In-Session Guide — PILA Cards (Deck 1)

A practical in-session guide for clinicians using Deck 1 — PILA Cards — the practitioner's first words to a dysregulated child.

Age range: 5 to 15, particularly effective 8 to 12.

Best suited for: Dysregulated arrival, trauma-presenting children, selective mutism, post-meltdown re-entry, first-session rapport with avoidant clients.

When NOT to use: Do not introduce mid-cognitive task. Do not pair with verbal demand. Do not use as a behaviour-management prompt.

How to introduce: Place three to five cards face-up on the table or floor at the child's eye level. Say nothing. If the child does not engage, hold one card at chest height and let it sit. The card speaks; you do not.

Sample language: I'm going to put some cards here. You don't have to read them. You don't have to do anything. Then silence.

Watch for: First card touched, first card picked up, first card the child returns to. These are clinical signals, not coincidences.

Phase mapping: Phase 1 — Safe Arrival.

Clinical use: De-escalation, trauma-informed practice, Polyvagal co-regulation.