Frustration Management

Below are some recommended strategies to support frustration management.

Please review these techniques to identify what may be the best next step for your student!

• Activities that are difficult for the student could be intermixed with more preferred tasks. When assigning an academic task that will likely be frustrating, help the student estimate how long the task will take and clarify the expectations (e.g., write 5 sentences about ___, write 1 sentence about ___, 1 sentence about ___, etc.). Consider how to reduce other demands that cause frustration when these tasks are presented (e.g., give students the opportunity to provide oral responses if written responses are not necessary).

• Develop a plan for how to handle tasks that are likley to cause frustration. For instance, you could remind the student of coping strategies that worked in the past, offer positive self-talk statements (e.g., “if you find yourself getting frustrated, don’t forget to tell yourself …”), and/or provide encouragement. Consider developing a plan for how the student could ask for help with an assignment.

• Consider how to incorporate incentives for completing nonpreferred tasks (e.g., opportunities to earn passes to skip part of assignment, chances to earn preferred tasks as assignments). See these links for a variety of printable behavior charts and rewards coupons.