It's a question I've been asking myself more and more lately.

As therapists, we spend years learning strategies. We build our toolbox, attend courses and collect ideas that can help children participate more successfully in everyday life. But every now and then, a child reminds us that success isn't always about choosing the right strategy.

Sometimes it's about choosing the right moment.

Have you ever introduced what you knew was an excellent intervention, only to have the child refuse, walk away or become distressed? It's tempting to conclude that the strategy didn't work.

But perhaps the strategy wasn't the problem. Perhaps the child simply wasn't ready to access it. I've come to believe that our greatest clinical skill isn't knowing what to do; it's recognising when to do it.

The nervous system doesn't work to our timetable. It doesn't care that we planned a handwriting activity or a social skills game. If a child is overwhelmed, anxious or simply running low on regulation capacity, the best intervention in the world may not be accessible in that moment.

When we slow down, observe first and respond to the child's current capacity, our therapy changes. We become less focused on completing activities and more focused on creating the conditions that allow learning to happen.

Sometimes the most therapeutic thing we can do isn't teach.

It's wait.

Because when timing is right, children often show us they were capable all along.

Wondering how you can change this for the children you support? 

Download my free guide:

https://www.theregulationhourglass.com.au/lp-before-you-step-in-pause-a-regulation-village-guide

Have a good one.

Beryl