﻿In today's lesson, we are going to look at ways that breathing can help us when we are connecting and playing with other people, and when we are leaving the house and going somewhere else. We as therapists have tried to think of the best way to continue to support children, young people and their families. We will be exploring topic areas that we regularly provide advice and support on across all ages and abilities. Each lesson will have ideas and activities that can be carried out at home or in school. This information is to be used alongside any specific strategies or resources which have been given by your child's school or therapist. If you have any questions or would like help tailoring this to your child's needs, then please contact your local therapy service. Play times and going out of the house to different places should be a fun experience but it's not for everybody. And in today's lesson, we are going to think of different ways especially using our breathing, that we can make it easier for us to connect with other people and for us to go to different places. So you are going to pause the video now so that you can get everything that you need. First of all, you need some paper, some pens and ask your parent or carer to help you choose some magazines. Press play when you've got everything ready and we will start the lesson. Let's have a little look again, at things that may be difficult when we leave the house. It could be that the smells when we are outside of our house is very different, especially when we go to busier places. We may come across street markets, we may go to someone else's home and their home may smell very different to yours. You may not know what to expect and that can make it really hard to predict what is going to happen and that can make you feel worried. At some point, we have been wearing face coverings, and that can be tricky too. When you have to wear something that over your face and it makes you feel that you can't really breathe properly. Some of us may feel a little bit panicky when we have to go out and especially when it's an unfamiliar place, and that can make us feel really worried. So there's lots of things happening when we go out and when we have to meet people that can make it uncomfortable for us. So let's have a look at some of the things that we can do. And this is a reminder. We have looked at some of these things in previous lessons. So things that may help is maybe carrying something from home with you. A clean handkerchief that your parent or carer may have held close to them will have a little bit of the home smell inside it and that may be enough to comfort you. In the same way something like a comfy blanket or a favourite toy, is something that you may want to take with you when you're leaving the house and you're going to somewhere where you haven't been before. Not knowing what to expect. You know sometimes you can... Apart from just talking to your parent or carer about where you're going and what you are going to do, finding something to chew on or to suck on especially if it's through a straw and you have a thickened drink maybe, those things can be really calming to your brain and that can help you to feel a little bit more at ease when you have to go somewhere that is unfamiliar. At times, we may have been wearing face coverings and the way to think about a face covering is to really have a chat to your parent or carer about what it looks like, what it feels like, the design of it, and when and where you have to wear it. So it may be a good idea to try wearing a face covering for little bits at home, if it is something that you're not used to but it is something that you have to have to wear when you leave the house. Feeling panicky about going out is... A lot of people feel like that and there are a lot of breathing exercises that we can do. And we have looked quite a few breathing exercises together in the lessons that we've just had. So you can always go back to some of the previous lessons and have a look at some of the breathing exercises. Okay, we're going to contribute to our sensory passport and we're going to think about that breathing page. So I want you to first of all make a plan. Think about people that you're going to meet. Think about going somewhere that may be a little bit uncomfortable, and chat to your parent or carer about what you can do to make it easier. So think about all the things that we've been chatting about in these lessons. Maybe it's something to do with your mouth that will help you to be regulated. So something to chew on, to suck on. Maybe it's about blowing some bubbles as a game and that will be regulating to you. It may be that maybe you want to do some breathing exercises, just before you leave the car to go into a new building. That may be something to help you and think of what else is there that can make life easier. And you can go through all the different things as well and think back about all the lessons that we've been learning throughout the time. Once you finish with your plan, press play and we will do next bit together. Here is an example of a sensory passport page that I have made about going out and meeting other people. It may be that you want to have a comfort blanket and you want to tell other people that that is something that help you when you go out and meet people. It may be going to a coffee place where they sell coffee or even popcorn is comforting to you because those smells are something that brings up happy memories. It may be that the smell of roads or the smell with the inside of a cab or a train, is not something that you like and maybe they are alternative ways to get to places other than maybe a car or a train. For me, I sometimes like to chew some minty chewing gum, or sucking on a yoghourt drink with a thick straw. Those kind of things food wise help me but it may be something different for you. It may be something that you chew, that you suck, or maybe something that you used to blow. And then specific tastes are also something that can help you when you go out. And it's important to go communicate this with other people. So for me, I sometimes like some sparkling water, because it's alerting and it kind of helps me to wake up, some crunchy foods, or the smell of lemons and oranges is something that's quite nice. And then the things that calm me is often to chew a caramel toffee. I don't know what would you like and what is the things that help you to be calm. Have a chat to your parent or carer and then using the same headings or your own, choosing pictures or words, you are going now to make your sensory page. So pause the video here and using your pens and paper, add to your own "When I'm out and about" page in your sensory passport, and then press play when you're finished. Brilliant, well done. Think about sharing your work with Oak National and if you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak. Have a great day.

Going outside the house and meeting other people

In this lesson, we will explore going outside the house and meeting other people Resources provided by University of Gloucestershire (CC BY-NC-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0)

Lesson overview:Ideas to Help me Connect with Others Outside of the Home

Core Content

Equipment Required

Oral/Breathing: