Help Your Child Recognize Emotions

Identifying emotions -- in other people, and in themselves -- can be particularly difficult for children with special needs. They often completely miss visual cues that should let them know how others are feeling, and may respond inappropriately. Here are five fun ways to help your child learn what facial expressions mean, how to recognize emotions in others, and what those same emotions feel like to them.

The Feelings Game
This free online game presents a choice of expressive photos for various emotions and invites kids to pick the right one. If they guess wrong, they can try again.

Moods and Emotions Poster Pak
Put up these photos of kids expressing emotion around your child's room so he or she can study them. Make a game of copying the expressions and talking about what the child might be seeing, feeling or thinking about.

Mind Reading software
This comprehensive reference offering "2472 faces, 2472 voices and 2472 stories, all about emotions" is available as a CD or a DVD.

Emotion Flashcards
These free printable flashcards show a dozen basic emotions. Augment them with photos cut from magazines and pasted on index cards. 

How Do I Feel? An Interactive Reading Book of Emotions
Use this book and its open-ended sentences and questions to help your child label his or her emotions and understand them better.