Sensory Processing: Strategies for teaching kids about selfregulation

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Sensory Processing Strategies for teaching kids
about self-regulation

• Presented by Shannon Raybold
• Camas School District
• 2003

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What is the Alert Program?

• Its a program that that is designed with 2 goals
  in mind
• Increase awareness of self-regulation
• Increase number of strategies for children to
  change how they feel
• Its based on sensory processing theory

Reprinted with permission from
TherapyWorks Inc.
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What can it do for you?

• Give teachers and students the language and
  understanding of how alert their bodys feel
  (i.e. low, just right, or high)
• Teach strategies to change those levels
• Knowing how to use these strategies can translate
  into kids who are able to self-regulate and thus
  less disruptive and more successful in class and
  at home

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How does YOUR engine run?

• Describing arousal states can be like describing
  a car engine
• Everyones engines run at different levels at
  different times of the day
• Numerous outside factors can influence our engine
  level, such as being ill, going into a stressful
  meeting, or being late.

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Low Arousal

• This stage describes how one might feel before
  youve had that cup of coffee in the morning or
  maybe how you feel when sitting in a dark, warm
  room for a long meeting.

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Just right

• This is where we want kids to be
• When kids are internally feeling just right, then
  their minds are alert and ready to learn. They
  can sit in their seats and focus on what is being
  said to them

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High Arousal

• This level describes how you might feel when you
  have 5 people talking to you at once and youve
  had 3 cups of coffee. You are not able to
  efficiently take in the information thats being
  presented to you.

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Why is self-regulation important?
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Sensory diet

• The term sensory diet describes how our brains
  need input (sensorimotor input) to function
  properly.
• Everyone has a unique formula to help their
  brains maintain a balance.
• Before designing a sensory diet, consult an
  occupational therapist (OT) to help assess and
  design a diet that meets the needs of the
  individual.

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Ways to change our states

• Put something in your mouth
• Move
• Touch
• Look
• Listen

Reprinted with permission from TherapyWorks Inc.
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Tools for the Mouth

•     Food items
• In general, foods that are altering tend to be
  cold, sour/tart, spicy, minty, or crunchy
• Foods that are calming tend to be warm, smooth,
  or sweet
• Some foods fall under heavy work (for the jaw and
  cheek muscles) which can either calm or alert

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Tools for the Mouth

• Brain Food (term coined by Patricia Oetter) , a
  kindergarten teacher might give the kids a small
  cup of popcorn to keep their engines alert while
  listening to the story.
• Non Food Items
• Straws
• Gum (depending on class rules)
• Exercise water bottles
• Theratubing
• Humming
• Tongue twisters
• Lip gloss
• Vibrators
• T-sticks

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Tools for the Mouth

• Sucking and Blowing Activities
• Deep breathing
• Blowing a cotton ball with a straw while
  tracking with eyes (to warm up eye muscles)
• Sucking thick liquids through a straw
• Musical instruments such as kazoos, harmonicas,
  or whistles
• Using curly straws
• Blow pens
• Blowing bubbles

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Tools for the Body (Ways to move)

• Try different seating options such as
• A barely inflated beach ball
• A camping pillow partially filled with water as a
  lap weight
• A therapy ball
• A T-stool
• Allowing children to stand at their desks and
  work (often putting a piece of tape on the floor
  where they should stand/stay helps).

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Tools for the Body (Ways to move)

• Up and down motions
• Jumping rope, spiking a volleyball, dunking a
  basketball, skipping, bouncing on a big ball or
  in a moonwalk, or marching
• Front and back activities
• Rocking in a chair, swinging, ice skating or
  roller blading
• Upside down activities
• Hanging on bars, wheelbarrow walking, roller
  coasters, head stands from furniture

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Tools for the Body (Ways to move)

• Crash and bump activities
• Jumping into piles of pillows or on an old
  mattress, driving bumper cars, pillow fights,
  playing football
• Circles
• Sit n spins, merry-go-round, spinning on a tire
  swing, riding on a ferris wheel, spinning in an
  office chair

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Tools for Touch

• Weighted blanket
• Lap weights
• Hug vests
• Chair hugs
• Body socks
• Hand fidgets, such as silly putty, string,
  paperclips, stress balls, koosh balls, gak, etc.
• Any kind of heavy work, such as lifting, moving
  heavy items, or stretching

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Tools for the Eyes

• Try dimming the lights and closing the blinds to
  calm students down
• Muted colors and plain walls tend to be calming
• Bright colors, busy walls and bright lights
  tend to be alerting
• Oil and water toys
• Spinners
• Shimmery pom poms
• Lava lamps
• Glitter wands
• Flashlights
• Tents with blankets on top to darken spaces

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Tools for the Ears

• Sounds that are short, a rhythmical, loud, or
  novel tend to be alerting
• Sounds that are rhythmical, quiet, long in
  duration, and familiar are calming and easier to
  ignore
• Try using music of various types and volumes to
  change alertness levels to get kids ready for the
  next task
• Create cozy corners in the room where kids can
  be when the noise of the room is overwhelming to
  them

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Tools for the Ears

• Try playing white noise (such as ocean surf or
  rain) in the background of the classroom
• Set up a listening center where kids can use
  headphones to get the right kind of auditory
  input for their engines
• For kids who are sensitive to noise, let them use
  earplugs or headphones in the cafeteria or
  assemblies or let them eat in a quiet room
• During tests, you can let kids wear headphones
  (with no sound) to help them block out
  distractions

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How does this fit into a school setting?

• These strategies can be adapted for everyone from
  preschoolers to adults
• They can also be easily modified for use with
  kids who have developmental delays- its been
  used a lot for kids with autism and ADHD
• The Alert Program has a flexible time commitment
  from teachers

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Examples for how to use levels in the schools

• In a resource room setting, you can integrate it
  into a social skills group
• During academic groups in a resource room,
  fidgets and other strategies can help students
  concentrate and focus

• The resource room teacher can provide in-services
  to other staff members and/or to classrooms

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Examples for how to use levels in the schools

• In a general education classroom, the regular
  education teacher can team teach with the
  occupational therapist or special education
  teacher to introduce the strategies
• These activities can be done in 15-30 minutes per
  day
• Once the skills are taught, preferably in the
  beginning of the year, the teacher knows that
  children have a base knowledge of how to
  self-regulate and can draw on and enhance that
  throughout the year

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Examples for how to use levels in the schools

• Once the skills are taught, the classroom teacher
  can incorporate Engine lessons into the daily
  routine by
• Talking about how characters in books may be
  feeling using engine language
• Regularly scheduling sensory breaks into the
  daily schedule
• Having a menu of sensory activities available for
  kids to select when they need to
• Having a tool box available with sensory
  options for kids as they need them
• Allowing water bottles and/or snacks in the class

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Strategies for the classroom

• Below are some things that staff can do to help
  children meet their sensory needs. The goal is
  to help them meet those needs during naturally
  occurring activities throughout the school day.
• Have students carry heavy objects to the lunch
  room (i.e. lunch bags)
• Allow students to run notes to the office
• Have student unstack and restack chairs each day
• Push the library cart through the halls

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Strategies for the classroom

• Crush cans for recycling
• Provide a quiet corner for students
• Allow for in-class movement breaks (i.e.
  sharpening pencil time or time to get up to get
  drinks)
• Have kids push on/hold up the wall while
  standing in line
• Do chair push-ups or table push-ups
• Erase chalkboards or whiteboards

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Strategies for the classroom

• Wash tables in the cafeteria
• Help custodian or gym teacher put away equipment
• Encourage physical play at recess such as
  climbing, running, jumping, skipping, etc.
• Sort and move library books
• Allow student to work at desk standing
• Chew on appropriate items such as gum, jerky, or
  straws

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How does this help at home?

• The Alert Program principles can be applied
  whenever children are
• Once parents understand the concepts of sensory
  processing, they can very effectively help their
  children self-regulate

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Examples of how to use levels at home

• Some families have added into their routines
  activities and strategies that help their child
  self-regulate
• Some families have made picture schedules and
  menus for sensory type activities to choose from

• Having a designated space (i.e. a basement room
  or play room) for sensory equipment and toys

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Strategies for at home

• Below are some strategies and activities that
  parents can use at home
• Involve children in sports teams/activities
• Install swings
• Get a trampoline
• Allow kids to chew gum
• Use weighted toys or dolls
• Have a quiet tent or fort for kids

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Strategies for at home

• Invest in a ball pit
• Use a disc o sit for sitting in chairs, such as
  during meals
• Allow kids to move furniture
• Visit playgrounds
• Cut tags out of their clothes
• Let kids help in the garden
• Make a tight sleeping sheet
• Have a fidget box for long car rides, during
  homework time, or for while listening to a story

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Summing it up

• The strategies presented here Ive used and my
  colleagues have used with great success, which is
  why I wanted to share this information with
  others.
• I believe that these strategies do make a
  difference in our childrens ability to take in
  and process information.
• There are many more strategies or suggestions
  that TherapyWorks suggests, if you have other
  questions or want more information, please come
  to the sensory lab this afternoon.

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Reference Information

• Check out the Alert Program website at
  www.alertprogram.com
• Ayer,A.J. (1979). Sensory integration and the
  child. Los Angeles Western Psychological
  Services.
• Williams, M.S. Shellenberger, S. (1994). How
  does your engine run? A leaders guide to the
  Alert Program for self-regulation. Albuquerque,
  NM TherapyWorks, Inc.
• Williams, M.S. Shellenberger, S. (2001). Take
  5! staying alert at home and school. Albuquerque,
  NM TherapyWorks, Inc.