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sensory strategies for school

Sensory Strategies for School

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Preparing your child to go back to school can be both exciting and challenging. Research suggests that approximately 1 in 6 children experience sensory symptoms that are significant enough to interfere with everyday life functions occurring at home and in the school.[1] Targeting the body’s sensory systems of oral, vestibular (movement), proprioceptive (body position), tactile (touch), visual, and auditory will help them to stay motivated and engaged in the classroom. Check out these 5 tips that describe various sensory strategies for school.

Sensory Strategies for School:

  1. Send your child to school with a healthy, crunchy snack in their lunch such as carrots,Sensory Strategies for School celery, granola bars, licorice, or gummy worms. Research suggests children with sensory processing difficulties, specifically those who are underresponsive to sensory input, benefit from crunchy snacks to improve their attention and arousal levels.
  2. Offer a move-n-sit cushion, wiggle seat, or theraband seat modification– Children who seek out movement often have difficulty sitting still in class. These children may benefit from some added movement opportunities to assist their body in focusing and attending to tasks. Often, move-n-sit cushions, wiggle seats, or tying a theraband around the two front legs of the chair offers the child just enough opportunity to stay aroused and attended without becoming too distracting.
  3. Assign classroom chores– for those children who are underresponsive to proprioceptive input, activities such as watering flowers, carrying books to and from the library, sweeping or mopping the floors, and cleaning the chalkboard are all effective ways to target the body’s proprioceptive system, which gives the body’s muscles and joints the resistant heavy work they crave. Often, these children require an adult to help them identify when their body needs to take a break and move around[2]. They may not register that their body is in an awkward, uncomfortable position when seated at their desk. Heavy work activities are often helpful in allowing their body to become more regulated and aware of their surroundings.
  4. Reduce visual clutter and auditory noise– For those children who are overresponsive to visual and/or auditory input, try and use natural light versus fluorescent lighting and reduce classroom background chatter whenever possible. Reducing visual and auditory external stimuli may help with overall attention and focus.  For grade school children, decreasing the amount of math problems on a page, and leaving plenty space between each problem may assist with better performance when working.
  5. Give children their own space– For children who are overresponsive to tactile stimuli or who have difficulties with tactile discrimination, it is important to decrease instances of accidental touch from classroom peers. For younger children, having separate carpet squares for them to sit on will reduce the amount of unexpected distracting touch from other classmates. For grade school children, it may be helpful to place their desk at the front of the class to avoid any unnecessary touch from others, or let the student walk at the end of the line to avoid anyone bumping into them[3].

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lake Bluff, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

Resources:

[1] Sensory Over-Responsivity in Elementary School: Prevalence and Social-Emotional Correlates By: Ben-Sasson, A., A. S. Carter, and M. J. Briggs-Gowan. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology J Abnorm Child Psychology 2009-01-20

[2] Kranowitz, C. (2005). How to Tell if Your Child Has a Problem with the Proprioceptive Sense. In The out-of-sync child: Recognizing and coping with sensory processing disorder (Rev. and updated ed.). New York: A Skylight Press Book/A Perigee Book.

[3] Kranowitz, C. (2005). How to Tell if Your Child Has a Problem with the Tactile Sense. In The out-of-sync child: Recognizing and coping with sensory processing disorder (Rev. and updated ed.). New York: A Skylight Press Book/A Perigee Book.

Auditory Strategies on the 4th of July

BOOM! Auditory Strategies to Make this Independence Day Fun for your Auditorily Sensitive Child

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In our previous Independence Day themed blog, we discussed sensory strategies to address visual concerns around the holiday. Remember that the Fourth of July provides as much auditory stimulation as it does visual.

Remember, sensory over-responsivity, or sensory defensiveness, occurs when a child (or adult) is presented withAuditory Strategies for the 4th of July sensory stimuli is not processed within the brain efficiently. This can cause sensory stimuli to feel painful or threatening, leading to a heightened “fight or flight” response.

Auditory over-responsivity is a heightened response to auditory stimuli, leading to an avoidance or fear of certain sounds. Children who experience hypersensitivities to sound will often cover their ears or cry.

Independence Day, in particular, is a day filled with more auditory stimuli than most other days. When preparing your family plans this July, keep these suggestions in mind for your child with auditory sensitivities.

How to Help Your Child with Auditory Sensitivities this 4th of July:

  • When arriving to the venue, find a designated “quiet area” to retreat to, should you need it. Introduce your child to this space prior to the beginning of the festivities and make sure that he/she is aware that it can be accessed at any time!
  • Keep noise canceling headphones or ear plugs at hand. Trial these prior to Independence Day to ensure that your child is comfortable wearing them.
  • Provide plenty of calming input, via deep pressure and heavy work, to your child prior to and throughout the day. The deep pressure will provide “grounding” input to their body, allowing them to better integrate sensory input in other forms.


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NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

visual strategies

FLASH! Visual Strategies to Make this Independence Day Fun for your Visually Sensitive Child

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Independence Day is a holiday filled with picnics, parades, and fireworks. While many celebrate this day by coming together with friends and family in a hubbub of joy, anticipating a day filled with food and laughter, families with special needs children find the holiday to be a challenge.

Sensory Over-Responsivity (Sensory Defensiveness):

Sensory over-responsivity, or sensory defensiveness, occurs when a child (or adult) is presented
fireworks2Portrait with sensory stimuli that cannot be processed in a timely manner. This means that the brain and its sensory receptors is having difficulty in translating sensory stimuli into functional responses. This can cause sensory stimuli to feel painful or threatening, leading to a heightened “fight or flight” response.

Visual Over-Responsivity:

Visual over-responsivity, specifically, is characterized by hypersensitivity to visual stimuli, whether it be light, color or frequency of movement. Children with visual hypersensitivities may present with difficulty in visually attending to some stimuli, hyper-attentiveness to some stimuli, an increase of “coping strategies” when placed in a busy environment (i.e., chewing, moving their bodies, or hiding), or avoidance of light, natural or artificial.

The Fourth of July provides visual stimuli within each of these realms. Here are a few strategies to utilize this summer:

  • Prepare your child for the day by providing the child with information regarding what to expect. Have a conversation of what colors they will see and how bright it can be.
  • Create a game of “eye-spy” within the days activities: talk about what you may see throughout the day and have your child focus their gaze to search for specific items (i.e., how many flags are in the parade? How many blue fireworks do you see?).
  • Have sunglasses or dark lenses handy– they can be worn during the day or during the fireworks show.
  • Provide deep pressure and heavy work input to the body prior to and during visually stimulating activities.


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NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder: Proprioceptive System

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Proprioception, sometimes referred to as the sixth sense, informs us of our body position in space. Receptors for this system are located primarily in our muscles and relay information on muscle length and tension. This allows us to know where our joints are positioned as well as the amount of force against our body and the effort our muscles need to apply at any given time. To get an idea of how the proprioceptive system works, imagine closing your eyes and having someone move your arms to anSPD Proprioceptive system extended position in front of you. Even though you can’t see them, you can feel that your arms are outstretched. Now if someone were to place 10 pound weights in each hand, your proprioceptive system would signal for you to make one of two decisions. Either let your arms fall to your sides due to the increased force or contract your muscles with greater effort to match it. We rely heavily on this sense throughout the day to keep track of what our bodies are doing. Much like the vestibular system, proprioception is necessary for building body awareness and security in how we fit in with our environment.

Short term impairments in proprioceptive processing can happen, for example, following a growth spurt or when a person is tired. However, for a child whose proprioceptive system is not functioning as it should, the messages that tell him where he is, how to move, and how much effort to exert just aren’t as strong. These difficulties may manifest in a number of ways.

Signs of difficulty with proprioceptive processing:

  • Easily frustrated or lacking confidence
  • Frequent crashing, bumping, climbing, falling, or jumping
  • Frequent kicking while sitting or stomping feet while walking
  • Enjoys deep pressure from bear hugs, being “squished,” being wrapped in tight blankets, or lying under something heavy
  • Uses too much force for writing or coloring. They may break the tip of the writing utensil, rip the paper while erasing, or complain about hand fatigue
  • Often plays too rough with peers, siblings, or pets
  • Wants to wear clothes and accessories too tight
  • Misjudges the amount of force needed to pick up objects (may often spill, break or drop things, or complain that objects are too heavy to carry)
  • Difficulty isolating body movements or locating body parts, such as touching the tip of their noise with a finger, particularly when eyes are closed

Activities for proprioceptive input:

  • Heavy work! This is a phrase you will often hear occupational therapists use as a go-to strategy in almost any sensory diet. This can mean much more than just carrying something heavy; it is simply resistive input. This could be squeezing something in your hands, chewing something particularly hard, or pushing, pulling, lifting, climbing, or crawling with the entire body
  • Provide deep pressure by squeezing them in a “burrito” or “sandwich” using a blanket, pillows, or cushions. You can also deliver deep pressure through shoulder squeezes or massage
  • Spend time at the playground and allow movement as often as possible! Kids often don’t have opportunities to run, jump, and play nearly as often as their bodies crave
  • Have them help with chores such as carrying laundry, pushing a vacuum, cleaning off windows or tables, rake/shovel, carry groceries, etc.
  • Build body awareness with activities that require locating body parts (Simon says, Hokey Pokey) or imitating a body position or movement sequence

Adequate proprioceptive processing is fundamental in building a child’s sense of self and in achieving important developmental milestones. If you suspect that your son or daughter is experiencing difficulties in this area, working with an occupational therapist can provide further insight and help develop a plan for your child.

More on the Subtypes of SPD:

  1. Sensory Processing Disorder: The Subtypes
  2. Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder: The Tactile System
  3. Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder: The Auditory System
  4. Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder: The Vestibular System

NSPT offers occupational therapy services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder: Tactile System

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The tactile system, or sense of touch, refers to the information we receive though the receptors in our skin. It alerts us to pain and temperature and helps us discriminate the properties of things we come in contact with, i.e. texture, shape, size, and weight. From very early on in development this sense plays a crucial role in helping us gain awareness of our own bodies and understand everything we come in contact with. Touch is considered one of our most basic senses since body awareness, motor planning, visual perception, and social/emotional development are so dependent on it.

 The Tactile System:

There are general patterns to how different types of touch affect us. Short, light touch, like the tickle of a feather or anSPD Tactile ant crawling on your skin can cause alertness such as a quickened heart rate and an immediate need for response. On the other hand a prolonged, deep pressure, such as a hug, is generally calming and can provide a sense of security. But what happens when a person’s tactile system is over or under responsive to touch? What would happen if an affectionate caress caused irritation or panic, or if objects always seemed to drop from your hands as soon as your attention moved elsewhere? Just imagine how stressful it would be to live in a constant fight or flight state because so many day to day events caused physical discomfort. And how frustrating it must be to learn new skills when you can’t adequately feel the objects you’re using!

Red flags that your child may be experiencing difficulties with tactile processing include:

  • Becoming overly upset about having his hair washed, brushed or cut
  • Having his nails cut, or teeth brushed
  • Avoiding or overreacting to touch from others, particularly when it’s unexpected
  • Showing irritation over tags or particular types of clothing such as jerseys or jeans
  • Isolating themselves from groups or preferring to play alone
  • Over sensitivity to temperature or decreased awareness of extreme temperatures
  • Over or under reactive to pain
  • Frequently dropping objects out of his hands or using inappropriate force on objects such as squeezing his pencil too hard or crumpling his papers
  • Having difficulty with, or being frustrated by, fine motor tasks such as drawing/writing, cutting, zipping, buttoning, tying laces, etc.
  • Being a picky eater or showing a strong preference for specific textures/types of food
  • Anxiety over standing in line or being in crowds
  • Disliking socks and shoes or alternatively, avoiding walking barefoot, especially on textures such as grass or sand
  • Seeking out deep pressure rather than light touch
  • Preferring tight clothing rather than loose-fitting garments that may rub on skin
  • Insisting on pants and long sleeves even in hot weather, or very little clothing even in cold weather
  • Avoiding or overreacting to wet or messy textures
  • Not noticing a messy face or hands

A general rule of thumb for these kids is to engage in deep pressure or heavy work activities often, as this is the most organizing and grounding form of touch. If these sound like things your child is struggling with, consult with an occupational therapist to get a clearer profile of his sensory needs. Your OT can help you gain a better understanding of why your child exhibits certain behaviors and create an individualized plan to make him more comfortable in his own skin!

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

Heavy Work Strategies for the Busy Family

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Young Boy Holding a Pile of LaundryLife can get heavy from time to time and everyone gets stressed out. Unknowingly, many adults cope with said ‘stressors’ by incorporating various self-regulating strategies into their daily routines. They may take a deep breath or find their ‘zen’ in a yoga class. Some may take pleasure in the simplicity of sipping a warm cup of tea, while other more physical individuals resort to running a mile or two. Yet others prefer to lounge under a tree to read an enchanting romance novel. Children, like adults, need to have the ability to calm their bodies and self-regulate. One way for children to gather themselves in times of stress is by incorporating “heavy work” into their daily routine. ‘Heavy work’ activities provide deep proprioceptive input into a child’s muscles and joints, and thereby help them self-regulate in the same way that exercise may help an adult deal with stress.

Here are some examples of preparatory methods that can be incorporated into everyday life and used before a child encounters a stressful situation such as a loud birthday party, busy school day, or long car ride.

Heavy Work Activities To Provide Deep Proprioceptive Input For Children:

  • Help Mom: The completion of many chores can help incorporate ‘heavy work’ into a child’s daily routine. Examples include: carrying laundry, stirring recipes, pushing a grocery cart, or carrying shopping bags from the car.
  • Relay races and other forms of exercise are wonderful ways to build endurance and self-regulate. Examples include: wheelbarrow walks, froggy jumps, bear crawls, army crawls, crab walks, skipping, galloping, yoga, swimming, and gymnastics.
  • Play Outside: Take a walk and pull a wagon full of goodies, push a friend or sibling on the swing at the playground, build a
    sandcastle at the beach, or help around the house with yard work.
  • Rearranging Furniture: Pushing heavy chairs and couches provides deep proprioceptive input to the major joints and muscle groups of the body. You could put a fun spin on the activity and make a fort using furniture and blankets right in your living room!

‘Heavy work’ strategies can be incorporated into everyday life no matter the context or season. The use of these strategies may assist your child with more independence and self-soothing when they are feeling upset. This will also allow them to strengthen their muscles, increase their endurance, and may just help you cut back on the time spent completing housework chores. For other self-regulating ideas, please contact a NSPT occupational therapist.

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