These 10 calming strategies for kids with autism will help your child relax, decrease tantrums and increase family peace & harmony! They are perfect for use in the classroom too. Pick your favorite calming strategies for kids or try them all. Many of these techniques are quick ways to calm down, although some of them will take a little longer to set up and get going. Make sure you print out your Calm Down Strategies PDF Checklist to get the most out of this post!
Why do we need calming strategies for kids with autism?
Calm down techniques are essential for instilling peace, harmony and joy in your home or classroom. Using calming activities for kids in the classroom is crucial for providing a calm, structured and relaxing environment for your students. Using calm down strategies at home, will make for a happier and more peaceful day for your child and the whole family.
By using these techniques and strategies with your little learners on the autism spectrum, you will teach your child or students to answer the question “what can I do to calm down?” on their own or with your help.
Don’t leave without downloading your free printable calm down strategies PDF!
When to use calm down strategies for kids
These activities can be used to keep your child or students calm and happy and to prevent stress and difficult behaviors. They can also be used as a response to a melt down or when you child or students’ behaviors start to get a little out of control.
The goal is to use this techniques and activities to avoid stress and also to deal with it when it (inevitably) presents itself.
How to use calming strategies for kids with autism at home or in the classroom
First, you need to know if you are using these activities to prevent stress, hyperactivity and melt downs or if you are responding to a melt down.
I recommend planning out your days to prevent stress and hyperactivity and to also keep this post on hand for when times get tough and you need to use one of these strategies as a response to a melt down.
Don’t leave without downloading your free printable calm down strategies PDF!
10 Ways to Calm Down (Best Calm Down Techniques)
I have been using these calm down techniques and strategies for nearly 20 years in my classroom, therapy and home programs. They have helped hundreds of kids I’ve worked with in person and have also been helping the children I coach online. They can help you too whether you are a parent, teacher or therapist helping autistic children.
1. Calming classroom activities
Keeping your child or students occupied is one of the best relaxation strategies for kids. Children on the autism spectrum are often stressed because they don’t know what to do. If you create a structured plan for them, they will live the day with more ease and have a happier and more productive day. Use my Autism Activities Workbook Bundle to plan and print your activities in advance so you know exactly what you will teach or work on during the day.
2. Quiet classroom music
I love using calming music with my little learners. In fact, quiet music for children is a wonderful tool to add to your classroom, home or therapy program to increase joy and ease. I use calming music for the classroom in my own autism classroom and often have relaxing music for the classroom playing in the background while the kids are learning.
I love playing soft and soothing classical music in the background and have noticed a significant change in the kids’ behavior when it’s playing during other activities. Give it a try, it may just help you too!
Don’t leave without downloading your free printable calm down strategies PDF!
3. Calming Videos for Kids
Another way to increase calm is by using another one of my favorite calm down strategies : playing calming videos. Videos are a fantastic tool and can be introduced as one of the best calm down techniques for preschoolers or as relaxation activities for elementary students.
I love using these collections of videos
Relaxation for Kids – The Koeppen Technique
I also love using videos that actually model relaxation techniques such as the cute animated video below.
Body scan meditation video
If your child or students can follow along with this video, it shows a powerful relaxation strategy too.
4. Calm Down Games
As far as calm down activities for kids go, calming games may just be the most fun!
These are some of my favorites
- Kids Yoga Flashcards – yoga is a fantastic calm down activity. Why not make doing kids yoga into a fun game?
- Calm Down Bingo – this cute printable bingo is a great way to take the pressure and build calm down skills.
Don’t leave without downloading your free printable calm down strategies PDF!
5. Teach self calming techniques
It is essential that your child or students learn to calm down on their own. Of course, you want to be there to help guide them through calm down when they experience complicated emotions or begin to feel overwhelmed, but wouldn’t it be even better if they had their own calming strategies they could use on their own?
Some techniques you can teach are
- Deep breathing
- Stretching
- Jumping jacks
- Drawing
- Reading
- Drinking a glass of water
- Taking a bath (if possible) or putting their hands in cool water
- Putting a cool, wet cloth on the forehead
- Playing with a sensory toy
Don’t leave without downloading your free printable calm down strategies PDF!
6. Fun sensory activities
Some of the best calming activities for kids are sensory boxes.
These are some of my favorite sensory bins on the blog
7. Calm down corner technique
The idea behind a calm down corner is that you have a designated space in your home or classroom where your child or students can go to, you guessed it, calm down! It is important to note that I am not recommending you use this space as a punishment. This should be a positive space that helps your little ones calm down quickly. These sensory room tips can help you set one up in your home or classroom.
If you need some more help setting up your calm down corner, I love this Calm Corner Printable Kit.
Don’t leave without downloading your free printable calm down strategies PDF!
8. Oral sensory input
This collection of autism chew toys is very valuable in providing oral sensory input which can help your child or students calm down. Use the chew toys to provide sensory input, replace chewing behavior and help your little one release tension.
9. Relaxing group activities
If you are working with a group of kids, such as in a classroom, or even with multiple kids at home, you will want to use relaxing group activities to help your child or students get entered and calm down.
Some ideas
- Jumping jacks
- Dance party
- Water play
10. Increase physical activity
Regular physical activity is a powerful antidote to hyperactivity, stress and overstimulation. Engage your child or students in yoga using these yoga videos for kids, jumping on the trampoline, going for a walk or enjoying other outdoor activities for an autistic child.
Keep a list of calming things to do on hand
It can be hard to know exactly what to do when the going gets tough. If a melt down starts and you managing several children at home or in the classroom it will be difficult to know exactly what to do. I recommend printing out the PDF checklist I prepared for you so that you can have a copy of these ideas on hand either in your child’s home program binder or in your classroom.
Download your Free Printable Calm Down Strategies PDF Checklist!
Don’t leave without downloading your free printable calm down strategies PDF!
More Strategies for Classroom Management
Use this additional list of classroom management strategies to have a calm and happy classroom for your students.
- Use fidgets
- Use autism worksheets
- Use liquid timers for activities
Calm Down Strategies (Visuals)
Using visual prompts for these activities will make them even easier to put in place and use effectively with your little ones.
Download your Free Printable Calm Down Strategies Checklist!
Print out this checklist and put it up at home or in your autism classroom so you never run out of calm down activities for your child or students. You could even put it a copy in your child’s home program binder.
