SEPTEMBER 2013

WHY IMPLEMENT SENSORY INTERVENTIONS AND STRATEGIES?

When sensory systems are overloaded students may:

• act out (may be aggressive or shut down)

• become unorganized or fixate on a specific thought, topic, repeated motor movement (erasing over and over), object, and person

• unable to process (listen, think, follow directions, attend, and learn)

• display unwanted or inappropriate behaviors (fidgeting, flapping, humming, pacing, self-talking, and rocking)

TOP 10 TIPS FOR POSITIVE BEHAVIOR

1. Provide printed/guided notes for lectures.

2. Pay attention to where the student is sitting to reduce distractions – windows, doors, fans, vents, and blinds.

3. Create opportunities for movement throughout the course of your class – 60/90 second mini-breaks, for transitioning (Brain Gym, math aerobics, and sequenced motor sensory activity).

4. Provide visual schedules for what’s next.

5. Reduce visual distractions (clutter, poster, and ceiling hangings)

6. Offer a peer tutor or study buddy (ask for student volunteers)

7. Facilitate active participation (age appropriate feedback, incentives, and positive reinforcement)

8. Provide a safe place or person (go-to person when student is overwhelmed)

9. Be aware of extraneous sounds, smells, textures, temperatures (perfumes, scented candles, music, tags in clothes, and outside sound – mowing and machines, alarms)

10. Prepare students for new activities and introduce in small sequential steps.