Emotional Intelligence: Bugs & Dinos 🐞🦕

A playful, trauma-aware emotional intelligence web project designed especially for neurodivergent minds.

This project combines emotional education, sensory awareness, masking exploration, and nervous system support into a soft, accessible, pastel-themed experience guided by illustrated characters.

🌸 Purpose

Many neurodivergent people (ASD, ADHD, AuDHD, etc.) grow up navigating environments that feel overwhelming, invalidating, or unsafe.

This project aims to:

• Support emotional awareness
• Validate masking as a survival strategy
• Encourage sensory regulation
• Offer grounding tools
• Provide gentle self-compassion

The tone is playful and child-safe while addressing complex emotional themes such as trauma, nervous system responses, and safety.

🗂️ Pages Overview

🌼 Feelings Garden

• Interactive emotion wheel (primary emotions)
• Popup explanations for each emotion
• Primary & secondary emotion education
• Grounding exercises for big feelings

🎭 Mask Explorer

• Explanation of masking
• Trauma-informed safety framing
• Reflection prompts
• Self-compassion message

🌊 Sensory Space

• Overview of sensory regulation
• Cards for sound, light, texture, and body awareness
• Nervous system validation

🧸 Comfort Corner

• Gentle comfort ideas
• Rituals, objects, and self-talk suggestions
• Soft reassurance messaging

📖 Learn & Understand

• Nervous system basics (fight, flight, freeze, fawn)
• Neurodivergence & emotional processing
• Emotional awareness education