Questions and Answers
Q: What is sensory integration?
A: Information that we receive from our senses on a daily basis.
Q: What can I do in the classroom to help children concentrate?
Here are some ways for the brain to receive heavy work (the universal modulator) which will help children to focus in the classroom
A: Proprioceptive / Heavy work
- Group hugs and pats
- Place chairs on desks at end of day or take down at beginning of day
- Erase chalkboard
- Carry beanbags on shoulders or head and walk across the room
- Help rearrange desks in the classroom
- Empty waste paper bins
- Carry books / hand out books
- Sharpen pencil with a manual sharpener
- Tie old telephone directory under chair
- Theraband around chair legs Staple paper onto bulletin boards
- Prior to seat work, have child pinch, roll, pull theraputty ; use hand exercises, stress balls
- Give child firm pressure on shoulders
- Wall pushups//chair pushups
- Carry teachers’ basket
- Quiet squeeze toys on desk
- Stack chairs
- Isometric exercise breaks
- Snaky Snuggles
- Do some fine motor Olympics before writing tasks – reach for the sky, press hands together
- Weighted blanket
- Hug me better bear
- Noodle balls or spaghetti balls to fiddle with
- Brain gym activities
- Use ribbon wands with brain gym activities
- Movement sheet
- Cuddle ball
- Fun slides
- Co-oper blanket
- 6 Ring gym ball
- Fit chair
- Backrest massager
Oral motor / Mouth
- Nibble breaks
- Provide children with sugar free gum
- Tri-chews
- Sensory snack boxes
Other ideas
- Have screens available
- Provide children with ear defenders
- Have a predictable daily schedule
- Break large tasks into small parts
- Help the child to organize his/her desk
Q: How do I recognize a child with a sensory integration problem in my classroom?
A: Children who have difficulty with sensory integration may present with one or more of the following behaviours:
- overly sensitive to touch, movement, sounds or sight
- unusually high OR low activity level
- difficulty with motor coordination (fine or gross motor)
- may have problems in academic areas, despite normal or above average intelligence
- easily distracted and/or impulsive
- difficulty with planning tasks
- low self esteem
- may appear lazy, bored or unmotivated
Q: How do I recognize low muscle tone?
A; See notes on low muscle tone on website
Q: How do I know if a child is lagging behind, regarding fine motor development?
A: See our checklists, but please note that these are merely guidelines and not a standardized assessment tool. Generally children with fine motor difficulties will present with an incorrect pencil grip, slow work speed and poor posture and untidy products.
Q: How do I help a child with gross motor problems?
A: This is a very broad question that cannot be answered once off. It is advisable to give the child frequent opportunities to move and also frequent breaks as these children usually have poor endurance and thus tire easily. For more information, see our Intelli-Moves book on the recommended booklist. Alternatively contact your local occupational therapist for advice.
Q: What is tactile defensiveness?
A: Children who suffer from tactile defensiveness usually react to touch in three different ways: fight, flight or fright. This results in children exhibiting aggressive behaviour to touch or avoiding touch. These children respond emotionally to touch and is characteristically not very cuddly as babies. They even react negatively to the POSSIBILITY of touch. Contact us for more information or get in touch with your local sensory integration trained OT.
Q: What is Dyspraxia?
A; Children with Dyspraxia have trouble learning the steps of an unfamiliar motor task and performing it automatically and smoothly. They usually find it difficult to tie shoe laces, dress themselves i.e. buttons and zips. Although they may know what they want to do, they find it hard to work out the sequence of movements necessary to perform a task, e.g. riding a bicycle.
Q: What is Verbal Dyspraxia ?
A: Verbal Dyspraxia refers to a condition in which there is difficulty planning the motor movements required for volitional speech. These children will know what they want to say, but find it difficult to work out the timing and sequencing required for speech production. This dyspraxia impedes the articulation of words and sentences, so the child has difficulty moving their lips and tongue to accomplish the task.
