Teach Anger Management with Exploring Feelings - ANGER
By The Autism Community Store | Published: 2026-10-13
Category: How-to Guides
A step-by-step guide to using the Exploring Feelings - ANGER workbook by Dr Tony Attwood to help children understand anger and choose better responses.
Quick answer
Use Exploring Feelings - ANGER as a structured, adult-led workbook, not a solo reader. Work through one short section at a time, talk through the listed response options and their likely outcomes, and let your child practice choosing a response before a real heated moment happens.
Set up the workbook sessions before you open the book
Pick a calm, regular time when no one is rushed or already frustrated. Sit side by side rather than across a table, and keep sessions to 10–15 minutes for younger children. Have the Emotions Photographic Learning Cards nearby if your child needs a warm-up: the 24 photo cards show children displaying different emotions and can help your child name a feeling before you ask them to reason about it. The cards also come with resource guides in English and Spanish, so a bilingual household or classroom can use the same set consistently.
Work through the response options, not just the feeling words
The workbook's core method is listing possible responses to a situation and the likely outcome of each one, so the child can make an informed decision about which response to choose, such as walking away versus hitting. Your job is to stay neutral while your child predicts what happens next. If they say hitting works, ask what happens after that, and keep going until they see the chain of consequences themselves. This is slower than telling them the answer, but it is the part that transfers to real life.
Rehearse the chosen response outside the workbook
A workbook page is a low-stress place to practice, but the skill only counts if it shows up during a real disagreement. After a session, pick one response your child chose and rehearse it in a pretend scenario. Keep the script short and concrete: what they will say, where they will go, and what they will do with their hands. For children who rely on visual sequences, the Magnetic Picture Symbols: Home and Headings set can put that plan on a magnetic surface where it stays visible. The 93-piece Home Collection includes 72 home-themed activity magnets and 21 headings, and works best with a 2-sided magnetic board, so you can build a simple 'when I feel angry' sequence with the pieces you already have.
Keep an adult log of what actually worked
Track which response your child chose in real situations and what happened next. After two or three weeks, look for patterns: maybe walking away works at home but not at school, or maybe a specific trigger keeps appearing. Bring those notes back into the next workbook session so the practice stays tied to your child's actual life rather than hypothetical examples. If your child is not yet able to reflect on a past event, stay with in-the-moment coaching and revisit the workbook later.
Steps for using Exploring Feelings - ANGER
- Schedule a calm, short session: Choose a regular time when no one is rushed, and keep it to 10–15 minutes for younger children. Sit side by side. Common mistake: starting a session right after an argument. Wait until everyone is regulated.
- Warm up with feeling recognition: Use the Emotions Photographic Learning Cards to name a feeling before you ask your child to reason about it. Checkpoint: your child can point to or name the emotion on the card before you move on.
- Read one situation and list responses together: Follow the workbook's method: list possible responses and the likely outcome of each, such as walking away versus hitting. Common mistake: supplying the answer. Let your child predict the outcome first.
- Rehearse the chosen response: Pick one response your child chose and practice it in a pretend scenario with a short, concrete script. Checkpoint: your child can say what they will do and where they will go.
- Post the plan where it is visible: Use the Magnetic Picture Symbols to build a simple 'when I feel angry' sequence on a magnetic surface. Common mistake: making the plan too long. Keep it to three or four pieces.
- Log what worked in real life: Note which response your child chose and what happened next, then bring those notes back into the next session. After two or three weeks, look for patterns and adjust the plan.
Product facts
- Exploring Feelings - ANGER; by Dr Tony Attwood: Winner of a 2008 Teachers' Choice Award. The book is designed for children who have trouble understanding or expressing feelings, and it lists possible responses to situations with the likely outcome of each one so the child can make an informed decision about which response to choose, such as walking away versus hitting. The outcome comparison is the teaching engine. If you skip straight to telling your child the right answer, you lose the part that builds their own decision-making.
- Emotions Photographic Learning Cards: Includes 24 photographic cards (8.5 by 5.5 inches) of children displaying different emotions, plus resource guides in English and Spanish. The cards correlate to NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts and are used for speech and language in both special education and regular classrooms. Useful as a low-pressure warm-up before workbook sessions, especially for children who need to name a feeling before they can reason about it.
- Magnetic Picture Symbols: Home..Home and Headings..(93pc): A 93-piece magnetic visual schedule set with 72 home-themed activity magnets and 21 headings, designed to stick to any magnetic surface and best used with a 2-sided magnetic board. Lets you post a simple anger plan where your child can see it, which helps children who follow visual sequences better than spoken reminders.
