing that happened today?”
- “If today was a slime colour, what colour would it be?”
- “What was the trickiest part of the day?”
- “Who did you hang out with at lunch?”
- “What’s something you wish teachers understood about kids your age?”

They’re gentle, indirect, and let the child choose depth.

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The deeper therapeutic value
Activities like slime aren’t just fillers—they’re regulation tools, rapport builders, and debriefing scaffolds. For neurodiverse kids especially, they:

- reduce masking pressure
- support sensory needs
- create psychological safety
- allow emotional expression without intensity
- build trust through shared experience
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03/03/2026

School therapy and home therapy sessions with year 1 and kindergarten students...
My yoga life goals so easily achieved by a 6 year old! 😜

03/03/2026

‼️They are ACTUALLY getting the movement that their bodies need!!! Please let them swing on their chairs‼️

Alright, hands up if your teacher hit you with the classic:

“Don’t swing on your chair… a boy did that once and cracked his head open.”

Every school. Every state. Same story. Different “mate of a mate.” 😭

So where’d it come from?

Turns out it’s basically an international classroom urban legend — people in the UK and elsewhere reckon they got the exact same warning word-for-word.

And in Australia, it’s been floating around for years as one of those “primary school canon events” that everyone remembers.

Did it ever happen?

Kids absolutely have been seriously injured tipping back on chairs (head hits are no joke)… but there doesn’t seem to be one confirmed, famous “chair swing boy” case that started the whole thing.

It’s more like all teachers in Austrlaia just got togethor one day and agreed on the same story lol

Be honest: did your school have the “chair kid”… and what was his name? 😅

03/03/2026

Building emotional awareness in children is one of the most protective, empowering, and developmentally essential things we can do. It shapes how they understand themselves, relate to others, and navigate the world — and it underpins almost every social, behavioural, and learning outcome we care about.

☆ What emotional awareness actually means
is the ability to:
- Notice feelings in the body
- Name emotions accurately
- Understand what triggered them
- Recognise how emotions influence behaviour
- Choose a safe or helpful response

Children aren’t born with these skills — they learn them through modelling, , and consistent everyday practice.

☆ Why emotional awareness matters so much

1. Stronger self-regulation
Children who can identify their feelings early are far more able to use strategies before they escalate. It reduces meltdowns, shutdowns, and reactive behaviour because they understand what’s happening inside.

2. Better social relationships
When kids can read their own emotions, they become better at reading others’. This builds empathy, cooperation, conflict resolution, and the ability to repair relationships.

3. Improved learning and engagement
A regulated brain is a learning brain. Emotional awareness helps children return to a calm, receptive state more quickly, which supports attention, memory, and problem‑solving.

4. Reduced anxiety and overwhelm
Naming emotions reduces their intensity. Children feel safer when they understand their internal world rather than feeling “out of control” or confused by big sensations.

5. Healthy identity and self-esteem
Kids who understand their emotions learn that:
- feelings are normal
- feelings don’t make them “bad”
- feelings give information
This builds confidence and resilience.

6. Long-term mental health protection
Emotional literacy in childhood is linked to:
- lower rates of depression and anxiety
- better coping skills
- healthier adult relationships
- stronger decision-making

It’s one of the strongest predictors of wellbeing across the lifespan.

☆ What it looks like in everyday practice
- Adults modelling naming their own emotions (“I’m feeling frustrated, so I’m taking a breath”).
- Visuals showing a range of emotions, not just happy/sad.
- Regular check-ins (“What colour zone are you in?”).
- Teaching body cues (“Tight tummy means worry might be visiting”).
- Using stories, play, and role-modelling to explore feelings.
- Co-regulation first, teaching second.
- Celebrating all emotions, not just the “easy” ones.

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☆ Why this is especially important for children
For children, emotional awareness:
- builds predictability and safety
- reduces shame around big feelings
- supports communication when words are hard
- helps them advocate for what they need
- strengthens their ability to use sensory tools proactively

It turns emotional experiences from something overwhelming into something understandable and manageable.

03/03/2026

After speaking with his mother, I returned to my room to find that my client had independently established a setup to meet his sensory needs using the available resources in the room! No prompting, just meeting a need 🤩

23/02/2026

I love these viewpoints!

19/02/2026

Email to book for the following inclusive groups
susan@inclusivestudent.com.au
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13/02/2026

These books are fantastic for helping support children with tricky emotions.
And I found a pdf!!!
https://www.gordonchildrensacademy.org.uk/site-gorden/assets/files/3535/the-anger-gremlin-story-and-activities.pdf
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