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Building a Resilience Plan

What Is a Resilience Plan?

    • A resilience plan is sometimes called a self-care plan.
    • It is a way to help you widen your resilient or “OK” zone and have a plan for how to use the skills.
    • The resilience or self-care plan should have information about what it looks and feels like when you are being pushed toward the edges of your resilient or “OK” zone.
    • The resilience or self-care plan should have information about the resilience skills that are most helpful to you. This may include things like specific resources or gestures.
    • A resilience or self-care plan can also have information like what to do in a crisis situation.

 

Why is a Resilience Plan Important?Cartoon of a check list with boxes checked.

    • Our minds work best when we are feeling calm and happy. If we are moving toward the edges of the resilient or “OK” zone our minds will not work as well.
    • A resilience or self-care plan can help you practice the resilience skills so that you can use them easily if you are being moved out of your zone.
    • When you are being moved out of your resilient or “OK” zone it can be very hard to decide what to do in that moment.
    • When you are being moved out of your resilient or “OK” zone you can just follow what is in your plan.

Resiliency Plan Template

1. It is important to use the Tracking Skill to find out where I am in the resilient zone. I should practice focusing on each of my senses:

  • Things I can see.
  • Things I can hear.
  • Things I can touch/feel.
  • Things I can smell.
  • Things I can taste.

2. When I am in the “high zone,” I feel…(choose all that apply)

  • Hot
  • Sweaty
  • Fast heart beat
  • Faster breathing
  • Hard to breathe
  • Tightness in my chest
  • Tight muscles
  • Like I need the bathroom
  • Dry mouth
  • Restless
  • Energetic
  • Dizzy
  • Like I want to throw up
  • Confused
  • Distracted

3. When I am in the “high zone,”

I can use one of my skills to be resilient. Some of the skills that might help me are the Help Now! skills and the Grounding Skill.

4. Some of the Help Now! skills that I prefer are: (choose all that apply)

  • Stretching
  • Going for a walk
  • Doing push-ups against a wall
  • Jumping up and down 10 times
  • Drinking water
  • Washing my hands with cold water
  • Looking for 6 colors around the room
  • Counting backwards from 20
  • Other: _________________________
  • Other: _________________________

5. When I practice the Grounding Skill,

I can focus on each of my senses just like I did when I was doing the Tracking Skill. When I use the Grounding Skill , I can stay focused on senses that feel comfortable or okay until I start to feel calm again.

6. When I am in the “low zone,” I feel…(choose all that apply)

  • Sad
  • Depressed
  • Tired
  • Ashamed
  • Distracted by problems
  • Low Energy
  • Hopeless
  • Embarrassed
  • Numb
  • Like I want to be left alone
  • Bored
  • Like I want to hurt myself
  • Hungrier than normal
  • Less hungry than normal
  • Don’t want to do anything

7. When I am in the “low zone,”

I can use one of my skills to be resilient. Some of the skills that might help me are the Resourcing and the Gesturing Skill.

8. When I use the Resourcing Skill, I can try using some of these resources…

People that help me feel calm/better: ________________________________
Places that help me feel calm/better: _________________________________
Things that help me feel calm/better: ________________________________
Memories that help me feel calm/better: ______________________________

9. When I use the Gesturing Skill, I can try using the following gestures:

  • Clapping
  • Jumping up and down
  • Sitting with my eyes closed
  • Other: _______________
  • Other: _______________
  • Other: _______________

10. If I need extra help getting back into my resilient zone,

I practice the Shift and Stay skill. I can use my other skills to shift my thoughts onto an okay or comfortable thought. Then I can try to stay with the thought by focusing on some extra details.

 

Cartoon of a graph representing how you can modulate your emotions to stay in your "OK" zone.

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Other downloads

Name Description Type File
Building a Resilience Self-Care Plan A resilience plan is sometimes called a self-care plan. It is a way to help you widen your resilient or “OK” zone and have a plan for how to use the skills. pdf Download file: Building a Resilience Self-Care Plan
Resiliency Plan Template This template will help you develop a Resiliency Plan. pdf Download file: Resiliency Plan Template

This information was developed by the Autism Services, Education, Resources, and Training Collaborative (ASERT). For more information, please contact ASERT at 877-231-4244 or info@PAautism.org. ASERT is funded by the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations, PA Department of Human Services.