Using "A Little Spot of Emotion" to Develop Self-Regulation Skills

A Little Spot of Emotion is a book series by Diane Alber that discusses feelings and feeling identification. Learning and understanding feelings is an important step in the development of self-regulation skills. These books break down feelings and the body language that surrounds them; it also provides strategies for each emotion. Some emotions include peacefulness, happiness, anger, sadness, anxiety, love, confidence, and flexibility. Emotions can be complex, which causes them to “tangle”. This book series allows us to “untangle” the Scribble Spot (seen on the left) to a Rainbow Spot (seen on the right) to dive deeper into each emotion and how we can regulate our mind/bodies when challenges occur in our environment.  

The image above portrays one of many activities that can be done regarding the Spots of Emotion. In this activity, this child had to provide a strategy to reach or stay within a certain emotion area. For example, this child was asked, “If we feel sad, what are two ways we can help our body get back to a little spot of peacefulness?” They untangled the Scribble Spot one emotion at a time by providing strategies to achieve a more calm state. 

These books can be bought in a pack online or they are available in read-alongs or short animation videos on Diane Alber’s YouTube channel.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your child’s occupational therapist at the Boston Ability Center.

Written by Bella Crugnale, MSOT, OTR/L and Kate Woods, MSOT, OTR/L 

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