Just Right programme for autistic children

Just Right is a programme designed to help autistic children recognise and regulate their emotions and sensory state. The programme was created by specialist teachers and health professionals in Brighton & Hove. The system teaches children to identify which colour 'zone' they are in:

• green is ‘just right’ – calm, alert, focused

• orange is ‘fizzy’ –hypervigilant, not calm, anxious

• blue is ‘floppy or fidgety’ – tired, bored, not alert

• red is ‘crisis’ – in flight/fight/freeze

Using these colours replaces the need to use a lot of complex words to describe emotions. It provides a concrete, visual, predictable structure to talk about how you’re feeling, in a way that others will easily understand.

The programme teaches children to tune into external and internal cues that help them work out how they’re feeling.

Through Just Right we also help your child to identify sensory or emotional triggers that move them from one zone to another. This allows us to reduce or remove some triggers. We can then create a ‘toolbox’ of practical strategies to help them regulate. This means to help them get back to the 'green zone' or stay safe when in ‘red’.

The programme can be used both at home and at school, ensuring as much consistency as possible.

Watch a video about 'Just Right'.

How to get support from us

If you think the Just Right programme could help your child, or you would like to know more, contact:

• the SENCO at your child's school
• the Brighton and Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS) Autism and Language team, or
• the occupational therapy team at Seaside View Child Development Centre