Structured breaks are used to restore a productive mood. They are used to restore diminished tolerance and to provide relief within difficult tasks. They are also used to interrupt a sudden or a sustained escalation that has not yet become unsafe.
Students with emotional challenges have frequent mood shifts and emotional attacks over the course of the day. In addition, their tolerance for schoolwork diminishes more rapidly than it does for the typical student. Some days it diminishes more quickly than other days. They get tired, frustrated, and overwhelmed by how much they have to do; they lose their patience and concentration, and then give up and stop working. A restorative break can be used to help children who are perseverating on or “stuck” on a particular problem and it can be used to cope with rising stress or frustration…
