Lost Items Checklist and Download
I have an exciting new download in the shop to share! If you don't know, I have dozens of downloads that range from $0 to $5. I have tried really hard to make them as accessible to as many people as possible. They are specifically geared for neurodivergent families, like mine, but can also be used for the general population and I have made it my mission to make them as neuro-affirming as possible. The new download I have is a lost item checklist. This is something that is a struggle in my house. My autistic daughter really struggles with losing her belongings and then attempting to find them. We often deal with the emotional dis-regulation and overwhelm that comes with not being able to find the things she wants. I made a checklist for her so she can walk through and independently search for her missing items. I'm calling this a checklist, but for the actual download I decided to make it more of an infographic and not have boxes to be checked off because I don't feel like that's the important part here. Going through the steps, trying to find a lost item and regulating emotions while doing it is the point. The steps are ones I have been kind of formulating when I go through this process with my daughter and the bullet points are additional information to have for each individual step. These six steps are the things that I find work the best when helping my daughter find lost items.
Lost Items Checklist and Download | Step 1: Regulate Emotions
Let's talk about each individual step. Number one is to take three big deep breaths. Not being able to find something is frustrating, so taking a minute to calm down before you start looking is super helpful. It's a lot harder for anyone to look for something lost when they are scattered and unable to focus. Being calm and regulated is crucial for successfully accomplishing most things and finding something lost is no different.
Lost Items Checklist and Download | Step 2: Retrace Steps
Where was it last? Where was it last seen? Take a minute to think about it. This is something I really try to focus on with my daughter because I'm pretty sure she has a photographic memory. She can close her eyes and tell me something she saw years ago and she can describe it in detail. Going back to step one, if she's not emotionally regulated, she has a really hard time doing this, so once she's emotionally regulated, I can get her to close her eyes and think about where she had the item last. We often go look there first. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not, but it is important to retrace her steps to rule specific places in or out.
Lost Items Checklist and Download | Step 3: Throw Away Trash
Sometimes missing items are under trash that needs to be cleaned up. My daughter is super into creating things. She has a whole bin of blank paper she uses to make books, cut things out and just be overall creative. For example, she recently used paper to make a leash for a magnet tile crocodile we have, which I thought was ingenious. With all of her creativity, however, comes a lot of paper trash often all over her room. Because of this, one of the things that I always have her do when she is missing something is throw away all of the trash, so she can clearly look through things without being distracted by trash.
Lost Items Checklist and Download | Step 4: Put 5 Items Away
One of the best ways to find a lost item is to clean up. We start by putting five items away. I decided to go with five items because it feels like a manageable amount for a child, or anyone else, to be expected to do without direction. When I can't find something I start cleaning the area. This helps to regulate me while also being able to better see so I can look for the lost item. I have my daughter put her toys back where they're supposed to go and I start putting dishes away and, more often than not, I find what we are looking for.
Lost Items Checklist and Download | Step 5: Move 5 Items
Sometimes lost items are bunched up in a blanket, under a pillow or mixed in with stuffed animals. Even if those items are in the right place, the lost item may be underneath them. So we pick up some things and look under them. This means that you're potentially looking in five different places. This is especially helpful after you've put five things away. More often than not if my daughter cannot find a stuffed animal, it is because it's wrapped up in a blanket, under a pillow, or between a couch cushion and she just needs to look somewhere different. Moving five items by picking them up or shaking them out is really helpful.
Lost Items Checklist and Download | Step 6: Ask For Help
If all of the other steps have been done and the item is still lost, it is okay to ask for help. I feel like there is this trend of insisting that special needs kids, especially autistic and ADHD kids, can do things independently on their own without any help, but that's not an expectation we have of kids that are neurotypical or don't have special needs. Adults are allowed to ask for help, and even encouraged to do so so why shouldn't kids? I really wanted to reinforce that ability and make it perfectly clear that it is okay, after you have exhausted all of your efforts, to ask for help from an adult.
I love this checklist because visual aid, and encourages autonomy and emotional regulation. You can find this free download in the shop. I hope it helps!
