Have you ever woken up and felt not quite right? You might not be able to quite put your finger on what’s going on but you probably know that you need something to achieve a feeling of balance. If we are feeling a bit flat, we might drink coffee and play the stereo in the car at its loudest to perk us up on our way to work. If we are feeling a little too bouncy, we might go for a run or stand up to do our work to use up that extra energy.
Subconsciously, you could argue that we are moderating our arousal levels with some sort of sensory input. Sometimes we seek a sensory experience and sometimes we avoid. This helps us achieve a personal balance so that we are in a good place to become available for what the day throws at us.
This can often be what children do but perhaps not in such a sophisticated or socially acceptable way. Some children might rock, flap, make high pitched noises, stamp their feet and seek pressure or some might withdraw when touched, cover their ears and look at things using their periphery vision. Often this might be in the middle of a crowded event like an assembly, at the supermarket, or in a restaurant/the dining toom. If children don’t have the opportunity to self-regulate their sensory needs in order to be ‘available’ for an activity or for learning, then we get behaviour as their sensory system becomes ‘full’ and struggles to cope.
Strategies to support sensory needs
Here are some ideas that may help either a sensory seeker or sensory avoider matched to their senses:
With all of these activities, it is important to remember to:
- Model what each experience is and discuss how and why it might help.
- Offer experiences flexibly, at the right time to achieve the right state.
- Encourage children to self-advocate so that they learn to recognise their own sensory needs and develop independence in matching and executing a sensory experience/activity to achieve the right personal balance.
- Check and consider allergies or health conditions that the activity may not support.
- If in school – Consult your school’s health and safety policy and risk assess as appropriate.
A huge thank you to Beccie Hawes for writing this blog for us.
About Beccie Hawes
Beccie has worked in all aspects of Special Educational Needs including mainstream, additionally resourced provision and specialist settings. She has extensive experience as a SENCo, Inclusion Manager, Lead Local Authority SEND Advisory Teacher and has set up and led an inclusion advisory service.
Beccie is currently proud to be the Head of Service with Cadmus Inclusive, part of Cadmus Services, which is based in Walsall. This service has a national reach and actively supports schools with all aspects of providing a high quality education for vulnerable learners. Beccie is the author of ‘The Complete Dyslexia Toolkit’ and co-author of ‘Getting it Right for SEND’ and ‘How to Create the Perfect Partnership with Parents’. Beccie also writes the national Ebriefing: SEND Bitesize. She has developed a number of educational resources to support learners which schools across the UK have purchased and use. Beccie remains very ‘hands on’ in the classroom and is passionate about being at the chalk face to support teachers and children to think differently for a brighter tomorrow. She is also the mum to four boys and a dog.
