A shutdown is a response to overwhelming stress, sensory input or emotional load. Instead of displaying emotions and behaviours outwardly, the person withdraws inwardly and their ability to interact with their environment is reduced. The individual may become quiet, withdrawn or unable to speak at all and may have reduced movements . Cognitive processes may also be affected, for example, thinking less clearly and not being able to process information . The affected person needs time, rest, space and a feeling of security in order to recover.

A meltdown is an intense overwhelming response in which the individual temporarily loses the ability to regulate their feelings or behaviour . There may be intense reactions, e.g. lashing out, screaming/shouting and it often takes time and space before the person is able to recover. It usually happens when the person is experiencing an overload of stress or sensory input that they cannot cope with.

FAQs Archive - Tacpac

Q: What are the Zones of Regulation?

The zones of regulation is a framework designed to help individuals to understand and manage their emotions, energy levels and state of alertness . It organizes these states into four colour coded zones , which make them easier to talk about. Blue zone – low energy, sad, tired, ill, bored. Green zone – calm, focused, ready to learn, in control. Yellow zone – anxious, excited, silly, frustrated. Heightened, but has some control. Red zone – extremely angry, out of control, overwhelmed, panicking or elated. It was developed by OT Leah Kuypers and her book ‘The Zones of Regulation’ was first published in 2011.

Q: Is the Washpac Music Important?

Yes it has been specially composed. You can’t use any music. The whole point is the alignment of the sensory languages of Touch and Music. (meaning of alignment: makes a balanced and supportive relationship of these two elements to make each one clear, utilised, emphasised and understood. The one needs the other for either to proceed.) The music has been composed to be aligned with the texture of the objects. e.g. The Toothbrush music has been composed with the focus of the rhythm of the toothbrush on the teeth, and the next pattern of action being the water in the mouth. e.g. The Flannel Music has been composed with the deep pressure focus on the strokes that the flannel will make on the arms and legs. If you use different music, there is no alignment with the touch, and therefore the whole reason for doing a WASHPAC session is null and void. You will be doing something – but it won’t be a WASHPAC session, with its benefits, insights and communication. Remember WASHPAC is about communication as well as desensitisation. You’ll be surprised what it holds for you and your partner. Come on a training to learn how this works

I found the training was delivered well and matched my school’s cohort very well. It was thought provoking and gave me many ideas on how this can be rolled out and introduced. It also enabled me to get a clearer idea around the intent and the purpose of TAC PAC as a communication strategy and how this can be explained to outside agencies such as ofsted.

Cheryl Louis, Treehouse School

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole training day from start to finish. Vanessa was an amazing instructor and pitched the course well with both theory and practical. She was extremely helpful in answering questions relating to my context and I can’t thank her enough. I feel confident in taking this intervention forward in my class of complex P1 learners.

Charlotte Johnstone Teacher Park School

It was really informative. I would encourage parents and other professional to go through Tac Pac training. Found it really innovative. Most surprising fact that it can be done with household simple stuff and doesn’t need to be expensive, very much handy and easy to use for parents/other caregiver and professionals.

Online Training Delegate,

The learning of the importance of the beat and uncovering some of the myths that we had previously been doing in our school so now they can be corrected. I feel I can relay the appropriate content learnt to other staff within my setting now.

Eimear Corrigan, Teacher,, Palmerstone School, Liverpool

I have been working with children with special needs for the past seven years. I have been amazed at the transformation in children who have been exposed to Tacpac. As there are no trainers that I know of in the Perth area, I am interested in becoming a trainer to enable more children to reap the benefits of this wonderful program.

SEN teacher

Hilary, You have given much joy to many with your creation of Tacpac. You really have made a difference to the lives of many children and their families.

Sue Murray,BLENNZ School, New Zealand

Well delivered. I like that even though this training was virtual it still felt very interactive and a safe place to ask questions and have discussions. I do feel like I have the knowledge and skills to begin TACPAC ‘properly’ now (or at least after a few more practice sessions on my niece). Thank you very much.

Emily Parham, Speech & Language Therapist, OXLEAS

The activities were brilliant for being able to practise the movements to the music in a supportive environment. There was no part of the course that I didn’t enjoy and from which I didn’t learn. Although I have used TACPAC before, I hadn’t considered the importance of unknown music without any connotations attached to it for the receiver. This now makes perfect sense and was a revelation!

Ashley Chambers, Portage Practitioner, Kent

Great working with you all

Dom Knight, Oxfordshire Web Services

I messaged my manager during the break to tell her how amazing the training course is; I didn’t expect it to go into as much detail as it did. I liked how the course went into detail about the function of the Limbic System in relation to behaviour and response. I now want to do more research into the physiological aspects of behaviour in Autism to work on positive behaviour support within our homes

Tracey Hamilton, Homes Manager , Albrighton Care