MFC Lecture: Sensory Approach to Maximizing Students' Potential
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The workshop outlines the significance of sensory play in children's development, highlighting benefits such as emotional management, problem-solving, and social skills amidst societal changes that limit play opportunities. It discusses the interplay between sensory and behavioral responses in children, emphasizing the need for tailored strategies to address individual needs. Practical strategies for creating sensory-friendly classrooms are provided, including classroom organization, visual schedules, and sensory tools to help children regulate their emotions and enhance learning.
MFC Lecture: Sensory Approach to Maximizing Students' Potential
- 1. Workshop by: Nancy Amar OTR/L
- 2. "OT and Teachers: The Sensory Approach to maximizing students’ potential” 1. The important societal changes of play and how this affects our children 2. Is it Sensory or is it Behavioral 3. Meltdown vs Tantrums 4. Creating a Sensory Classroom 5. Favorite products and strategies that can be used in a classroom setting
- 5. Kids’ Play
- 6. Benefits of Play PLAY is FREE EXPLORATIVE PLAY • Mind in action. Take in information from their environment and learn! • Learn their own preferences • Learn how to keep themselves busy • Learn to make choices • Problem solving • Trying social roles (mommy, daddy) • Socialize (negotiation, compromise, share) • Patience • Empathy for others (win/loose) • Manage their own emotions • Sensory exploration • In touch with nature when they play outside (nature is naturally healing) • Risk assessment (safety awareness) • Physical activity benefits (active lifestyle) • IT’S FUN!!!!
- 8. Play in Today’s Society • Less out door play due to safety concerns • Less sensory play (less hands on) • Adult supervised play (play dates, sports) • Toys that don’t foster creative play • Parents are busy • Electronics!!!!
- 9. The Effect on Children • Depression and anxiety in children has quadrupled since the 1950s! (partly due to play deficit) • Obesity is on the rise • Sensory Processing difficulties is on the rise • ADHD,ADD, SPD, ASD is on the rise
- 10. The Increased Value of School • School is becoming more and more the place where children have the chance to free play! • To explore their sensory environments • To explore friendships and relationships
- 13. Is it Sensory or Behavioral • Most likely than not, it is BOTH! • Sensory and behavior are directly linked at all times. We take in information from the environment through our senses in order to then give a behavioral output.
- 14. Play Detective! • By playing detectives I mean create a little journal or a mental note of 3 things: 1- what was the antecedent 2-what is your child's reaction 3-what helped them calm
- 15. Behavioral • If something is more behavioral in nature: 1- it's usually purpose driven 2-the child can turn it on and off at will 3- usually stops once they get their way 4-responds well to clear boundaries, structure
- 16. Sensory If something is more sensory in nature: 1- it's outside of your child's control 2-a child cannot turn it on and off at will. On the contrary you give in to the request and they still can't calm 3-takes longer to calm 4-does not respond to behavior modification techniques alone 5-responds well to flexibility of the sensory situation within a structure and routine. Ex: earphones in the cafeteria
- 17. Reality Check ;) • Many many times what I have seen is that it is a combination of both! So you will have to use sensory strategies as well as behavioral modifications!! • A lot of strategies will be trial and error. There is no cookie cutter approach that works best because every child is different and responds differently.
- 19. Tantrum vs Meltdown Tantrum Meltdown Attitude is EVERYTHING! Remain Calm. Consciously decide not to buy into it. Attitude is EVERYTHING! Remain calm. No need to change it but experience it with your child Safety first Safety first Learning experience. Boundaries, making requests, frustration tolerance Cathartic experience come out of it happy. Let them channel that frustration IGNORE!!!! Walk then through it words kind and gentle soft music song preferred you item Anything heavy Ask yourself. What do I want my child to learn. Get clues as to input seeking. Provide the environment that supports and encourages to calm.
- 21. Creating Sensory Smart Classrooms (Environmental Modifications) • Goal is to create an environment that takes into consideration the sensory needs of all children. Try to find ideas that will benefit all children. • Sensory children have difficulty organizing their bodies from the inside out. Our goal is to try as much as possible to create a classroom that helps them find balance from the outside in.
- 22. Classroom Organization: 1. Set up your classroom in stations and make sure you have a quiet area where kids can calm and regroup if needed when class get too loud. 2. Make sure the quiet area has lots of book, heavy blankets, pillows. Bean bags, earphones.
- 23. Calming Corner
- 24. Visual Schedules • Use visual schedules at the beginning of class that “maps” out the children’s day. This helps kids transition more easily from one activity to the next and can keep them more organized.
- 26. Classroom Activities: 1. Use songs to help children transition such as “Clean up…clean up…” or flick lights. 2. Make sure your schedule allows for movement breaks as well as table-top activities. Brain Breaks are great. 3. You can begin all table-top activities with a little “chair exercise” program that allows all the children to get their state of arousal at the same level. Ex: prior to commencing a handwriting task. Sing a song with the children that wakes up the arms, legs, stretches etc… 4. Consider having a “treasure box” with a variety of sensory toys. You can send a child to pick a sensory toy that helps them calm and become centered/organized. Ex: Put stress balls, fidget toys, body brush, lotion, etc…
- 27. Brain Breaks
- 28. Circle Time Sensory Perspective Social Perspective •Visual spot where to sit. •Keep the children that have a harder time keeping still next to you or make sure you give them something to hold like a puppet. Or give them a fidget toy to hold on to or even a weighted lap pad. •Make a “bean bag snake” using a sock and dried beans. The over-aroused child can put it on his shoulders or lap to help calm during circle time or at table-top. •Provide fidget toys such as tactile balls, “stress” balls. •yes/no paddles to answer questions to a story, make the story time more interactive. •create game related to story •discuss the behavior or characters in the story •utilize stories that discuss social appropriateness •Social Detective - We Thinkers series
- 29. Products for Circle Time • Weighted Items:
- 30. Fidget Toys for Class or Circle Time
- 31. Centers Sensory Perspective Social Perspective •Try to plan activities that incorporate as many sensory components as possible. Ex: finger paint on textured surfaces. •Realize that some will need tactile sensory activities prior to handwriting to ”wake up the body/hands” •Foster independence through visuals and checklists •Collaborative Play •Lego or building - assign roles a parts or materials suppliers, designer and builder •Limited amount of material fostering sharing, waiting and tolerance •Games- matching, bingos
- 32. Tools For Centers • Wedges and discs:
- 33. Playground Sensory Perspective Social Perspective •Outdoor activities are an all around wonderful sensory experience •Nature is a healer •Some kids just need to walk around disconnect •Playground- structured play •relay races •rings/cones •jumping rope •bean bag game
- 34. Sensory Smart Classrooms Sensory/Arousal: 1. For children who need to calm, use deep pressure such as pressure with your hands to his/her shoulders 2. Another great way to calm is to give a child heavy resistive work to do ex: carry heave books to the table, push/pull heavy cart. 3. For children who need increased arousal, have them do a few jumping jacks, wall push ups etc… or use light touch from your finger tips or a feather to awaken their senses. 4. For children who touch other peers during circle time, consider sitting them against a wall or bookshelf for extra grounding and trunk support, give them a fidget toy to hold 5. Touching others can be an indication that the child needs tactile input to his hands. You can brush the child’s hands, have him play with playdoh/other resistive mediums, play hand clapping games, crawling or wheelbarrow walking, 6. For a child who has difficulty transitioning from one activity to the next, allow him/her to hold on to an object that they like (aka. A transitioning object) This helps them “keep it together” during the transition. You can also assign a task to the child such as “helper” (ex: he holds the cards you will be using and brings them to circle time)
- 35. Miss Mancy Nancy Amar OTR/L Tel: 786-384-0221 Email: MissMancy@gmail.com Web: www.MissMancy.com
Editor's Notes
- #2: The Sensory Approach to maximizing your child’s learning and socializing potential
- #9: Society has changed and it’s not to point the finger and blame but to become aware of what children are experiencing as they grow.
- #11: Free exploration play. No division between play and learning
- #14: So you can see how tricky it can get to delineate decipher between the both.
- #15: You're gonna start seeing a pattern that comes up because we are all creatures of habit.
- #18: Livestream on facebook
- #35: Challenge that many teachers have is implementing these ideas. The goal is to make sensory activities part of your routine. Or have a “bag of tricks” you can use and refer to when you need Many activities are actually naturally occurring in the school environment.