Best Blog Posts for Sensory Supports

To start this school year, our team is compiling some of our best examples of supports we have seen in our districts and featured in previous blog posts. Today we are highlighting all of the Best Blog Posts for Sensory Supports!

Click on the hyperlink under each heading below to be taken to the related post on that topic.

• Sensory Systems Overview

• Sensory Tips and Tricks

• Sensory Activities at Home

• Heavy Work

• Incorporating Heavy Work into Daily Routines for Resistant Students

• Incorporating Proprioceptive Input

• Hallway Paths

• More Hallway Paths

• Purposeful Walk

• Purposeful Walks and Sensory Jobs

• Exercise

• More Exercise

• S’cool Moves

• Motor Room

• Active and Passive Sensory Rooms

• Mini Calming Sensory Rooms

Regulation Rendezvous: Sensory Tips and Tricks

It is essential that school staff take into account how each student processes sensory information so that they can individualize supports to help them stay regulated and ready to learn. In today's Regulation Rendezvous, we will provide some Sensory Tips and Tricks for each of the 8 sensory systems. 

Auditory:

• Allow time to process.
• Research shows that students with autism may need up to 30 seconds of processing time when hearing verbal instructions before they may respond…are you allowing enough processing time for the students you work with?
• Noise-canceling headphones can be a great sensory support for students with auditory sensitivities. Please keep in mind that headphones should be off more than they’re on to avoid the rebound effect of loudness. For students who need this support on a consistent basis, come up with a wearing schedule and have that on their schedule to help staff and the student remember when to have them on and off.

Trotwood ELC, Trotwood

• Did you know that chewing that can be sign of being overwhelmed by auditory input? The physical act of chewing closes our external ear canal and dampens volume. Keep this in mind when working with students who engage in lots of chewing behavior!

Ann Rosenbaum
Orchard Park Elementary, Kettering

Visual:

• Visual information is often processed faster than auditory.
• A visual cue ring can be a great way to reinforce verbal instructions or prompts. Remember, your visual cue ring should have positive cues in addition to the visual reminders and prompts it may have so that the student doesn’t develop a negative association with that tool.

Tactile:

• Light touch has a direct connection to the fight/flight center of brain. If deep pressure input is recommended for a student, be sure all staff is on the same page for how to apply that pressure so we don’t accidentally provide alerting input instead of calming.
• Deep pressure input will always be a calming source of input to the tactile sensory system.
• Unexpected touch can also be very alerting. If you provide hand-over-hand assistance to a student you work with, always be mindful of how you approach the student and talk to them/warn them before you touch them so they can anticipate that touch.
• Often times students present with a low threshold to receive non-preferred tactile input. These students benefit from having alternate ways to participate in activities that may cause them to come in contact with aversive textures (e.g. use paintbrush during “finger painting”, use of a glue stick instead of liquid glue, etc.). Another option could be to have a washcloth or wipe readily available to use for clean-up while working on tasks that may make a student ‘dirty’ to help ease their anxiety during ‘messy’ task activities.

Proprioception:

Heidi Horner
Nevin Coppock, Tipp City

• Only sensory system that is always calming.
• Regulates all other sensory systems.
• When in doubt use proprioception.
• Weighted supports can be an effective way of providing calming proprioceptive input including things like weighted lap pad, weighted blanket, weighted backpack, and weighted vest just to name a few.
• When using a weighted support that a student wears the OT should meet with the team to determine a wearing schedule. This should be clearly communicated to the staff working with the student and, ideally, should be embedded into the student’s daily routine. This ensures that wearing this type of supported is being targeted during sensory rich parts of the student’s day and ensures that it is not being worn too much or too often. Keep in mind – when wearing weighted supports they should be off more than they are on. They also should be individualized for each student by weighing the student and not exceeding 10% of their body weight when using a wearable weighted support. It’s typically best practice to start at 5-7% of the student’s total body weight and then adjust based on data collected by the team.

Pam Locker
Washington Primary, Piqua

Vestibular:

• Rotation and rapid acceleration/deceleration are typically alerting types of input.
• Linear and rhythmic movement is calming.

Helke Elementary, Vandalia

Lori Lovelass
Huber Heights

• Vestibular input has a direct connection to the language center of brain. Pairing vestibular input with targeted speech skills can be a great way to motivate students to practice various language skills.

Gustatory (taste) & Olfactory (smell):

• Consistent problems processing taste and smell is sometimes reflected with over-reactivity responses which could indicate why a student may avoid certain tastes and smell experiences to the point that it interferes with social participation, such as family mealtimes or community gatherings where people are preparing or consuming food.
• Many “picky eaters” frequently insist on eating only certain foods or brands of food. They may seek very familiar food with predictable taste and smell, and have difficulty with the flexibility needed to participate in dining in public settings, where a wide range of new tastes and smells may be present.

Interoception:

• Do you work with a student who doesn’t seem to recognize their own body cues and therefore struggles with toileting, emotional control, or makes frequent somatic complaints? Interoception may be the missing link! Check out www.kelly-mahler.com to have access to additional research and free resources!

Regulation Rendezvous: Purposeful Walks and Sensory Jobs

Purposeful walks are calming sensory support strategies that allow a student a brief break from demands of the classroom. They provide a student with the calming proprioceptive and vestibular input needed to help a student calm and refocus before returning to class. Purposeful walks can be scheduled proactively or used as an “in the moment” support. You can incorporate interests, embed activities as part of daily routines, or create sensory jobs that are meaningful for the student. For today's Regulation Rendezvous we have gathered some of the most creative and fun purposeful walk and sensory jobs that we have seen in our districts! 

Hallway Activities

One of the simplest ways to create a purposeful walk for students is to create a matching activity. Hang high-interest pictures in the hallway and have students go on a scavenger hunt to find the pictures and match them to a matching board.

Taylor Ruef
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Stephen Russell
LT Ball, Tipp City/Miami County ESC

Marissa Steinhelfer
Harry Russell Elementary, West Carrollton

Some teams create have students complete heavy work activities by traveling to one location, gathering weighted objects, and then traveling to another location. 

Lauren Bridgens
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

Bradford Elementary, Bradford

Pretend Play

Make these activities engaging through incorporating special interests and pretend play. In these examples, students practice raking, pushing a weighted bus to gather pictures in the hallway, and shopping. 

Marisa Hatton
Kinder Elementary, Miamisburg

Maria Dickens
Primary Village North, Centerville

Heidi Horner
Miami County ESC

Classroom Centers

If you do not have staff or space to implement a purposeful walk outside of the classroom, you can create a center within the classroom. Activities could include matching paths, 

Mad River Preschool, Mad River

Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

jug matching or sequencing, 

Heather Clark
Saville Elementary, Mad River

and colored object sorting. 

Marissa Steinhelfer
West Carrollton

Denise Campbell and Terri Dinkelaker
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Ashley McCoy
Saville Elementary, Mad River

Routine Activities

Another great way to easily embed this purposeful sensory input is to embed it into routine activities. Students can transport supplies such as lesson materials, library books, or recess toys. 

Briana Rix
West Carrollton High School, West Carrollton

Terri Wheeler
Milton Union Elementary, Milton Union

Greenmont Elementary, Kettering

Or recruit the help of cafeteria staff for students to assist during lunchtime. 

Deanna Hicks
East Elementary, Eaton

For more ideas on incorporating heavy work jobs, don't miss our previous post:

Incorporating Heavy Work into Daily Routines for Resistant Students

A-LIST Spotlight: Occupational Therapist Marissa Steinhelfer from Montgomery County ESC and West Carrollton City Schools

It is our favorite time of the month when we feature one of our area's brightest and best educators through our A-LIST Spotlight! This month, we are highlighting Occupational Therapist Marissa Steinhelfer from Montgomery County ESC and West Carrollton City Schools. Marissa does a great job collaborating and problem-solving with her teams at West Carrollton. 

We reached out to Marissa so that she could share a little bit of her expertise for this month's feature. Check out her post below: 

"I am so honored to be featured on this ACT Team Blog!  A little background about me: I am originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area and am a graduate of Elizabethtown College in Central PA.  I have been an occupational therapist for over 20 years.  I spent the first part of my career working with adolescents and adults within an inpatient rehabilitation center of a large hospital where I specialized in the treatment of individuals with traumatic brain injury.  I began my adventure as a school-based occupational therapist in 2018, joining the wonderful team of therapists employed with the Montgomery County ESC.  I am now in my 5^th year as a school-based OT, servicing elementary school-aged students within the West Carrollton City School District. 

In my present role, I provide direct skilled OT services for students with identified needs in fine and visual motor skills, sensory processing difficulties, executive functioning skills, and/or self-help skills to help students more successfully access their educational environment.  I also provide consultative support to teachers and staff to facilitate implementation and carryover of strategies into the school day.  I am fortunate to work with truly exceptional teachers, staff, and other therapists!  I am always learning and growing--actively seeking out opportunities to increase my own knowledge and skill set so I can use “best practices” to help my students and teams.  I am so grateful to all of the professionals who have shared their valuable time and resources with me. 

Here are examples of some of the roles I have as a school-based OT:

Helping to embed sensory-motor activities and sensory-based supports into the classroom and larger school environment to help meet sensory and self-regulation needs such as:

• Motor pathways using colored tape on floors
• Heavy work stations (e.g., colored book carry and sort).  A special “shout-out” to my friends at my local Dayton Metro Library branch who graciously donated out-of-circulation books for me to wrap for use with one of these stations.

• Movement stations (bend and reach upper/lowercase letter match using Velcro manipulatives; S’cool Moves posters)

• Purposeful walks that incorporate preferred picture icons related to student interests
• Trialing sensory-based supports such as flexible seating (ZUMA rockers, resistive kickbands around desk legs, etc.), weighted materials, noise-cancelling headphones, removable under-desk texture board to meet student need for increased tactile input when sitting at desk, etc.

Providing input and activity suggestions for a sensory-motor room

• Stoplight Choice Board to provide a framework for structuring sensory-motor breaks

• Activities that provide purposeful movement opportunities to support a student’s need to move while providing regulating proprioceptive input (book cart push/carry/sort; prone scooter board Velcro puzzle)
• Visual transition sequence of activities to help students prepare for return to class"

We just love Marissa's creativity and ability to individualize supports for her students. Shout out to Marissa for your contribution to this month's spotlight and for all you do for your teams and students. We are so lucky to partner with you!