Neon the Ninja Activity book for Children who struggle with sleep and nightmares by Dr Karen Treisman”

When I was asked to take a look at this resource, I felt it would be really helpful to seek the views of a friend, Liz Innes (retired Home Link Worker) who is a Sleep Scotland counsellor, parent and grand-parent.  I also engaged the services of my 11 year old daughter, Jenna to “test drive” it.
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So, instantly, the cover of the book suggests that children will engage with this colourful character Neon the Ninja.  The visuals throughout the book are excellent.   On a practical note, the activity sheets can be photocopied.  It would be great if they could be downloaded and printed off as required – or the book came with a spiral spine to make it easier to photocopy.   This is a very accessible and comprehensive book.
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I have used a variety of resources in my role as a front line Social Worker including workbooks and activity sheets – some of which can be basic, a bit too cognitive, or open to interpretation.  Most children with developmental trauma, gaps in early development and poor capacity, find it difficult to engage in more cognitive activities.   It is primarily through this lens that I explored Neon the Ninja.

There are indeed some such cognitive activities within the book, however, there are also many sensory focussed resources with which children affected by poor attachment and developmental trauma could more easily engage.
What I particularly like about the book is it’s optimism and hopefulness – predicting success – that things will get better and the nightmares will go away.   I also liked the activities which “rescript” the nightmares – changing the narrative which accepts that a child has nightmares for a reason AND that the child can have some control over how their fears are played out.

I agree that, as Dr Treisman explains, the reasons behind or causes of nightmares will differ from child to child, and this needs to be explored carefully prior to embarking on using the tools and resources within the book.  However, there is a comprehensive and varied range of activities and options which can be tailored to suit individual children depending on age, developmental age, experiences, circumstances, trauma and capacity.
Giving a sense of agency to the child about how they can be instrumental in banishing their nightmares empowers the child, particularly when supported by a trusted, attuned adult.   I was curious about whether some (developmentally) younger children might be expecting Neon the Ninja to be “real” and to actually materialise before their eyes to help – that bit about not being able to separate fantasy and reality – so this may need a conversation at the start.   Parents and carers need to walk it their child’s shoes and be able to communicate at their child’s developmental level.  The idea of course is that the child themselves becomes their own nightmare ninja.

Parents and carers need to be supported to validate their child’s fears from wherever they originate.   Validation/acceptance is key in the first place, lots of empathy and curiosity and of course where appropriate – the playfulness (PACE – Dan Hughes). 

The activity book should be parent/carer/professional lead rather than the child themselves, working through the book.  The activities are useful in supporting parents and carers to connect to and to build closer, trusting and secure relationships providing the child with the feeling that those caring for them can keep them safe.   Where a child does not have this kind of relationship with their parent or carer, some work would require to be done initially or alongside to facilitate this eg Theraplay.

What the book does well is offer the tools to open up opportunities for conversations with children and supporting them to share their worries.  This in itself is an important process.

Many of the activities provide opportunities for conversations and expanding discussion.   Some in a more creative way by encouraging the child to draw, colour or make something which would help chase away the nightmares.   Again, this gives the child capacity to influence the outcome/change/story.   The activity in itself when done alongside a primary attachment figure/trusted adult creates connection, safety and security.

The book begins with the story of who Neon the Nightmare Ninja is and what he does.  The story provides a sense of empowerment to the child and reassurance that someone is there to help and that the nightmares can be conquered with the help of a trusted adult.  Neon is not along and teams up with his friends.   He has a treasure chest full of lots of creative tools, tricks and suggestions for how to conquer your nightmares in different ways.

Once children become familiar with the story it can be followed up with some fun activities to do with the child which gently and creatively introduces them to Neon and opens conversations about their worries and fears and provides that sense of empowerment.  There are some more relaxing and calming activities to help with the feelings and sensations evoked by the worries and fears which involve some more sensory and mindful resources and strategies.  So it’s a bit of a pick and mix – one size doesn’t fit all – so it’s important that you know your child.

The Guide for Adults in the last section of the book, is very thorough, clearly set out, encouraging and helpful.  It should be read thoroughly prior to embarking on any of the activities.  As I worked my way through the Activity section of the book I paid attention to the range of tools and activities, holding in mind children with developmental trauma and gaps in early attachment development – wondering which activities would be most helpful for them (the more sensory activities) and which they would find difficult to engage with (ie the more cognitive activities).   Dr Karen Treisman sets out very clearly throughout the book, what to hold in mind when using this resource – about which I was really appreciative.

I was extremely impressed with the Adult Guide section.   Dr Treisman goes to great lengths to confirm that “one size doesn’t fit all” and that each child is unique and comes with their own experiences.  She emphasises the need to know your child and know their nightmare(s) before you are able to assess which resources are most appropriate.   She helpfully suggests that any of the tools can be adapted or tailored as required and gives examples of what this could look like.  There is solid exploration and advice around the many issues which cause children to have nightmares and how the impact of nightmares themselves, and the fear of having the nightmares, materialises and affects the individual child.

Dr Treisman reminds those adults using the resource to ensure that the child is supported to experience safety and provides various strategies for creating this in terms of both physical and emotional safety and space.

I was pleased to see a separate section devoted specifically to children affected by relational and developmental trauma.   She explains the impact of i.e. abuse, neglect, bereavement, trauma, domestic violence, bullying.   She explores how memories and flashbacks can be triggered by a range of experiences particularly of a sensory nature ie smells, sounds, temperature, colours, time of day and so on, and discusses how children affected by early trauma may respond when in a state of fear ie flight, fight, freeze and become extremely dysregulated.

She re-iterates how, before addressing the child’s nightmares, the adults involved require to carry out a “whole-child, trauma-informed assessment”.   If found this very encouraging.

This resource provides a range of child-focussed, fun and friendly ways to explore their nightmares and find ways to share their anxieties, whilst providing the tools to empower them to believe they can do something, in the safety of their relationship with a trusted adult, to banish their nightmares. 
Helpful suggestions and ideas are provided as to how to encourage a child to engage, items and materials and methods which can be used in the activities including many which are sensory-based eg massage, music, scents and oils, snuggle toys and blankets, transitional objects.  Methods for rescripting, creating new narratives, changing the outcomes using visualisation, guided meditation etc are also explained giving clear circumstances in which these would be helpful.

Each section of the Adult Guide tells you which activities within the book are relevant.  Lastly, the Guide suggests how to measure success and keep a record so you know what works and how to proceed.  The Guide contains prompts and instructions for the adult to reflect, read over, and review what they have learned.

I really enjoyed exploring this resource.  It provides for individual children with a range of experiences and clearly explains when, why and how to use the activities/tools.  Although the book is aimed at children aged 5-10, it could be tailored for older children and teens,  particularly those functioning at a younger developmental age. 

Parents, carers and professionals would find this book a useful resource in helping with sleep related issues and nightmares.  It may be that some parents may require support to have the confidence to understand and use the resource.
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The book, whilst focussed on supporting children to overcome their fears and deal with nightmares, I believe has a broader application in supporting children, whether affected or not by early experiences of trauma,  to manage fears and anxiety in general.

Both myself and my friend Liz (Sleep Scotland counsellor), were impressed with the depth of the resource and the scope of activities provided.  My daughter, Jenna, who always likes to help try out resources, really thought the book was fun and helpful.   So thanks to Liz and Jenna for their valuable contributions.
Get the book – its great!

Shona Thain, Family Placement Social Worker
In consultation with Liz Innes, Sleep Scotland Counsellor, and my 11 year old daughter, Jenna

“A Therapeutic Treasure Deck of Sentence Completion and Feelings Cards" 
(Therapeutic Treasures Collection) 
by Dr Karen Treisman
 
When I first received the Therapeutic Treasure Deck and had a quick flick through the cards, I have to confess I felt a wee bit cautious. 
​On reflection,  I think perhaps this was because I was busy with other stuff at work and that I have seen many different versions of “feelings cards” over the 23 years I’ve been a Social Worker.  So decided I would proceed with my cautious part! 

I would also just say that I haven’t (so far) read Dr Treisman’s “Therapeutic Treasure Box” book.  However, I was reassured that it wasn’t necessary to do so in order to use the Deck.

So actually, all it took was to read through the instruction booklet accompanying the Deck.  I began to feel rather curious about the possibilities of the cards, replacing my previous caution.

I like the cards themselves – the feel of them and the illustrations - I found myself wondering about children who would experience the Deck as a means of helping them connect with and communicate their feelings and story.  I quickly found myself connecting the application of the cards to DDP/PACE and Theraplay.

As a Social Worker in a small Family Placement Team, my role involves supporting families to build connections and attachment relationships with the children they care for and parent.  And it is important we acknowledge that parenting and caring for children with developmental trauma and attachment difficulties is not easy, particularly when children are resistant to our attempts. 

I chose to use the Deck with a 10 year old child to see how I could use them to connect.  I was curious - would they like them?   What sense would they make of them?  Would using the cards help them feel safe enough to communicate their feelings, hopes, wishes and fears?  Would it help me as a worker understand what they were communicating?  Lots of questions.

This child was immediately curious about the cards.   She was able to engage with them and recognise many of the feelings images. The cards provided opportunities for conversations about the less usual ones.  Exploring the cards, the child was able to verbalise what was going on in the image eg how is the swan keeping the cygnets safe?  Why do they need to be safe?   What might make them “not safe”?  She was able to reflect using her own words about when she feels safe and not safe, and what makes her feel safe when she is frightened.

She appeared relaxed about being able to choose and talk about what was on the cards.  This then lead us into talking about eg what the animal was feeling which flowed into how and when the child might experience this emotion.  It was helpful to use the sentence completion cards alongside the feelings cards which helped to fill in gaps in the stories.  Whilst using the cards I was mindful of the PACE attitude – using Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy and, where appropriate, playfulness.

One of my colleagues used the cards with a 14yr old who finds it difficult to explore and talk about her feelings.  The worker found the cards helpful both for the young person, who was able to choose the cards she connected best with, and also for the worker in helping to notice also which cards the young person was avoiding.  The young person was able to check out with the worker what they (the worker) would feel/think/do or say.  The young person was also able to reflect on what her parent might feel.   There was exploration with the young person as to what they were experiencing/feeling eg a year ago, and what is different now – opening up further conversations and about what might happen in the future.   This young person finds it difficult to sustain conversations, so, with the cards, she felt she had some control over how long to spend on each and how much reflection was manageable for her.

The worker in this case felt that using the cards took the pressure off the young person in having to sustain an intense, one-to-one, conversation with another.   This particular young person asked if the worker could bring the cards back again.  The worker’s experience was that the cards opened the possibility of further explorations next time they meet.

The Therapeutic Treasure Deck lends itself to working with individuals, groups and families and it connects well with other approaches.  As I experienced, they can be used effectively alongside the attitude of PACE (Playfulness; Acceptance; Curiosity; Empathy).

The child or young person can have some control over which cards they wish to look at and talk about, without the pressure of having to answer direct questions.  They can control the pace, the choice of card, how much they wish to talk about, and how to connect with their own experiences, which is especially helpful for children with a limited emotional vocabulary.  I like the idea also of encouraging the child or young person to expand on what appears on the cards by drawing, painting, colouring and using other media like playdoh. 

Using the cards opens up all sorts of creative possibilities of how to use them to connect and communicate effectively with the child.  They can be tailored to the individual child or young person’s needs.  They help us to go at the child’s pace. 
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Using the cards keeps conversations open and engaged, letting the child or young person know you are interested in them.  You are noticing what they find tricky and you are alongside them, acknowledging with them that some of this stuff is hard.  Using the cards provides the worker with a raft of information about the child without using checklists or questions – including why they might be avoiding particular cards.  It helps us as workers notice what might be under the surface - what’s behind a child’s fears and anxieties and presenting behaviours, and what might help the child to manage the things they find hard to manage. 

The Therapeutic Treasure Deck creates opportunities to help children connect and make sense of their own story and to begin be open to the possibility that the adults who care for them can help them and accept and love them.   I will be sharing the Deck with my colleagues in the Family Placement Team here as well as generally within Children’s Services.

In conclusion - I have moved from having a rather large cautious part to having developed a rather inspired part!   I am in fact a total convert!  I really like the Therapeutic Treasure Deck and will most definitely be using it with the children and families I support.  So my advice would be – pick them up and give it a go!

Shona Thain
Social Worker (Family Placement Team)
and Adoptive Parent

Parenting with Theraplay®
- Understanding Attachment and How to Nurture a Closer Relationship with Your Child by Vivien Norris and Helen Rodwell.

Forewords by Phyllis Booth and Dafna Lender, illustrated by Miranda Smith

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I love this book for so many different reasons!  It unpicks Theraplay - a complex, but really useful tool that has been tried and tested in the professional arena.  We see Theraplay introduced for all families wanting to better their relationships, whatever their challenges. It makes it accessible to the key people in children’s lives – their parents, carers, grandparents etc.  It speaks directly to these adults that children need as the “bigger, stronger, wiser and kind” people they can feel safe and connected with.  The book provides just the right amounts of the Theraplay principles of structure, engagement, nurture and challenge in the text and illustrations. This makes the model something we can make our own in our families. 

The first part of the book explains the history, theoretical development and research that underpin Theraplay. It explains why it is needed in some families and how it works. It begins to show why “returning to early and simple ways of playing together is like building up the foundations of your relationship.” Key concepts such as attachment, safe base and emotional regulation are explained, if you want this level of knowledge; likewise, the importance of touch and creating “moments of meeting”. Theraplay is based on what happens in healthy interaction between carers and their infants/babies and the elements that make up these interactions - Structure, Engagement, Nurture and Challenge - are fully explored. Helpfully, each section and each chapter has the same format and is introduced, chunked into bite sized bits and then summarised, so that you can pick out what is useful to you right now. Every section is full of suggestions of what you can do to shift the way you interact with your children. There are scenarios and check lists to help you think about your internal life and that of your children and many ideas about what to do to support your relationships. There are loads of examples of things you can do in daily living situations and well as games for more specific play time. What I found particularly helpful is that while illustrating each relational element and aspect that makes up Theraplay there is as much support for parents – possible ways to practice, to find the way forward, to have their own needs met etc – as advice on how they can support their children.

The second part of the book looks at the stressors of daily living that our children often need help with, whatever their age. It also looks at some of the behaviours that are the outwards signs of our children’s response to these and more complex causes of overwhelming stress. Just how the principles and practice of Theraplay can help address these difficulties are discussed in a warm, empathetic conversational tone. You feel as though the authors are really alongside you and your children.

I think that this book successfully conveys the “being” and the “doing” nature of Theraplay. It gives so many ideas to work on, practice and adapt so that we can get to know so much more about ourselves and our children. It empowers us to find our way to safer, repairable , fun and joyful relationships.

Roberta Manners 
Mother, Adoptive Mother, Grandparent, Certified Theraplay Practioner and Trainer.
 
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FOR THOSE ATTENDING THE THERAPLAY TRAINING IN EDINBURGH AND THE THERAPLAY CONFERENCE IN LEICESTER IN SEPTEMBER 2017 - THIS BOOK WILL BE AVAILABLE AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE!!!

DON'T MISS 'MEET THE AUTHORS' BOOK SIGNING AT THE THERAPLAY CONFERENCE

The Little Book of Messy Play by Sarah Featherstone

The Little Book of Messy Play has long been a favourite publication for all practitioners involved in the area of early years education.

The book provides a range of suggestions for play using a number of creative methods to engage all the senses. Many of the activities described are useful not only for professionals involved with children but also for parents and carers who are needing inspiration to provide play which entertains and stimulates a range of age groups and abilities. 

The activities included not only promote communication and language skills but also promote gross and fine motor skills and the development of social and emotional skills. Although primarily aimed at 0-5 year olds, I believe the projects are easily adapted and transferable for older children; particularly those who have missed out on key developmental stages and would benefit from the opportunity to ‘catch up’ on early life experiences. The chance to regress and get messy, mucky and dirty can be irresistible and can reignite the inner child in us all.

Our own personal family favourite, which captivated two 2 year old girls, was “Catch a Creature”. We have already discussed our plans to recreate this at the beach and have talked about how we might adapt the concept (my word, not theirs) for Halloween by making scary green and orange jelly complete with edible worms!

My only minor criticism would be the use of a safe outside space is desirable. However, that aside, many of the activities suggested could provide the inspiration for a range of summer projects and could be put to good use at a Family Fun day or organised Summer event. Enjoy!

​Catriona Walker

Keeping the Little Blighters Busy: 50 refreshingly different things to do with your kids before they're 12 3/4 by Claire Potter 

This is a great book to dip into for ideas on how to encourage play, and spend fun time with the children - or set them off and leave them to it!

​Bright and accessible, it gives a range of imaginative activities that cost little or nothing to set up and enjoy, and which are fun and exciting - it is not just another things to do with sticky-backed plastic sort of read.

In fact, it is brilliant book for parents who need more ideas on what to do with their kids and how to encourage imaginative playtime. It is aimed at ages 3-13, though the adults will have as much fun as the kids when joining in on many of the activities. 

The book is divided into sections making it easy to home in on the solution you need, or you can flip through it and pick up something that catches your eye - I particularly liked the “if you like this you could look at page…”  footnotes.

I found the suggestions imaginative but simple to set up, and applicable to all sorts of situations – rainy days at home, creative stuff in the garden, walks in the park or round the neighbourhood, new takes on Halloween and Christmas, all at low or no cost and generally easy to set up.  

The author also give a little bit of background as to how she came up with the idea, which rounds the book out. All in all it was an inspiring and warm hearted read, I will definitely be trying out a few of these activities with my 2 boys.

Ruth F, Adoptive parent

Yoga Games for Children. Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements, and Breath
by Danielle Bersma & Marjoke Visscher

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Namaste and welcome to our yoga games book review! 

I was ably assisted in this review by two small volunteers aged 4 and 7, who agreed (a TV bribe was admittedly involved) to test out the ‘yoga games’ from this book with me. 

The authors suggest working through a series of the games, beginning with breathing, then yoga postures and relaxation, providing a structure which is similar to that of an adult yoga class. The games are designed for children between 3 and 12 with age recommendations for each game. We managed 40 minutes in all, which was far longer than I would have anticipated, especially as early notices were mixed.

“Yoga’s not my thing, I don’t like it!”

We started with a few breathing exercises, the most popular of which was ‘Blowing Leaves’ which as the name suggests, encourages  awareness of the breath travelling in the body by blowing leaves around the room. A good storm ensued. We then tried ‘Animal Sounds’ and running around making a bee noise was also popular so we had a go at ‘Feeling Sounds Through the Back’ with the children sitting back-to-back and taking turns to try and to feel the resonance of one another’s singing or talking. Both declared they could hear the noises ‘in my ear’ so possibly this one needs some practice!

Moving on to poses, the  control needed for the ‘Cobra’ proved difficult, but more light-hearted exercises with suggestions to make the noise of a lion or make a funny face were met enthusiastically and we all especially enjoyed ‘The Sun Salutations for Children’ which included the instruction to ‘try to look silly’. A passing Granny was even successfully co-opted to this exercise. The sun salutations were great fun despite the clouds in the sky outside, and our 7 year old reviewer had learnt the sequence off by heart after a few turns.

Another surprising highlight was ‘Tree’ pose, which initially both children became very frustrated by. But with some gentle hand-holding for balance and a wee bit of patience they eventually really enjoyed gaining mastery of balancing on one leg. We needed a lie-down after all that work… The relaxation exercise ‘White Light’ was thoroughly resisted by the ever-fidgety 7 year old present, 

“I didn’t really enjoy that!”

But greatly enjoyed by Granny at the end of a long day and by our 4 year old reviewer who reported, 

“I actually did feel a white light in me!”

The book is simply laid out and easy to use and adapt to a range of situations and ages. It is primarily aimed at group-work or school settings but even with our very small group we still had a huge amount of laughs. The focus is very much on having fun and enjoying the movements. There are also lots of opportunities for children to talk about how the exercises feel and to develop physical and emotional self-awareness through them. Several games employ the cotton wool balls familiar from Theraplay® games, so these could easily be introduced with a Theraplay® game or two. Just choosing a few yoga games and having fun with them was a lovely way to spend a wet summer evening.

This months review comes from Ariane Critchley, a Senior Practitioner in Scottish Adoption's After Adoption team.

THESE REVIEWS ORIGINALLY APPEARED ON THE SCOTTISH ADOPTION WEBSITE AND ARE REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION

The Confusing World of Brothers, Sisters and Adoption By Regina. M .Kupecky
 
This simple to read workbook is the 3rd in a series of workbooks based on 'The Adoption Club' , a fictional support club for adopted children aged 5-11. The book is intended  not only for social workers, counsellors or therapists working with children in this age bracket, but also for adoptive parents.

Being an adoptive parent myself, I was glad to see that it stretches to no more than 45 pages, and  as it's a simple read,I was able get through a first reading quite easily over a cup of coffee while my youngsters attended a sports club after school. 

Mrs Bright, the counselor at the Adoption Club, is the main character and she takes you through the social histories of the different children who attend the club. A wide range of children from different backgrounds and experiences are described in child friendly language and while the individual characters may not exactly match the particular children you are working with, they are general enough to find common similarities with the type of child likely to be encountered in any school or club settings today.

Each  character description  provides a follow up  section where feelings can be explored and questions recorded. Such as feelings of separation and loss of a sibling,  being an only child  or inheriting a new brother or sister and the emotional conflict that this brings.  I found that these exercises provide good story starters for my children who find it difficult to begin expressing their thoughts openly and  who find the security of talking through the personality of a third person reassuring.

As second timer newly adoptive dads we had a giggle when we read about the ups downs of having a new wee brother join the family.  It was reassuring  to think that the exhibited behaviours we are witnessing at home are no more than the normal readjustment interactions between two boys getting used to having to share time and space, and that our boys, much like those boys depicted at the club, are going through all this too. Its not only just us!

This book provides an easy to read set of activities which you can choose to work through with your child or young person or just to pick up from when relationships need to be explored a little further.  Failing that you could always all just sit down on the couch and watch an episode of Modern Family on the TV together!
 
-An Adoptive Dad.