Social Demand Avoidance Visual

"4 ways to say - GO AWAY!"

Motivate kids through teens to independently self advocate when overwhelmed, focused on a task, emotional, or when they simply need some space from demands. It provides flexible options for either labeling and reciting scripts OR pointing to pictures and making a choice based on simple visuals to represent their needs. These choices include a red X (not right now), a warning symbol (barely holding on), a quiet symbol (need quiet time), a more time symbol (a little more break time), and two green "ready" visuals (thumbs up and check mark).

This visual provides Gestalt phrases/scripts for the following social scenarios:

1. Too many questions (adults and peers)
2. Friends asking to play or hangout 
3. Focused on task / Needing alone time
4. Overwhelmed by task avoidance

The ultimate goal of each script is to self advocate for intrinsic needs without presenting ultimatums, such as "I'm busy right now. Maybe next time!" as opposed to "I don't want to be your friend!".