Photo Moment
This photo was taken during a session with a ten-year-old boy who had an extraordinary gift: he could create tiny, detailed clay animals with astonishing precision. Some might call it a savant skill. Others might call it talent. I always saw it as my way in: the bridge between his world and mine. On days when he felt overwhelmed or discouraged, these miniature creatures became our shared language.
The Task
This child struggled deeply with frustration. When he got an answer wrong, even slightly wrong, he felt it as a personal failure. His task wasn’t “solve the problem” or “get it right.” His task was learning to stay regulated, stay present, and stay kind to himself when things didn’t go as planned.
The Key Moment
One day, after a small mistake, he shut down completely. Shoulders tight, eyes down, clay untouched. Instead of pushing him to try again, I shifted the focus away from him. We placed his clay animals in front of us (the rhino, the elephant, the kangaroo) and I said, “Maybe it’s the rhino’s turn to try.” He looked up. The pressure lifted. It wasn’t his mistake anymore. It was simply the rhino exploring another way to reach the answer.
The Technique
This strategy came from understanding the behaviour beneath the behaviour. His shutdowns weren’t about the question; they were about the fear of being wrong, the fear of disappointing himself, and the belief that mistakes meant failure. As an SLP, my role was to protect his communication and emotional safety. So I used cognitive reframing, a language-based therapeutic strategy that helps children shift perspective and reduce internal pressure. By letting the clay animals “take the turn,” he could stay engaged without feeling personally responsible for the mistake. Instead of saying “wrong,” we reframed it: “Can the rhino try another way?” This gentle shift supported his expressive language, problem-solving, flexibility, and confidence, all through a medium he loved.
The Meaning
This moment taught me that creativity isn’t just an interest. It’s a lifeline. For him, clay wasn’t a hobby. It was safety, identity, and expression. And when we use a child’s strengths as the pathway to learning, we don’t just teach skills. We teach confidence.