Special Needs Archives - Meraki Lane

7 Pathological Demand Avoidance Strategies | What is PDA? Is it the same as autism? Is it the same as oppositional defiance disorder (ODD)? What are the signs and symptoms? If you're a parent or special education teacher of one or more children with pathological demand avoidance, this post is a great resource. It includes practical parenting and teaching strategies to help support kids at home and in the classroom.

Pathological Demand Avoidance in Kids: 7 PDA Strategies that Help

7 Interoception Activities for Kids | What is interoception? If you've ever wondered about the 8th sense and how it impacts kids with autism and sensory processing challenges, this post is a great place to start. With sensory activities and occupational therapy resources for teaching kids internal body awareness both in the classroom and at home, the ideas in this post will help you develop a sensory diet for increased self-regulation, problem-solving, flexibility, and social thinking skills!

The 8th Sense Explained: 7 Interoception Activities for Kids

8 Size of the Problem Activities for Kids | Inspired by the Social Thinking and Zones of Regulation curriculums, these games and activities teach children to identify whether a problem is small, medium, or big, as well as what is and is not an appropriate reaction to each. With visual tools, posters for class bulletin boards, scenario cards, worksheets, coloring pages, Google slides, boom cards, and puzzles, this collection of activities has it all - even Size of the Problem BINGO!

Problem Solving 101: 8 Size of the Problem Activities for Kids

Meditation for Beginners | Want to know how to meditate but don't know how to get started? We're sharing 9 tips and guided meditations to help! Mindfulness meditation is an excellent way to help you cope with stress and anxiety, helping you feel calm and more grounded, and allowing you to find inner peace and to sleep better. Meditation is quite easy once you get the hang of it, and we're sharing the different types of meditation along with our favorite meditation apps and guided meditations.

Meditation for Beginners: 9 Tips and Guided Meditations

13 Autism Awareness Crafts for Kids | April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day, and if you're looking for crafts, projects, and activities you can use in your classroom to teach your students about autism, this post is a great place to start. From door signs, to puzzle piece crafts and jigsaw jewelry, to art projects that can be used as bulletin boards throughout the month of April, these ideas will inspire you to find unique ways to celebrate neurodiversity and promote inclusion!

Different, Not Less: 13 Meaningful Autism Awareness Crafts for Kids

40 Anxiety Tattoos | If you're looking for meaningful tattoo ideas to raise mental health awareness and help you cope with the symptoms of anxiety, we've curated 40 beautiful designs to inspire you. Whether you're considering a semicolon tattoo, a 'breathe' or 'inhale exhale' tattoo, word tattoos like 'courage', 'fearless', and 'warrior', or mantras and quote tattoos, you can make each of these unique to you! Perfect for women and men, tattoo these on your wrist or forearm!

40 Anxiety Tattoos to Give You Strength and Help You Cope

8 Social Filter Activities for Kids | If you're looking for social skills activities that help teach children how to filter their thoughts and learn whether they should think it or say it out loud, we're sharing 8 ideas that can be used for elementary school, for middle school, for high school, and for kids with special needs like autism and ADHD. These are great team building exercises and will help develop friendship and conversation skills. #socialskills #socialfilter #socialskillsactivities

Think It Or Say It Out Loud: 8 Social Filter Activities for Kids

13 Stress Relief Activities for Kids | If your little one suffers from feelings of overwhelm, stress, and/or anxiety and you’re looking for coping skills you can teach him or her, we’re sharing 13 simple yet effective activities that help calm the mind and body. From mindful breathing and yoga, to coloring, art therapy, and journaling, these ideas work for all ages and stages and offer a great way to spend quality time with your kids to boot! #calmingactivities #calmingactivitiesforkids

Calm and Collected: 13 Stress Relief Activities for Kids

How to Promote a Positive Body Image in Kids | If you’re looking for ways to teach your kids and teens self-love and body positivity, this post will give you the inspiration you need. If you want your daughter to become a self-assured woman and/or your son to radiate self-confidence, you’ll learn all the ways you’re sabotaging your child’s self-esteem without evening knowing it. Give these parenting tips a try – they work! #positivebodyimage #buildingconfidenceinkids #buildingconfidenceinteens

How to Promote a Positive Body Image in Kids [11 Tips for Parents]

30 Positive Mantras for Kids | If you’re looking for ways to teach mindfulness to your children to help decrease their stress and anxiety and boost their motivation and happiness as they grow and learn, this post is for you! Positive mantras are a great way to nip negative thinking in the bud and encourage positive self-talk. Check out our favorite positive mantras for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school! #positivemantras #positiveaffirmationsforkids #mindfulnessforkids

30 Positive Mantras for Kids that Improve Happiness and Confidence

14 Social Thinking Activities for Kids of All Ages | Developed by Michelle Garcia, Social Thinking is a wonderful curriculum to teach social skills to kids with autism and ADHD. Whether you’re creating a group plan for your classroom, or you need individual lessons for specific students, these games and activities will lay the Social Thinking fundamentals, like the ‘size of the problem’, ‘expected vs unexpected behaviors’, and perspective taking. #socialthinking #selfregulation #autism

Social Thinking Activities for Kids: 14 Ideas to Teach Whole Body Thinking

25 Energizing Brain Breaks for Kids | Engaging your students in regular brain breaks in the classroom can help improve attention, focus, retention, self-regulation, and more! We’re excited to share our favorite quick and easy movement ideas to help kids shed excess energy, and have included ideas for children in preschool and kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school. These activities are fun, calming, and perfect for indoor recess days! #brainbreaks #brainbreaksforkids #sensorybreaks

Focus and Control: 25 Energizing Brain Breaks for Kids

43 Autism Quotes | If you're looking for inspirational quotes about autism awareness and understanding, or you’re a mom or dad with a son or daughter with ASD and you need positive facts and truths to help you stay motivated during the hard times, this post has it all. Whether your child has ‘mild’ high functioning autism or several nonverbal ASD, I hope these uplifting words of encouragement give you the strength to keep advocating for acceptance! #autism #autismquotes #autismawareness

Different Not Less: 43 Autism Quotes to Inspire You

11 Working Memory Games for Kids | Looking for inexpensive (and free!) working memory activities for children with developmental delays like ADHD, executive functioning disorder, and autism, as well as students with learning disabilities like ADHD? With 7 strategies and 11 activities designed to develop a child’s memory, planning, and organization skills, this collection of fun ideas will help make learning fun at home and in the classroom! #workingmemory #workingmemorygames #specialeducation

Don’t forget! 18 working memory games and strategies for kids

11 Scooter Board Activities | Looking for fun occupational therapy ideas to do at home or in the classroom to develop a child’s gross motor skills, improve focus for greater learning, reduce stress and anxiety, and help with self-regulation? From awesome ideas children can do independently, to obstacle course inspiration for teachers and therapists who have access to a gym, these heavy work activities for kids are so much fun! #scooterboard #grossmotor #grossmotoractivities

Gross Motor Play: 11 Super Fun Scooter Board Activities for Kids

How to Help a Child with Selective Mutism | If you’re looking for ideas to help a child with selective mutism outside of therapy, this collection of tips is perfect for parents and teachers alike. What is selective mutism? We’re raising awareness of the disorder by sharing the signs, symptoms, and facts, as well as practical strategies to try at home and in the classroom to reduce anxiety and (hopefully) promote communication in children with SM. #selectivemutism #anxiety #mentalhealth

How to Help a Child with Selective Mutism: 11 Tips for Parents

32 Heavy Work Activities for Kids | If you’re looking for proprioceptive activities to help your child with body awareness, self-regulation, and focus at school, at home, or in Occupational Therapy, these fun and engaging gross motor activities are a great place to start! Engaging students in regular brain breaks can help make learning easier, making this list a great tool for teachers and parents of kids of all ages and abilities. #heavywork #sensoryprocessingdisorder #proprioception

Heavy Work Activities and Sensory Processing Disorder: 32 Ideas to Try

11 Crossing the Midline Activities for Kids | Perfect for toddlers, for kids in preschool, and for older children who struggle with handwriting, reading, and other fine and gross motor skills, these crossing the midline exercises can be used by teachers in the classroom, in Occupational Therapy, and even at home. These ideas are designed to make learning fun, and feel more like play than practice! #crossingthemidline #OTactivities

OT at home: 11 crossing the midline exercises for kids

16 IEP Tips for Parents | If you’re the parent or teacher of a student with a learning disability, challenges with executive functioning, or a developmental delay like autism or ADHD and you want to know how to prepare for an IEP meeting, progress monitoring tips, how to ensure your child’s accommodations are being met, and how to set IEP goals and objectives, this collection of ideas is for you! #IEP #IEPmeeting #IEPtips

Learning support for your child: 16 IEP tips for parents

Art Therapy for Kids | Perfect for emotional healing, anger management, helping kids deal with feelings related to trauma, grief, and divorce, and for kids with mental health challenges and special needs like autism, ADHD, OCD, and anxiety, this collection of simple and creative art therapy projects and crafts will help your child deal with their emotions and heal. #arttherapyforkids #arttherapyprojects #arttherapyactivities

Art Therapy for Kids: 22 Activities to Help Your Child Cope and Heal

How to Discipline a Toddler | Parenting is hard enough as it is, and when you throw tantrums into the mix, it can be downright overwhelming. Whether you’re the mom to sons or daughters, the toddler years will leave you wondering how to get your kid to behave without yelling or time outs, and this collection of 10 simple positive discipline ideas will teach you how to do just that. #tempertantrums #positiveparenting #positivediscipline

How to Discipline a Toddler: 10 Tips that Actually Work