Many emotion decks rely on cartoon faces. That works for some children, but a face is not a universal code. The same expression can mean concentration, discomfort, tiredness or nothing in particular, and some autistic children do not use or interpret facial expressions in expected ways.
You can make a useful deck without asking a child to decode faces. The aim is self-expression, not training the child to perform a “correct” look.
Choose four kinds of information
Spread blank cards on a table and invite the child to choose whichever formats make sense:
- Colour or pattern: solid, striped, soft, sharp, pale or bright.
- Energy: still, steady, buzzing, rushing, heavy or drained.
- Context: noise, waiting, crowds, change, touch, school, home, hunger or pain.
- Support: quiet, movement, information, help, company, space, stop or later.
Add words, objects or symbols from the child’s established communication system. Do not assign fixed meanings such as “red always means angry” unless the child chooses that meaning for themselves.
Build the deck with the child
- Offer two or three formats, not a crowded catalogue.
- Let the child keep, change or reject each card.
- Add “not sure,” “something else” and “no answer.”
- Test the cards in a calm moment.
- Store them where the child can reach them independently.
A child may prefer objects: a smooth stone for quiet, a spring for buzzy energy or a soft fabric square for comfort. Check size, texture and choking safety for the child’s age and abilities.
Ask what the card means today
If the child picks a storm symbol, say, “You chose storm. What would you like me to know?” Do not announce, “You are angry.” Meaning can change by day and situation. The child may use the same symbol for excitement before a trip and overload in a noisy room.
Accept communication through pointing, eye gaze, gesture, typing, speech or AAC. Eye contact is not required. Give enough processing time and avoid repeating the question more loudly.
Pair information with practical choice
A deck becomes more useful when it leads to something the child can request. For example, “buzzing + noise + quiet” gives the adult a clearer response than an isolated face card. If the request cannot happen immediately, explain why and offer the nearest realistic option.
Keep sensory regulation choices voluntary. Do not require breathing exercises, hugs, eye closure or movement that the child dislikes. The child and their professionals may already know supports that work better.
Use cards across settings carefully
Consistent symbols can reduce confusion, but home, school and community environments differ. Ask before sharing the deck with staff. Agree who will respond, how privacy is protected and what happens if the child signals “stop” or “break.” A card without an adult response can quickly lose meaning.
Notice health and safety needs
Pain, illness, hunger, medication effects and sensory discomfort can look like an emotional change. Do not treat the card as a diagnosis. New, severe or persistent symptoms deserve appropriate medical advice.
If a child communicates immediate danger, self-harm or risk to another person, seek urgent qualified help. Stay calm and keep the child’s communication system available.
EdCaptain’s body-clue cards can be adapted without face pictures. The personal emotion intensity scale offers a flexible scale, while the one-minute check-in includes a clear right to pass.
Test whether the deck reduces effort
After a week, notice whether the child can find a usable card quickly and whether adults respond consistently. A beautiful deck that requires scanning twenty symbols may increase demand. Try fewer choices, separate pages for context and support, or place the most-used options first. If the child repeatedly invents their own signal, consider adding it rather than redirecting them to the adult-designed system.
Ask trusted school or care staff what they observe, but centre the child’s feedback. The measure is not whether the child labels emotions more often. It is whether they can communicate useful information, refuse, request support and recover from misunderstandings with less effort.
