Sensory Integration to Schools, Homes and Businesses

Monroe Road Elementary School is at the forefront of implementing sensory tools in each classroom.

Because of its efforts, the school was chosen as the site for two webinar tapings last week.

The webinars are hosted by Diana Henry, an occupational therapist, who tours the country promoting the use of sensory tools in the schools.

Mrs. Henry, the president of Henry Occupational Therapy Services, said she met the school's former principal, Ken Graf, before Monroe Road was built. Their friendship led to Mrs. Henry coming to the district to host seminars and eventually to the webinar tapings.

"Monroe Road has really embraced these concepts," Mrs. Henry said.

The first webinar, called "10 Ways to Movement for School Success: Sensory Processing Solutions for Educators and Parents," focuses on introducing movement into the school day. In occupational therapy research, there is evidence that an increase in activity levels throughout the day helps children's cognition and alertness, Mrs. Henry said.

The second webinar, called "10 Ways to Implement Response to Intervention (RTI) with Sensory Strategies," focuses on how Monroe Road Elementary implemented the strategies in the classroom. The webinars were filmed by George and Lori Welling, owners of Triple L Productions of Temperance.

Some of the tools Mrs. Henry suggests to introduce movement include adding chair balls, practice handwriting games, give students "heavy jobs" and incorporate recess into the school day.

Giving students who are antsy a heavy job to perform helps calm them, she said. An example of a heavy job is moving books. "Connecting the body and the brain is an important part of learning," Mrs. Henry said. "Movement helps increase attention levels."

Chair balls are inflatable vinyl balls with feet at the bottom with the purpose of improving students' balance, posture, attention and even handwriting, Mrs. Henry said. Unstructured play during recess also is important.

Ken Graf, now the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, said while principal he tried to incorporate many of Mrs. Henry's suggestions.

"Recess is encouraged," Mr. Graf said. "There are a lot of schools who are taking it away, but that was one thing we didn't want to do."

Children need time to unwind, Mr. Graf said.

"It makes them more productive in class," he said. "We also encourage 'fresh air' breaks where teachers would take their class outside for a short time."

To help, Mr. Graf and his team created a playground catering to children's need to jump and spin.

"Spinning can be calming for children, so we added equipment that would allow them to spin," Mr. Graf said. "Jumping is important as well so we have equipment for that too."

The school has incorporated chair balls in the classroom. Fourth-grade teacher Joe Moore, who participated in the webinar, said there were some concerns at first when introducing some of the sensory devices, but he established rules with his class. "When the children see them as a toy, then it doesn't work," he said during filming.

Mr. Moore has a climbing wall in his classroom for when his students become "wiggly." "It helps them get the extra wiggles out," he said.

Several members of the staff at Monroe Road, including Principal Thea Kirkwood, contributed to the webinar.

Mrs. Kirkwood talked during the webinar about how she, a bus driver and staff members worked with a student who sometimes had trouble on the school bus.

The student would be fine sitting next to a single student, but when asked to sit between two students, he would act up causing the bus driver to get involved.

"We met as a team to assess the situation and determined a solution for the child," Mrs. Kirkwood said during the webinar.

Eventually, there will be four webinars in Mrs. Henry's series, but only the first two will be filmed at Monroe Road. The Internet-based seminars will be available for teachers to earn continuing education credits.

Mrs. Henry has spent the last 35 years teaching these concepts, including the last nine years living in an RV and traveling across the country.

"My hope is that teachers will try some things in their classroom," she said. "Movement and sensory tools in the classroom are not limited to special needs children either. This is really for general education and even adults can benefit from this."

Extreme Sensory Modulation Behaviors in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study examined the incidence of extreme sensory modulation behaviors in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and investigated the consistency of sensory information across measures. Parent report of sensory behaviors in 101 toddlers with ASD was compared with 100 toddlers who were typically developing matched on chronological age and 99 additional infants or toddlers matched on mental age. Measures included the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile, Infant–Toddler Social Emotional Assessment, Autism Diagnostic Interview– Revised, and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule–Generic. Toddlers with ASD were most distinct from typically developing groups in their high frequency of underresponsiveness and avoiding behaviors and their low frequency of seeking. Within the toddlers with ASD, there were significant associations across sensory parent report measures, but parent report was not correlated with clinical observation. Findings point to the early onset of an extreme sensory profile in ASD. Occupational therapists need to assess multiple domains of sensory behaviors to accurately identify the needs of toddlers with ASD.

Roberts, J. E., King-Thomas, L., & Boccia, M. L. (2007). Behavioral indexes of the efficacy of sensory integration therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 555-562.

CONCLUSION. Classical sensory integration therapy may be associated with improved self-regulatory behaviors.

Validating the Diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorders Using EEG Technology

Davies, P. L., & Gavin, W. J. (2007). Validating the diagnosis of sensory processing disorders using EEG technology. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 176-189.

CONCLUSION. These results present empirical evidence that children with SPD display unique brain processing mechanisms compared to children who are typically developing and provide external validity for the diagnosis of SPD.

Administrators in U.S. public school systems are increasingly requiring evidence-based interventions, based on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, as well as the 2004 re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Generating and using evidence is also an essential component of the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA’s) Centennial Vision.

As a pediatric occupational therapy practitioner “in the trenches” in a school or a clinic, you are probably excited about contributing to and participating in research through active data collection. Although data collection is extremely rewarding, it does have some challenges. In this article I present issues to ponder so you can be successful, and contribute to evidence-based practice (EBP).

Not Too Old For Sensory Integration
By Diana A. Henry, MS, OTR/L

In 1972, when Dr. A. Jean Ayres first defined the sensory integration (SI) process as "the ability to organize sensory information for use", her research focused on identifying specific subtypes or patterns of dysfunction among children. Unfortunately, the emphasis placed on the plasticity of the young brain has been incorrectly interpreted by some to mean that individuals older than age 7 can no longer benefit fromsensory integrative intervention. As clinicians, we can now turn to a scholarly and newly published textbook, Sensory Integration. Theory and Practice (1991), and find the following:

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Students at a Halifax school have traded in their plastic desk chairs.