GECKO SA

20/03/2026

Calm creates sunshine, chaos creates storm.❤️‍🩹

20/03/2026

Kids co-regulate with us.

Parents, just 10 seconds of grounding can calm the whole room.

RSVP for our next Feelings Fridays Webinar: Pause is Power——->

https://bit.ly/MarchFeelingsFridays

20/03/2026

A support worker is paid. A friend is not. A support worker writes reports, follows policies, and leaves when the shift ends or the job changes. A friend stays because they choose to. When we blur those lines, we risk asking people with intellectual disabilities to pretend that something paid for is the same as something freely given.

Real support should make friendship possible, not replace it. The goal of support is not to become someone’s social world, it is to help them build one. When staff step back from trying to be the friend, space opens to help people to build friendships with neighbours, coworkers, classmates, and community members. The measure of good support is not how close the staff relationship feels. It is whether the person’s life is bigger, richer, and filled with people who are there because they want to be.
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ID: Fionn holds a cardboard sign above his head that reads "I don't want support staff as friends" - a person walking by has stopped to read the sign.

14/03/2026

09/03/2026

When a child is overwhelmed, their thinking brain can go offline. Big feelings take over, and it can be hard for them to calm their body.

One simple strategy that can help in these moments is crunching on an ice cube.

The intense cold sensation activates the body’s sensory system and can help interrupt the stress response. It gives the brain a strong, safe sensation to focus on, which can help shift attention away from racing thoughts or overwhelming feelings.

Cold stimulation can also activate the vagus nerve, which helps the body move out of fight-or-flight and back towards a calmer state.

For some children, especially those who respond well to sensory input, this quick sensory reset can help their body slow down enough to begin regulating again.

It won’t work for every child, but for some young people it can be a surprisingly effective way to ground themselves in the moment.

If you’d like more practical strategies for supporting children through big feelings, the Managing Big Feelings Toolkit is available — link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

regulation

07/03/2026

Especially outside! Right, TimberNook ?

07/03/2026

I’m 51 years old, and I can honestly say that when my child stopped eating was the most terrified I have ever been.

I was in a constant state of panic, confusion and hopelessness, which was compounded by the fact that medical professionals weren’t taking the situation seriously, and there was no support or guidance. I felt like the bottom had fallen out of our world, and I was so scared for him.

And if I was feeling like this, I can’t begin to imagine how awful it was for my son.

I started researching things myself, joining groups, and finally stumbled across ARFID – and slowly I started to piece together that this was what was happening to him. It’s now 4 and a half years later, and as yet we have still don’t have a diagnosis from any health professional. Nothing. Not one person has known even where to start in helping him. Even the Eating Disorders team wouldn’t see him as it’s not related to ‘body image’ – even though at the age of 9 he lost almost 2 stone.

I woke up one morning, realising that help wasn’t coming. It was all down to me.

I’ve been so very lucky that my family has been really supportive and non-judgmental as they could see with their own eyes the struggles my little guy was having. But not everyone is supportive, and even people’s off-hand or well-meaning comments can cut so deeply.

I think the hardest was a friend who we didn’t see often, but every time we saw them, they’d say ‘that boy doesn’t look well, you need to get him fed.’ And I’d stand there barely containing my tears, as of course I KNEW I needed to feed him, I just didn’t know how.

So this is a message from me to you if you are a parent or a carer of a child who has ARFID. I see you.

You are doing everything you can to support your child, and it is not your fault that there is so little help out there.

Try to push those unhelpful comments from others to the back of your mind – they can’t possibly understand unless they have lived through this themselves.

And if you are someone who has made such comments yourself – please think before you speak.



[Things not to say to a parent or carer of a child with ARFID:
- Don’t worry, she’ll eat when she’s hungry.
- When I was a child I just ate what I was given.
- Just leave him with me for a week, I’ll soon get him eating!
- You don’t hear of children in poorer countries refusing to eat! Kids today are just spoiled.
- They’re looking so thin. You really need to get them fed.
- Just give him some vitamins.
- You need to stop pandering to them.
- My child was a picky eater but l didn’t give them any choice. They eat everything now.]

07/03/2026

This is one of those moments that can feel confusing, frustrating, and even a little rejecting as a parent.

When a child says “I don’t want to go,” it can look like defiance… avoidance… or simply being difficult. But underneath that behaviour is often something much more vulnerable. It’s not about refusing — it’s about not coping.

For many children, especially those who experience anxiety, sensory overwhelm, or emotional dysregulation, everyday expectations can suddenly feel too big. School, social events, transitions, even leaving the house can trigger a stress response in the brain.

And this is where it’s important to understand the fight response.

When a child’s brain perceives something as too much, it shifts into protection mode. Sometimes that looks like shouting, arguing, refusing, or pushing back. Not because they won’t… but because, in that moment, they genuinely feel like they can’t.

When we reframe “I don’t want to go” as “this feels too big for me right now,” it changes how we respond. Instead of pushing harder, we can support, scaffold, and co-regulate.

If this resonates, it’s often a sign to look beneath the behaviour and ask:
What feels overwhelming here?
What support does my child need to feel safe enough to try?

07/03/2026

Interoception refers to the body’s ability to identify and process internal actions of the organs and systems inside the body. This lesser-known sensory system helps you understand and feel what’s going on inside your body. You can then make essential decisions about eating when you are hungry, drinking when you are thirsty, going into the restroom when you need to toilet, and other physical actions.

Does this sound like a familiar challenge for some of the kids we work with? These challenges can impact attention, focus, posture in writing, executive functioning skills, motor planning skills, and so many areas.

For information, tools, and strategies: https://www.theottoolbox.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-interoception/

07/03/2026

Second Chance Sunday

When your child hits, shouts, or lashes out… it’s easy to see defiance.

But what if it’s actually defence?

In the primary years, the fight response isn’t a choice. It’s a brain on high alert, reacting to a perceived threat. Their body floods with energy, their thinking brain goes offline, and survival takes over.

It can look like anger.
It can feel like aggression.
But underneath, it’s a child who doesn’t feel safe.

This is their voice… from the inside of the fight response.

Because when we understand what’s really happening, we stop asking, “How do I stop this behaviour?”
And start asking, “What does my child need right now?”

Boy version was posted yesterday.

26/02/2026