![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tamibrumbaugh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/If-Youre-Happy-and-You-Know-It-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Once the last crumbs from lunch are wiped away and sticky fingers are washed, the students in the Autism Room gather for stories and songs. They sit in chairs on a huge blue rug with an alphabet border\u2014that is turned upside-down if the children obsess over the letters.<\/p>\n
Wiggles are temporarily on hold IF the picture book read captures their interest. (And even then, we have at least one student who will have to be redirected to his chair repeatedly.) When the story is over, we present a laminated piece of construction paper that has song pictures attached with Velcro. Each child gets to pull off the picture of the song they want to sing.<\/p>\n
One particular child chose the song If You\u2019re Happy and You Know It<\/em>. Remember that one? Yes, we still sing it. We began the song with the typical \u201cif you\u2019re happy and you know it clap your hands\u201d complete with the clapping. We soon progressed to \u201cif you\u2019re happy and you know it stomp your feet\u201d. We then asked our verbal kids for the next motion suggestion, expecting the usual \u201cshout hooray\u201d or add-ons such as \u201cpat your head\u201d. No one responded. We started the song again. \u201cIf you\u2019re happy and you know it\u2026\u201d After a long pause, one of our students cocked his head to the side and said, \u201cSmile.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, yeah.<\/p>\n Sometimes a good answer is right in front of us. Why overthink it? I\u2019m asking myself this question too because I tend to overthink everything. It\u2019s enough to drive me (and my husband) crazy. My decision-making process can be long and stressful, often leading to analysis paralysis.<\/p>\n What can we do about overthinking? I\u2019m going to start by asking myself, \u201cIs this going to matter next month or next year?\u201d If the answer is \u201cnot really\u201d then I\u2019ll give myself one minute to stop my brain wheels from spinning. If the answer is \u201cyes\u201d then I\u2019ll allow ten minutes, but then remind myself that I can\u2019t control everything and it\u2019s time to let it go for the day. It\u2019s worth trying.<\/p>\n So thank you for the reminder, little friend. And when I\u2019m happy and I know it I will smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once the last crumbs from lunch are wiped away and sticky fingers are washed, the students in the Autism Room gather for stories and songs. They sit in chairs on a huge blue rug with an alphabet border\u2014that is turned … Continue reading