Sensory Processing
SENSORY INTEGRATION is the process of taking in information about the world around us using all of our senses and the process of how our brain receives and processes this information so that we can do the things we need to do in our everyday life. The information we receive from our senses is used to organize our behavior and successfully interact in the world. We are all aware of 5 of the senses commonly talked about: sight, hearing, vision, touch, taste & smell. The two other senses not as commonly talked about are: the vestibular system which has its receptors in the inner ear and responds to changes in head position to help us keep our balance. This system is continuously "checking in" with our eyes, muscles and joints to keep us oriented to gravity which helps us balance and know how to move our bodies. The proprioceptive system is the awareness of ourselves gained through muscles and joints and other receptors in our own bodies to tell us where our body parts are at any given time. The vestibular and proprioceptive systems provide information to our brains which help in planning movements and keeping balance.
SENSORY INTEGRATION is the process of taking in information about the world around us using all of our senses and the process of how our brain receives and processes this information so that we can do the things we need to do in our everyday life. The information we receive from our senses is used to organize our behavior and successfully interact in the world. We are all aware of 5 of the senses commonly talked about: sight, hearing, vision, touch, taste & smell. The two other senses not as commonly talked about are: the vestibular system which has its receptors in the inner ear and responds to changes in head position to help us keep our balance. This system is continuously "checking in" with our eyes, muscles and joints to keep us oriented to gravity which helps us balance and know how to move our bodies. The proprioceptive system is the awareness of ourselves gained through muscles and joints and other receptors in our own bodies to tell us where our body parts are at any given time. The vestibular and proprioceptive systems provide information to our brains which help in planning movements and keeping balance.
There is a problem with sensory integration when our brain either over responds or under responds to sensory information. All of us do this at times (think of yourself walking alone to your car down a dark alley and someone taps you on the shoulder! Your response would likely be greater to that tap on the shoulder than it would to other similar touch) but for some people, the degree to which they over or under respond impacts their life significantly and keeps them from doing what they need to do to participate in life!
There is a problem with sensory integration when our brain either over responds or under responds to sensory information. All of us do this at times (think of yourself walking alone to your car down a dark alley and someone taps you on the shoulder! Your response would likely be greater to that tap on the shoulder than it would to other similar touch) but for some people, the degree to which they over or under respond impacts their life significantly and keeps them from doing what they need to do to participate in life!
FIVE TIPS TO SUPPORT SENSORY INTEGRATION IN THE CLASSROOM
FIVE TIPS TO SUPPORT SENSORY INTEGRATION IN THE CLASSROOM
GET MOVING!!!
GET MOVING!!!
Make sure students have plenty of out of their chair time! This includes recess and PE but also brief breaks in instruction to allow them to stretch, move around, get the blood flowing to their body and brain!
- Energizer activities
- Ball-Toss Spelling: Call out a spelling word, then toss one of your students a rubber-band ball and have them call out the first letter in the word, then toss the ball to another student, who should call out the second letter. … Continue until all of your spelling words have been practiced.
- Play Switch-Off: Put an assignment on the board (e.g., pg. 35, problems 1–20) and have students write their name on the paper and complete problem one. Then, when everyone has finished with problem one, have them stand up and move to the next desk, check their classmate’s answer to problem number one and then do problem number two. Continue until every student has done every problem and checked every problem
- Get Creative With Your Workstations: Stock your classroom with desks that have pedal stations or seats that swivel and get your kids moving as they learn. If you don’t have the budget to equip your entire classroom with new workstations, try adding new chairs to your computer station or a movement-based desk to one learning center in the room. Every little movement counts.
- Implement a Morning Motion Movement: Set aside 10 minutes every morning to start the day off with some movement. Try doing a simple series of yoga or Pilates movements, or download the Sworkit app and put it under your doc cam and do a little classroom video workout. (If only they had a zumba app, you could really have some fun!)
- Play Fitness Dice: Every hour on the hour, pull out your fitness dice and have a student roll them. Then, have the class do whatever comes up—whether it’s 8 push-ups or 12 jumping jacks. (And yes, even short bursts of movement like this make a big difference without taking up much class time at all.)
BE PREDICTABLE & STRUCTURED!!
BE PREDICTABLE & STRUCTURED!!
Make sure students know what to expect! Students feel safer and less anxious (this in and of itself can cause an over response to sensory input!) in environments where there are known procedures and established routines.
- written or visual schedules
- tasks broken down into steps (may need to be presented visually)
- schedule thoughtfully
- be mindful of the unstructured times (transitions)!
HEAVY WORK IS YOUR FRIEND!
HEAVY WORK IS YOUR FRIEND!
Especially for students who are having more trouble staying alert and engaged OR who are wound up and bouncing off the walls provide opportunities for heavy work. Heavy work activates the proprioceptive system which tends to have a calming, organizing effect on the body.
Heavy work activities include:
- Whole body actions involving pushing, pulling, lifting, playing, and moving
- Oral actions such as chewing, sucking, and blowing
Examples:
Examples:
- Delivering a stack of heavy books to the library or other teacher
- Delivering an important box (filled with books etc) to the office (the office workers can also have a box that the student needs to deliver to the classroom teacher
- Consider a job of unstacking/stacking the class chairs at the start/end of the day
- Chewy foods to throughout the day/hard candy or gum to suck or chew
BE MINDFUL OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT
BE MINDFUL OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Consider the changes you can make to your classroom environment that help reduce sensory distractions.
- flouresent lights? consider a light cover or other specific light/illumination accommodations
- noise level? consider noise reducing headphones and other environmental sound accommodations
- visual distractions? consider minimizing wall and ceiling decor
- placement of specific students? seating arrangement should support student needs (being mindful of proximity, safety, interaction & full access to instruction)
BE A DETECTIVE!
BE A DETECTIVE!
LOOK FOR SENSORY DIFFERENCES!
LOOK FOR SENSORY DIFFERENCES!
Examples of what over or under responding may look or sound like:
- student cries at the sound of a fire drill and it is very difficult to calm them
- student constantly is bumping into other people and furniture and doesn't appear to notice
- student appears to purposefully bump and crash into others
- student complains of noises (buzzing of lights/sounds from the other room) that are not recognized by other students
- student refuses to touch art & craft materials (glue, various kinds of textures)
- student does not appear to know when they have a messy face after lunch
CONSULT WITH AN O.T. IF YOU ARE NOTICING SENSORY DIFFERENCES SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTING STUDENT PERFORMANCE! REMEMBER...SEEING ONE BLUEBIRD DOES NOT MEAN SPRING IS HERE!
Please click on the following link for a printable version of the information on this page:
Please click on the following link for a printable version of the information on this page:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h80xGQ7lfjPT_8kVYIDswL3PUuV308_z6RfpUG_FcmU/edit?usp=sharing