Getting Ready To Learn Meeting the sensory needs of students to support school performance. Laura Kellough

Activity: Touch Hear Put something in your mouth Listen Look

What Are Sensory Needs? We all have sensory needs that need to be met in order to function properly in everyday life. As adults we have found ways to not fall asleep during a long meeting or get agitated when listening to loud/uncomfortable sounds music. Kindergarten students are unable to identify their needs and understand how to meet them.

From the time a human fetus kicks in the womb it is reacting to its environment and will continue to do so for the rest of its life. As parents we learned to “read” the cues babies gave us and met their needs – Eg: swaddled or not swaddled, fed, dry etc Movement is critical to normal development- physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively. “Play is the Work of Children”

Children can attend to a task for approx. one minute/year of age before needing to move Children need far more input than adults in terms of frequency, duration and intensity – they have underdeveloped executive functioning of their brains (until 18) which means they won’t choose appropriate ways to meet their needs without interfering with others.

High Just Right Low _______________________________________ High: over excited, wild, hyper, fidgety Just Right: when it is easy to learn, play and get along with others Low: sluggish, spacey, glassy eyed, low tone

Sensory Motor List 1. Putting something in your mouth eg. chew gum or suck on hard candies chewing on pens/pencils, stir sticks bite your lips 2. Move eg. shift in your seat,rock, tap pens and pencils, stretch/shake different body parts cross legs

Sensory Needs con't 3. Touch eg. twist hair fidget with items such as phone cords and necklaces, put fingers and hands on face or pet a dog/cat 4. Look eg. watch a fish tank or open shades after a boring movie how you react to cluttered areas, fluorescent Lighting

Sensory Needs con't. 5. Listen eg. working in a noisy or quiet room sing or talk to oneself how you react to noises such as a scratch on a chalkboard or alarms

Movement Breaks and Heavy Muscle Work Periods of concentration followed by periods of movement eg. songs, games, yoga, stretches heavy work gives students the most grounding input eg. seat exercises, standing on 1 foot, holding up walls, wall sits, carrying something heavy

Sensory input is received in the brain stem (sub- conscious area of the brain, which is responsible for respiration and heart rate) The brain stem communicates with the cortex in order to make sense of novel input, but over time, the brain recognizes innocuous input and the cortex is less involved. The brain stem essentially inhibits the cortex from responding unnecessarily. This is called bottom up inhibition. – Ex. Getting sufficient sensory input through pacing, a wiggle cushion, ball chair…this frees the cortex tro listen to the teacher. Top Down Inhibition – a student consciously telling themselves to sit and listen, look at the teacher…can’t focus

New tools and activities will capture the cognitive attention of your students. Not all movement is equal! Random, unstructured, unfocused movement can be disorganizing. Structured movement with a focus can be calming and organizing. Heavy Muscle Work is a great equalizer – energizes low engines and calms revving engines

What to put in sensory kit Hand Tools balls (spongy, squishy, prickly, sticky, hard) rubber chicken and bendable plush toy pipe cleaners( regular and chenille) hair elastic rings flat latex bracelets

Kit con't sunglasses visor fibre optic lamp oil and water wand, glitter wand Mouth Tools straws coffee stir sticks

bubbles gum (hot and mild flavours) suckers (sugar free) Kit con't Music ( classical such as Mozart Effect for Children) Move 'n sit cushions ball chairs ear protectors tent and tunnel weighted ball

Rules for Use and Implementation Tools NOT Toys. If they become toys they are put away immediately! No touching other people Mouth tools go into the garbage and wash hands immediately. First Week: start with movement breaks – Do a lesson on “just right” vocabulary – Make a gauge

Second Week: - put out tools to explore. Watch for preferences and make notes - put out tools for students to use. - Will take about a month for the novelty to end and only the students who need them will use them.

Links: rp_energizers.vid.html Energizers.pdf

Where to Buy Items Websites (see previous page) Dollar stores Auto parts store ( headsets) Fitness stores or Wal-Mart School specialty stores

Acknowledgements Shellenberger, S.,Williams,M.(1994). How Does Your Engine Run? TM: A Leader's Guide to The Alert Program for Self- Regulation. NM:TherapyWorks Inc.