An AGILE response to support children.

As an early childhood educator my role includes supporting children as they process big emotions.

Here are five points I consider in my interactions with students.

ACKNOWLEDGE the student's perspective without applying judgement.

Be GENUINE in my interest in being part of the problem solving process.

Be INTENTIONAL and Individual with my words and actions. Avoid the "You Get What You Get; You Don't Get Upset" cliches.

Offer a LEVELED response specific to the present moment. A student's past success and future goals are different levels: Focus on processing the present experience using the tools they can access at this moment.

EMPOWER the student to have control of their next step. Guide the student towards considering two positive, move forward, options. Avoid offering Comply or Defy options, often framed as "Make Good Choices", because that is setting the student up to fail. The greater the dysregulation the lesser the cognitive load needs to be. Sometimes the first choices I offer are as simple as: "Should we start with our left or our right?"

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