Sharing Good Practice
UNDERSTANDING SENSORY PROCESSING
BY DEBBIE HAMILTON BOGUES
3. Request SENCO/HOY/HOD to also
observe.
4. Share collective findings with
parents. Ask if they are aware of
these occurrences at home.
5. Seek external support, a therapist
who will engage the student in
meaningful activities over time to
return the student to ‘normalcy.’
Things you can do in your
class
1. Provide a quiet place to work if
affected by noise.
2. Offer an alternative room with
lower light, or a seat where s/he will
not be affected by the light.
3. Provide plain text only reading
material if affected by colours.
I
n the age of multimedia, we would
have thought that having a wide
range of media to express and
receive information via our many
senses, that we would have reached the
ideal and have become accustomed to
having them around us. However, for
some students, this is far from the truth.
The term sensory processing refers
to children and adults being overly or
under sensitive to ordinary sounds,
which they might find painful, smells
which they might deem as very
irritating, textures too abrasive,
ordinary lights blinding, flavours
overwhelming among other negative
effects from other sensory input. A
student who is overly sensitive may
dread learning in such an environment
where their senses are heightened
and may have an aversion to different
types of sounds, smell, touch, being
fearful of crowds or large groups
and hence reluctant to play with
other students and or use certain
playground equipment.
As a result of being overly sensitive,
the student may not want to handle
or touch the manipulatives in your
class, hence s/he may have a slower
development in motor skills. The
student may move slowly or avoid
certain activities, he or she may be
unaware of their own strength and
easily break things, including their
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pencil point; by pressing too hard and
by ripping the page of a book which,
s/he was only turning.
Conversely, the student who is under
sensitive, may be uncoordinated,
clumsy, bumps into things and prone
to accidents, appears to be a risk taker
because s/he is unaware of danger,
may need to touch/feel things and is
unaware of inappropriate touching
of people. The child may have a fear
of danger when there is actually no
danger at all. S/he may also have a high
pain threshold and lack understanding
of personal space.
As education practitioners, we have to
be aware of our students’ responses to
the activities we have, in and out of our
classrooms.
Things to do if you observe students’
over or under response to things in
their environment which for most
students is common place.
1. Take note or log the incidences over
time.
2. Share concerns with colleagues
who also work with this student.
Class Time
4. Provide headphones so that
student can minimise the volume
or written text if affected by audio
recording.
5. Provide earplugs for occasions
where there will be lots of noise:
lunch room, hall, gym, break times
or fire drills.
6. Ask parents to provide tested
eyewear for outdoors to reduce the
effect of light (refracted lenses.)
7. If students are mature, have a
sign or signal so that student
can communicate when s/he is
becoming overwhelmed.
8. For students who are under
sensitive, during break, lunch or
PE, an appropriate adult should
be assigned to keep the students
reminded of remaining within safe
boundaries.
9. Parents can buy soft fabric for
clothing and remove all tags
Any accommodation provided for the
student should be documented and
shared with staff.
Debbie is an experienced international educator, who has spent almost 30 years
in education in the Caribbean, USA, UK and the Middle East. She has a passion
for students with special education needs.