Why use colour to categorise emotions?

Understanding emotions can be a difficult task for children, especially those with Down's syndrome. Children with Down's syndrome often struggle with social and emotional development, which can lead to difficulties in forming relationships and interacting with others. It is crucial to support these children in understanding their emotions and how to regulate them effectively. One approach that has proven effective is using colour zones to group emotions.

Colour zones, such as The Zones of Regulation, are a popular framework used in schools and homes to teach children how to regulate their emotions effectively. This approach categorizes emotions into four colours zones: blue, green, yellow, and red. Each colour zone represents a different emotional state and provides a way for children to identify and express their feelings.

Blue zone represents sad, tired, or bored emotions. Green zone represents calm and happy emotions. Yellow zone represents excited or anxious emotions. And red zone represents intense emotions like anger or frustration. By categorizing emotions into different colours, children can quickly identify how they are feeling and learn how to regulate their emotions effectively.

We use these categories in Learning for Life’s ‘Emotions’ series. This is made with Inclusively Down to support young people with Down’s syndrome to understand emotions for themselves and others, including introspection.

Image showing the different colour zones of emotions.

Using colour zones to group emotions is an excellent way to support children with Down's syndrome in understanding their emotions for several reasons.

• Our young people often have difficulty with verbal communication. Using colours provides a visual cue that can help them identify and express their emotions, allowing them to understand and communicate their feelings without relying solely on verbal communication.

• They often struggle with social interaction and forming relationships. Understanding emotions is a critical component of building relationships and social interaction. By using colour zones to group emotions, children can learn to identify their own emotions and the emotions of others. This approach enables them to build stronger relationships with their peers. Building these skills works alongside those discussed and developed in Learning for Life’s ‘Caring Friendships’ series.

• Young people often experience challenges with emotional regulation. Emotions can be overwhelming, and children may struggle to regulate their emotional responses effectively. By using colour zones to group emotions, children can learn strategies to regulate their emotions effectively. For example, if a child identifies that they are in the red zone, they can learn strategies to calm down and regulate their emotional response.

That’s why the ‘Emotions’ series reflects this colour system, by using changing backgrounds to show which ‘zone’ the emotion belongs to. This will complement the work they do in schools and within speech therapy sessions. If you want to see more of our teaching emotions series, simply sign up to the Learning for Life project. As a charity, the projects are all free to access, but of course, if you are able to donate or fundraise it will enable you to keep making more content and making your lives so much easier!

Learn more about the practicalities around teaching emotions in our other blog: Frustrated with Teaching Emotions.