Getting Ready To Learn
Meeting the sensory needs of students to support school performance.
Laura [email protected]
http://kelloughkindergartn.wikispaces.com
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 partscross legs
• Sensory Needs con't• 3. Touch
eg. twist hair fidget with items such as phonecords and necklaces, put fingers and hands onface or pet a dog/cat
• 4. Look eg. watch a fish tank or open shades after aboring movie how you react to cluttered areas, fluorescentLighting
Sensory Needs con't.• 5. Listen
eg. working in a noisy or quiet roomsing or talk to oneself how you react to noises such as a scratch on achalkboard or alarms
Movement Breaks and Heavy Muscle Work• Periods of concentration followed by periodsof movement• eg. songs, games, yoga, stretches• heavy work gives students the mostgrounding 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 forChildren)• 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:• www.alertprogram.com/• www.timetimer.com• www.yogakids.com• www.responsiveclassroom.org/bookstore/rp_energizers.vid.html• www.manitobainmotion.ca/schools• www.ncpe4me.com/pdf_files/K-5-• Energizers.pdf• www.amazon.com
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 DoesYour Engine Run? TM: A Leader's Guide to The Alert
Program for Self- Regulation. NM:TherapyWorks Inc.
