Calm Plan
- Supporting
Dysregulation

Designed for parents, educators and multi-agency professionals, this Calm Plan provides a practical, safety-led framework to proactively support PDA children during moments of emotional dysregulation.

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Created to prevent crisis escalation and reduce overwhelm for both the child and the adults involved, it ensures everyone knows their role — before, during and after a dysregulation event.

 

This downloadable is suitable for both home and educational settings and can be printed as a wall poster, kept in planning folders, shared between caregivers or embedded into EHCP/support documents.

 

What’s Included:

A structured, fillable Calm Plan with clear space to outline:

• Environment setup and safety preparation (e.g. layout, safe items, sensory-ready space)

• Which adult takes the lead with the PDA child, and who supports siblings/peers

• The designated safe space or exit pathway for the child to retreat to if needed

• What support the child accepts or rejects (e.g. proximity, silence, humour, sensory tools)

• Emergency contact details — usable for both home and school settings

• Planning around staff/caregiver recovery time afterwards — and who steps in while they do

• Gentle, respectful language focused on safety, regulation and autonomy

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Who It’s For:

• Parents and carers supporting PDA or highly demand-avoidant children

• Schools and Early Years settings who need a clear, trauma-informed plan

• SENCOs, EPs, and professionals creating or reviewing EHCP provision

• Multi-agency teams needing a shared, proactive response strategy

• Anyone seeking to replace crisis behaviour plans with connection-first ones

 

Why It Matters:

PDA dysregulation can escalate fast — and in high-anxiety states, children are not in conscious control. Having a pre-agreed plan in place protects safety, prevents panic, and stops adults from defaulting to reactive crisis responses.

A Calm Plan reduces demands, increases autonomy, and preserves trust — while helping teams or families stay attuned and coordinated in the moments that matter most.

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Review:

"The resources provided by Natalie are excellent and strongly informed by neuro-affirming practice and current research. I shared the regulation strategies and calm plan resources with staff at an additionally resourced provision during a PDA training session. These materials aligned perfectly with the key messages I wanted to convey—particularly the complexity of PDA and the role of anxiety and autonomy in driving behaviours.

 

Practitioners found the resources helpful for reflecting on their language and reframing current thinking. This led to staff feeling more equipped to plan for dysregulation and, crucially, to consider preventative adaptations to the environment and their approaches to reduce distress escalation. I would be more than happy to recommend these resources to any colleagues involved with supporting children and young people whose needs may be best understood through the lens of PDA."

Emma - Educational Psychologist