I will be seeing Ming again. Ming is an energetic 7-year-old boy with Autism.
Once I reached the clinic, I quickly reminded my assistant nurse , “Ming is coming today. Make sure the toy house is out of his sight!”
“But Dr., the toy house hasn’t been taken out from the cabinet for quite some time now…”
“I know, but I think Ming will look for it and ask for it!” My gut feeling told me he would remember, even though it had been over six months since I last saw him.. It is a miniature house filled with colorful furniture and tiny figurines.
I recalled that during the last review, Ming was offered the toy house to play with, and we later found out that this is his “special interest.” and we unintentionally made it difficult to transition him to another activity and proceeding with his school readiness assessments.
My clinic room was reverberating with a symphony of “No, no!” and “Don’t want!” along with repetitive verbal prompts from Ming’s parents: “Please do what Dr. says, or no more swimming, no more…”.
Suddenly, the clinic door opened, and Ming dashed into my room. His eyes darted all over, actively searching… “Toy house! Toy house!” he exclaimed.
“Ming, Auntie Zu (my assistant nurse) has kept the toy house in a safe place.” I tried to engage Ming in basic conversation and redirect his attention by asking him about his breakfast. However, Ming was not interested in responding to my questions and persisted in his requests for the toy house.
“What zone are you in now, Ming?” his father asked.
“Blue!” Ming uttered unhappily.
With a smile on his face, Ming’s father commented, “His Special Ed teacher has taught him about the Zones of Regulation. Ming can now recognize his own emotions, and he has been taught what to do to calm himself down and bring himself to the Green Zone when he is in the Blue, Yellow, or Red Zones. We have seen a great change in his emotional regulation and more positive behavior!”
“Ming, what can you do to get yourself back to the Green Zone?” Ming’s father asked patiently .
“ Drink water” Ming answered after a brief pause. Then, he drank few sips of water from his tumbler.
“Today, after we do table tasks, you will play with the toy house,” I laid out my promise cautiously.
This time around, after several verbal reminders that he would get the toy house after completing the table tasks, Ming complied and went to sit at the table readily, and waited for my instructions for the tasks!
“What Zone are you in now, Ming?” his father asked again.
“Green!” Ming answered calmly.
The assessment process was much smoother than before. We gave him a short break (with a timer set) in the middle of it, and I managed to complete my assessment at the table with him. I felt incredible!
We let Ming play with the toy house as promised. A big grin spred across his chubby face.
“Which Zone are you in now?” Ming’s mother asked.
“Green!” Ming answered joyfully while immersing himself in the delights of playing with the figurines and the toy house.
Today, I was in the Green Zone!
I sincerely commend Ming’s special education teacher for patiently teaching him this crucial aspect of emotion regulation. Additionally, Kudos to Leah M. Kuypers for The Zones of Regulation ® Curriculum, which has changed the lives of many children and families!
Please check out this amazing curriculum via this link: The Zones of Regulation | A Curriculum For Emotional Regulation
Now, may I ask, What Zone are you in now?