“Home is where things need to feel right or everything feels wrong”

---The Sensory-Sensitive Child

We all work to create a home environment where we will feel comfortable. We use colors, decorations, music, lighting, and scents to create a space in which we feel peaceful and secure. This is even more important for sensory sensitive children than it is for the rest of us because they so often feel assaulted by the outside environment. By the time they get home, their nerves are frayed and they are “running on empty.” They need a soothing environment to restore their sense of well-being.

Ask yourself these questions:

· Is your home calm or chaotic?
· What are the specific sensory challenges for your child in your home? For example, are the lights too bright, music too loud, clothes too scratchy?
· Are there “sensory refuges” available to your child? For example, is there a chill-out space that is small and quiet and which she can control?
· Do the sensory needs of different members of your family clash?
· Is your home environment structured and predictable?
· What are the sensory demands of the tasks your child must accomplish at home on a regular basis?

The most important ingredient in creating a comfortable and secure home for your child is your relationship with him. Research has shown that children who are more securely attached to their parents develop better emotion regulation skills, are more persistent and succeed more often when faced with difficult tasks. They also develop better peer relations. A positive relationship with your child lays the foundation for positive behavior.

· Spend time with your child every day. Give him your full attention when you are with him.
· When you play with your child, let him take the lead. Play is one place where it is okay for your child to be “the boss.”
· Be a good listener. Listen closely for hints about sensory-based problems (i.e., “I hate that place. It smells yucky”).
· Praise your child for all his accomplishments, and especially for managing his sensory needs appropriately. The general ratio of praise to criticism should be 10:1. Think about that.
· Catch your child being good. Notice what he is doing right rather than what he is doing wrong.
· Let go of the little things (especially when they are a sensory challenge for your child). Learn to live with annoying but acceptable behaviors.

The emotional heat tends to run high in families with children with sensory processing difficulties. Often, by the time parents come to understand a child’s sensory processing problems, there have been months, or even years, of frustration, power struggles, and negative family interactions. The parents we meet often feel guilty and question whether they have caused their child’s difficulties. The good news is that children are very resilient. They will respond to changes you make in your own behavior. And one of the first things to work on is turning down the emotional heat in your house. The calmer your household is, the better you will feel and the more comfortable your child will become.

· Children with sensory processing difficulties have difficulty regulating their emotions. Be a good model: if you are less reactive emotionally, your child will benefit from “seeing how it can be done.”
· Practice relaxation breathing yourself, and teach it to your child.
· Change your thoughts, and your feelings will follow. How you think about what is happening will determine how you react to it. Instead of thinking, Why is he always so difficult? Think, I know he wants to please me. What is making this so hard for him right now? Ask yourself, Is there a sensory component to this?
· Take chill outs. Remove yourself from a frustrating situation before exploding. Tell your child, “I need a chill-out.” In this way, your child will learn to do the same.

Avoid difficult situations by planning ahead. Children who have difficulty with self-regulation benefit enormously from structure. Predictability in the daily routine can decrease the number of family battles and create a more peaceful home

· Use charts and routines to build positive habits and decrease daily battles.
· Give your child extra time to accomplish daily tasks, but set an outside limit on that time. Using a timer can be helpful.
· Do not feel that you or your child have to participate in birthday parties, family outings, or other activities that you know will be stressful for him. You can choose not to go or agree to leave early if your child is having difficulty with the sensory demands of the situation.

Always keep the sensory lens in mind. Remember: your child does not experience the world in the same way that others do. He has trouble filtering, modulating, and discriminating sensory input. As a result, it is harder for him to respond to people, places and the press of daily life appropriately.

· Think about your child’s sensory vulnerabilities.
· Think about the sensory demands of the environment.
· Think about the sensory demands of the task.
· Modify the demands when necessary. Your child will respond best to the “just right” challenge (not too easy, not too hard).

Just as we need to eat the right foods to function well, we need the right sensory input to help us feel good and behave well. Most children seek out healthy sensory experiences automatically, without thinking about it. When we see children running and jumping, spinning and tumbling, swinging and somersaulting, we are watching them nourish their bodies with invigorating, organizing, and satisfying sensory experiences. The child with sensory problems is not so good at providing this nourishment for himself and may need help from the adults around him to create a healthy sensory diet.

· Click on Resources (the “nose” icon) for books and other sources of information that will teach you how to create a healthy sensory diet for your child.

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“School is a potential nightmare
for the child with sensory processing problems…”

--The Sensory-Sensitive Child

SCHOOL: A continuous sensory assault

As a teacher, you know your classroom better than anyone; but take a moment right now to focus on its sensory characteristics. Turn off your internal filters, if you can. Close your eyes, and listen, smell, taste and touch what it is like to be a child inside a school. You are surrounded by a cacophony of noise: perhaps you hear florescent lights humming, radiators hissing, children talking, pages turning, doors opening and closing, pencil sharpeners grinding…. Now open your eyes and take in the lights, the colors, the movement, the clutter, the detail. Sit still and try to concentrate. Or stand up and join a group of kids on their way to the lunchroom, the gym, the playground or the library. Tune in to your body and try to feel the input from your muscles, joints and bones and your inner ear that prevents you from bumping into others, falling off the hard edge of your seat, dropping your lunch tray, crashing into a wall or collapsing onto the floor.

Unconsciously, the child with efficient sensory processing is registering, filtering, organizing and interpreting all of those sensations into meaningful information. For him, school is a place that “makes sense,” and he knows how to respond and react to the experiences he encounters there. The child with dysfunctional sensory processing is in a different situation. For him, the hallways, the classroom, the cafeteria, the music and art rooms, the gymnasium and playground and the school bus can be places of confusion, discomfort and anxiety. He is not able to make sense of the barrage of sensory input and, as a result, he fails to respond appropriately. He is likely to shut down or lash out in an attempt to protect himself from the confusion, or to seek out more stimulation by jumping, running, twirling and bumping in an attempt to make the world make sense.

Without guidance, this student is likely to have a great deal of trouble (1) learning new information, (2) demonstrating what he knows, (3) behaving appropriately in the classroom, and (4) moving himself through the daily school routine. He will need more help from you than many of his peers in the following areas:

· Decreasing sensory arousal
· Focusing on class assignments
· Organizing himself
· Following directions
· Managing his emotions
· Getting along with peers

SENSORY PROCESSING PROBLEMS IN THE CLASSROOM: What they might look like

The children in your classroom have a range of sensory-regulatory abilities that fluctuate depending on the circumstances. While you may be well aware of some of the children who struggle with sensory tasks, there may be others who have puzzled you but whose problems haven’t been easy to name. Frequently, these kids are mis-labeled as stubborn, oppositional or aggressive, and their sensory problems go unrecognized. When you look through a sensory lens, you will gain a new perspective on some kids’ seemingly erratic, out-of-bounds behavior. This lens is a complement to, not a replacement for, the other lenses you use to understand your students (i.e., the educational lens, the behavioral lens, the developmental lens).

When a student seems stuck -- unable to succeed at a task for no clear reason -- take a look at who he is, where he is and what he is being asked to do through a sensory lens. Difficulties will arise when there is a mismatch between his sensory capacities (he may be over-sensitive or under-sensitive to sensory input), the sensory characteristics of the classroom and the sensory demands of the activity he has been assigned. This can lead to tremendous frustration, anxiety and misunderstanding. (Please refer to Chapter Three of The Sensory-Sensitive Child for a discussion of the relationship between sensory processing problems and common psychiatric diagnoses.)

Sensory “mismatches” frequently show up in the following ways at school:

· Difficulty with clothing (tolerating the texture, keeping it on, chewing on neckline/collar, refusing to wear a coat in cold weather)
· Poor handwriting (grip too firm/too loose, letters poorly formed, runs out of space on paper, erases too hard)
· Difficulty with cut-and-paste activities (dislikes messiness, cannot use scissors competently)
· Distractibility (wanders around room, cannot screen out noise, disrupts others, does not complete activity in given amount of time)
· Disorganization (forgets materials, does not track assignments, messy desk and/or backpack)
· Activity level too high or too low
· Poor self-help skills (cannot open supplies, fasten clothing, operate lock on locker, zip backpack)
· Resistance to learning a new routine or changing activities
· Problems with peers (overly “aggressive”/withdrawn, misjudges personal space, too loud, silly, does not choose to join a group, sensitive to touch)
· Poor posture (floppy, slouches, leans on others for support, “touchy”)
· Emotional reactivity (grumpy, anxious, explosive, unhappy, out-of-sorts)

Defining the exact relationship between sensory processing and academic achievement would require careful, rigorous scientific study – and that research has not yet been done. Nevertheless, we know that poor sensory regulation distorts a child’s perceptions of the world and thereby negatively influences her responses to that world; therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that sensory processing problems will affect her learning. In some instances, the relationship will be direct. For example, auditory discrimination problems will make it difficult for a child to differentiate the sounds of the letters and to grasp phonetic concepts. In other instances, the connection with learning will be indirect, as in the case of the tactilely defensive child who avoids hands-on classroom activities or has to be removed from the group when he “can’t get along” with his peers. The more sensory processing problems a child experiences, the more interference there will be in his daily learning routines!

Some of the areas where a child is likely to experience direct and indirect interference in learning are listed below:

· Attention to task
· Organizational skills
· Written language
· Participating in group learning projects
· Dealing with transitions
· Managing homework
· Coping with stress

Once you recognize the sensory component to these tasks that students face every day, you can begin to address the interference in learning, behavior and emotions that occurs when a child’s sensory processing is inefficient. Many excellent suggestions for how you can do this are available in books listed in the Resources section.

Decrease Sensory Assault in the Learning Environment

1. Reduce visual clutter on the walls and tabletops.
2. Help the child maintain a well-organized work space.
3. Reduce external, background noise as much as possible. Play soft music in the background of the classroom during independent work activities
4. Create a “chill-out zone,” or sensory shelter, where kids can go if they need to retreat from the hustle-bustle of the classroom. This should be a quiet, darkened space: a tent, a refrigerator box, a screened-in corner of the classroom, or a blanketed underside of a table. You may provide pillows and/or soft music to make the space cozy and calming.
5. Provide bean bag chairs, “move-n-sit” cushions (available from occupational therapy suppliers) and/or a rocking chair for the child who needs to move in order to organize himself.

Establish a Kid-Friendly Routine

1. Discuss the day’s schedule with the class each morning. Warn them about changes to the regular routine in advance.
2. Consider posting a visual schedule (using pictures as well as words). For the child with sensory processing problems, a copy of the visual schedule might be taped to his desktop. Also, use auditory rituals (songs, bells, a rhythmic clap) to signal upcoming transitions.
3. These children often have particular difficulty stopping and starting tasks. To facilitate transitions, give specific directions regarding how to finish one activity and move on to another. Mention something interesting about what is coming next.
4. Allow enough time for the transition from one activity to another. Kids with sensory processing problems don’t do well when rushed.
5. Alternate seatwork with opportunities for movement (taking a message to the office, carrying heavy books to another teacher, walking to the water fountain, etc.)

Monitor and Modify the Student’s Sensory Diet

1. Seat him in a quiet area of the classroom (away from doors, windows, computer stations, etc.).
2. Allow the child to assume whatever posture is most organizing for him (i.e., standing, sitting on a large ball or a move-n-sit cushion, propped by a pillow). Are there activities the child can do on the floor, rather than in a chair?
3. If a child looks “droopy,” suggest a “wake up” activity (clapping hands, giving herself a hug, rubbing arms briskly, sitting on floor while hugging knees and rocking back and forth, jumping, moving to music, marching, stomping, rocking).
4. Allow him to hold “fiddle” objects in his hand while he is concentrating on seatwork.
5. Allow chewy, crunchy snack foods and/or a sports water bottle for sucking. These forms of oral stimulation are organizing for many children.
6. Do not use removal of recess as a punishment. Instead, make sure that the child plays strenuously during recess – running, swinging, sliding, hanging, and climbing -- rather than just walking around the playground.
7. Use firm pressure, not light, when touching the child (bear hugs, downward push on both shoulders, a firm pat on the head). Never tickle!
8. Avoid touching him from behind (where he cannot see and anticipate the tactile sensation).
9. Do not battle about clothing. Allow him to be as comfortable as possible (he may want to keep his jacket on inside; he may use his hood as a shelter; he may want to take off his shoes…).
10. Provide a sensory shelter for times when he is over-stimulated and needs to relax and re-group. This is not to be used as a “time-out” or punishment. Instead, it is a “chill out zone” where any child in the classroom can come and go on an “as needed” basis to regulate his level of arousal.

Be a Calm and Clear Communicator

1. Wait until you have the child’s attention before you start talking (Remember: he has difficulty doing more than one thing at a time). Make eye contact.
2. Give directions in the briefest, simplest, most positive manner possible. Too much language can overload a child and increase stress.
3. Allow more time than you might think necessary for a response.
4. Ask the child to repeat your instructions in his own words.
5. Do not:

· yell (these kids are very sensitive to voice tone);
· use sarcasm;
· ask a child to defend or justify himself (“What were you thinking? Don’t you know better? Why did you do that?”).

Step In When the Social Scene is Overwhelming

1. In group situations, these kids are often so concerned about defending their personal space that they cannot listen to you or anyone else. Help the group get settled, and mark each child’s space (laying out trays or placemats on a table, using carpet squares on the floor, assigning seats, etc.) before beginning the lesson.
2. Emphasize competence as often as possible. Give the child with sensory processing problems a “teaching” role with other children in his areas of strength.
3. These kids are easily misunderstood. Be aware of the potential for bullying, excluding and ridiculing by other kids; and be prepared to step in quickly if it occurs.
4. As needed, coach the child in basic friendship skills: i.e., how to start a conversation appropriately, how to join a group on the playground, how to respond when someone accidentally bumps or brushes up against him, how to take turns.
5. Teach the child (and his classmates) to follow these steps when he is faced with a problem he doesn’t know how to solve:

Define the problem. Think about what you want to happen.
Think of at least five possible solutions, even if they don’t seem realistic. Be creative and let your imagination go wild.
Consider the usefulness of each idea by asking questions like, “Would my idea make the problem bigger or smaller? Do I have what it takes to make my idea work? Would this idea help me get closer to my goal?”
Choose a solution and try it.
Evaluate whether or not your idea worked. Would you do it again?

Most children with sensory processing problems benefit when a teacher takes a team approach to their instruction. Depending on the nature of a child’s needs (which are likely to be related to a combination of educational, behavioral, emotional and social difficulties), the team may include any of the following people:

· The classroom teacher(s)
· The child’s parents
· An occupational therapist
· A behavior specialist
· An LD specialist
· A speech/language therapist
· A school psychologist
· The school counselor
· A teacher’s aide
· Teachers who have taught the child in previous years
· A school administrator

The purpose of such a team – whether it is a Student Support Team, an IEP Review Committee or a grade-level planning team – is to recommend strategies that will help you teach this child more effectively. Those strategies should focus on the child’s strengths and weaknesses and define what kinds of supervision, assistance or modifications might be helpful to him and to you. Be sure to include some strategies that will improve the sensory climate in the classroom and reduce or alter the sensory demands being placed on the child. Teaching that respects his individuality and provides the “just-right” challenge can actually improve his ability to organize and regulate himself at school. This emphasis on prevention is a much more constructive approach than focusing on punitive or remedial reactions to failure experiences.

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