Question of the Day: As a teacher, I suspect one of my kindergarten students has sensory integration problems. How is this diagnosed and what can I do to help?
Getting a diagnosis for sensory integration disorder or sensory processing disorder can be difficult, here is a link to a check list for parents or teachers to use as a screening tool:
http://www.spdfoundation.net/symptoms.html As you can see, there are a lot of contradictory things, and not all children would have all those symptoms. Diagnosis by an OT would generally involve asking questions like these, but the check list is much longer, and goes into more depth. Every autistic child I have ever met has symptoms of SPD, and often children with other diagnosis's like ADHD do, too.
In sensory processing disorder or sensory integration disorder- the child does not take in sensory information about the world in the normal way. A tag on a shirt may be very irritating, to the point the child cannot focus on anything else. A light touch may feel like a smack, and a tickle could be painful. Often I see children who are overly sensitive to noises or smells. Treating children with sever SPD, I have had the best luck with using the Willbarger brushing technique. However, you need to find a trained professional to teach you this technique, and should not use it without training.
In genearl, the best treatment in a school setting is to see to it that the child is getting a steady diet of sensory input throughout the day. I compare this to making sure the child is getting enough of all the right foods each day. The body needs all the right nutrients to function properly each day. It also needs a steady stream of sensory input, most of us get that from normal daily activities, but for a struggling child, they need more help. The same way my children need help to not choose to eat cookies all day. Good sensory input, as part of a sensory diet, includes swinging, rocking, jumping, getting deep pressure to the joints, and making sure that multiple body parts are involved in doing heavy work.
Here is an example of how you could do a sensory diet with your entire kindergarten class. This will of course need adaptations to fit into your schedule.
Start the morning with having children jump up and down about 10 times then get into pairs, sitting facing each other, and pull each other back and forth, in a rocking, boat rowing game. After this activity, much of the class should be ready to focus on their work for a while.
A half hour later, teach the children to do isometrics, each child should put her/his palms together, fingers up, and push the hands against each other- encourage the kids to push for 5-10 seconds at a time, about 3 times. Then switch to having the children hold hands clasped together in front of them- fingers locked together, one hand on top of the other, palms facing, and pull arms away from each other, but keeping hands clasped. Repeat for 5-10 seconds at 3 times each. This is a great simple way for a child to help their body focus and be ready for learning.
You can help the children get the same kind of input by having them push on a wall, put palms together and push against a friend, do push ups, or cross monkey bars. Having the children crawl around on the floor on hands and knees will also provide good input. The key to having this be a good sensory diet, is to alternate what kind of input the children are getting about every 30 minutes, so that means the day needs to include some swinging, rocking, and large movements in addition to the pushing and pulling activities. If your class room has a swing, have the children all take a turn swinging front to back 10 times each- more is not necessary, but know that spinning does not provide the same centering input.
Providing crunchy snacks, like carrot sticks, gives a nice sensory boost to the mouth. Many children are better able to sit still to listen to a story while eating something like that, because the mouth is getting the sensory input they need.
Make sure your class goes out to play and runs and climbs and all those things. If rainy days mean that recess must take place inside, try to find ways for the children to still do active games. A favorite of mine for getting lots of input for the children, while maintaining order, is to give each child a pingpong ball and a straw. The child must blow air through the straw, to push the pingpong ball, and follow it on hands and knees- do obstacle courses or races. The kids get deep pressure through hands, knees and mouths- from the blowing- which leads to calmer kids later.
As a student gets older, and is in a classroom setting with less choices, it is important that the student either knows how to take a sensory break for himself- and do some of the activities above, in a way his teacher will allow, or has a way to get sensory input at his desk. I have tied theraband (it is like a huge rubber band) to a child's chair legs for the child to be able to push on during class. Theraband I have also issued squeeze balls for a child to squeeze during class.
Giving your entire class a sensory break every 30 minutes, will help the entire class focus better. There is no such thing as a child who will not benefit from a sensory diet. The activities above, while focused on providing the right kind of sensations for the children, will also strengthen their upper bodies and fingers, improving their fine motor coordination. There are of course many many more activities you could do with your class, I have tried here to suggest activities I have done with groups of small children that I felt worked well inside a class room setting.
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