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Sensory processing in learning

The school context may pose substantial difficulties for children who are experiencing sensory processing issues as compared to the home context given that both contexts pose different sensory circumstances.

Learning is a key occupation for children and young people

For example, the home context may be quieter than in schools where there is a classroom full of students. In school, children who are hypersensitive to sensory stimuli may be distracted by noisy children or be overwhelmed by bright lights and fire alarms. Thus, in contrast to the home context, the transition to school life for young children with ASD may result in them feeling overwhelmed when they are

experiencing sensory overload or experience discomfort when they are unable to seek out sensory input.

  • Children who are hypersensitive to auditory stimuli may be distracted by background noises, affecting their ability to listen to important instructions.
  • Children may be distracted because they focus on the clothing that they are wearing.
  • Children may seek proprioceptive and vestibular input by rocking, spinning, or flapping their hands to calm themselves down.
  • Children with high activity levels and who enjoy seeking movement may fidget excessively in their seats or disrupt lessons when they are supposed to sit still.

Often, these children get misunderstood as displaying inappropriate behaviours, but they are seeking sensory input or being over-responsive to them. The inattention and distraction caused by sensory processing challenges that children with autism face can, thus, potentially affect their learning and their school life.

Secondly, children with sensory processing challenges may feel easily distressed and anxious in school or classroom settings. A child may get stressed out and feel anxious for several reasons:

A child may get stressed out and feel angry when the class is too loud and noisy. Upon experiencing loud noises, they may cover their ears, become very upset and cry.

When in close proximity with people such as during situations like group work or along the corridors, children may experience distress and discomfort as some children hate being touched by other people.

Distressing and anxiety-provoking situations that overstimulate children can also reduce their ability to pay attention in class, thus disrupting their learning.

Thirdly, there is limited classroom participation as children with sensory processing challenges get easily overwhelmed being in classrooms or schools. They may leave the classroom or avoid school altogether, thus affecting their learning adversely.

To conclude, children with ASD who often experience sensory processing challenges may be inattentive and distracted, feel distressed and anxious, and have limited classroom participation where all these ultimately affect their learning and school life. Given that sensory processing challenges are noticeable only in certain contexts, it is necessary to identify the specific factors in the environment that affect children’s learning and school life before crafting out target interventions to minimise the effects of it on their learning and school life. 

The calm-alert state

In order to learn, a child must be able to pay attention to a variety of different stimuli whilst filtering out irrelevant stimuli. In order to maintain attention they must be in a Calm-Alert state. This can prove difficult for many children due to underlying sensory sensitivities, anxieties and/or frustrations.

Effects of sensory stimuli on attention

In a classroom, a child may easily be distracted by all the sounds and lights, and be confused by people doing different things. This can lead to over stimulation and can result in the need for excessive movement to help a child cope. A hyperactive child jumps all over the classroom, not because that is what they want to do but instead because their brain is running out of control. Their need for movement is a reaction to their sensory overload that cannot be turned off or ignored. This confusion in the brain makes it almost impossible to focus and concentrate, or understand what the teacher is teaching. It is pointless telling a child to control themselves or concentrate harder as their behaviours are often not under their conscious control. Rewards and punishment do not make it easier for the brain to organise sensations, and things are often made more difficult by making demands that a child simply cannot cope with.

The importance of posture

The amount of time completing table top activities increases as children progress through the school years. Children who have poor body awareness and poorly developed movement patterns may struggle to sustain seated postures. They may have poor stability, appear weak and/or have poor endurance for motor tasks. Good posture is when our body maintains us upright against gravity with a minimal muscle effort. If a child doesn’t have a good posture, fine motor and gross motor skill development will be affected.

Good Posture

Good posture is when our body maintains us upright against gravity with a minimal muscle effort. If a child doesn’t have a good base from which to build on, fine motor and gross motor skill development will be affected.

  • Good sitting posture
  • Work in different positions or a change of position e.g. standing, sitting and work on the floor.
  • Consider the use of alternate seating e.g. move-n-sit cushion or ball chair.
  • Movement breaks
  • Wall push ups
  • Chair push ups
  • Desk push ups
  • Animal walks

Get the child to run an errand or do jobs – carrying a heavy item can be grounding.

Requirements for children with sensory processing difficulties

Children with sensory processing difficulties can have low muscle tone, this can make sitting up straight for long periods of time difficult. If a child isn’t receiving or processing sensory information effectively from their vestibular and proprioceptive systems, they may require more movement to attend during table top activities. These children may require movement breaks or alternative seating to get movement during the task.

Ideal seated posture is feet flat on the floor or a footstep, table at elbow height and hips, knees and ankles at 90°.

Motor planning

Poor sensory processing has an impact on the development of motor planning (also known as praxis). If a child is not receiving or processing sensory information correctly, this can impact on the fluidity and accuracy of their motor skills as well as the internal map of their body. 

Motor planning involves 3 steps:

  1. Having an idea
  2. Planning the motor movements
  3. Executing these movements

Children can have difficulties in one or all of the above areas.

Motor skills

Everyone has a library of ‘skills’ that can be performed without conscious awareness. A skill is something that initially requires motor planning and attention to learn. However, once it has become a skill, it no longer

requires conscious attention or motor planning and is spontaneous. Since motor planning is the first step in learning skills, a child with praxis problems usually has a shortage of skills as they need to motor plan each task over and over again. Once a child with praxis difficulties does learn a skill, they can usually perform it quite well as long as the situation is familiar.

Body scheme

Both motor planning and motor skills require a perception of body scheme, and sensory inputs from the body must be organised into a clear picture of the body or ‘body scheme’. Body scheme allows us to know where they end and the rest of the world begins in order to accurately move through their environment, for example knowing whereabouts your hand is without looking.

Remember ‘PERFECT’ practice makes Perfect. If a child with sensory processing and motor planning difficulties learns an incorrect motor plan,

it can take 10 times the repetitions to unlearn this. That is, if it takes 500 repetitions to learn a new skill, it takes approximately 5000 repetitions to unlearn a maladaptive skill (Kleim, 2004).

Common difficulties can include:

  • May demonstrate resistance to changes in how or when tasks are done as change presents new situations/tasks that require motor planning and new learning.
  • Complaining that a motor activities is ‘too hard’ or ‘I can’t do it’.
  • May avoid or lack motivation for PE or motor activities.
  • Frequent bumping into objects and furniture.
  • Difficulties manoeuvring effectively around the school environments.
  • Chooses sedentary activities during play times.
  • Can demonstrate frustration when completing tasks.
  • Poor self-esteem.
  • Difficulties with fine motor tasks including hand writing and scissor skills.

Some children learn just by watching or doing but as with everything, not all children learn the same way or at the same pace. The following ideas can help with mastering motor activities.

  • Ensure the child knows their body parts.
  • Strengthen the core (the large central muscles) of the body to provide greater body and trunk stability.
  • Poor bilateral integration (two sides of the body working together) can impact on motor planning, so working to improve these first is helpful.
  • Break down the activity into steps with clear verbal or visual instructions.

Give the child time to practice and learn each step – repetition is essential for mastering motor skills.

  • Children’s worries can be reduced by allowing extra time for getting changed and also allowing the child to practise on their own before joining the group.
  • Encourage the child to say out loud what they are doing when they are doing it.
  • Completing the movements with your hand over their hand, guiding them through the movement helps their body systems feel the movement.
  • Backward or forward chaining can be helpful. That is, the child completes the last or the first step in the activity and once mastered, gradually increases the steps they are doing.
  • Using a multi-sensory approach will ensure the best chance at learning appropriate strategies to respond to a physical demand or challenge.
  • Discuss with the child, what sports they are interested in. You can encourage interest in sport without playing it. Being a sports fan can encourage conversations with peers and help with social skills.
  • Fast moving team sports can be tricky, so trying a slower paced sport can be helpful e.g. swimming 
  • Identify with the child what is difficult and break down the activity into steps.
  • Is changing for PE difficult? Explore clothing modifications if this task is difficult e.g. elastic shorts or minimise fastenings if these are difficult. 

Building friendships

The child who is not organising sensations well is also likely to struggle with making friends and keeping them. School can put a child under a lot of stress as they have to work harder than their peers and many children with poor sensory processing feel helpless and anxious at school.

 Responses to social situations

If a child is standing in line and someone accidently bumps them, they may become angry or hit out. This anger and hitting has nothing to do with interpersonal relationships but instead are an automatic reaction to sensations that they cannot tolerate. Some children are not able to talk about these problems or understand them as it is occurring in brain processes that are below consciousness and control.

Coping with social activities

Some children with sensory processing difficulties can be very aware of what is difficult for them and may withdraw from engaging in situations that are worrisome for them, this can include group activities. People may think the child is being antisocial and this can impact on them making friends. The child with motor planning difficulties may struggle making friends as they know their motor skills are not as good as their peers and thus they also can withdraw from engaging any social activities.

The child whose brain is not organising sensations well is likely to struggle with making friends and keeping them.

  • Regular proprioceptive input during the day to support body awareness and modulation.
  • Discussions about force and how hard to push or pull during activities and when playing.
  • Allowing the child to line up either at the front or the back of the line if they are sensitive to touch input.
  • Minimise the amount of children in a group if the child is sensitive to sound.
  • Scaffold peer conversations and practice in small groups how to have a conversation.
  • Set tasks that are achievable to the child and celebrate success.
  • Ensure the child is supported in PE whilst supporting socialisation.
  • ‘The Zones of Regulation’ is a handy tool to explore with children. It links visuals, colours and emotions to body feelings. It helps identify sensory ‘tools’ to support successful engagement and also highlights how our ‘zone’ or feelings can impact on others.

A calm-alert state

A calm-alert state is the window of optimal arousal when we are ready to learn.

Poor modulation of sensory information due to sensory processing difficulties is linked to self-regulation. Helping children become better regulated enables them to adapt better to the environmental demands, be more tolerant and flexible, be willing to engage, process and learn, have better attention, focus and behavioural regulation, and engage with more purpose.

Self-regulation

Recent research has identified that one of the keys to student success is self-regulation. Self-regulation is the ability to monitor and modify emotions, to focus or shift attention, to control impulses, to tolerate frustration or delay gratification. We all have a ‘tool kit’ of strategies that help us to achieve a calm-alert state in order to learn.

Signs of challenging environments

The most common signs that someone or something in the environment is too demanding is either hyperactivity or distractibility; hostility, aggression, withdrawal or emotional liability are common behaviours. Prevention is better than a cure, so being observant to the ‘warning signs’ is imperative to prevent melt-downs and achieve self-regulation.

In order to learn, a child must be able to pay attention to a variety of different stimuli whilst filtering out irrelevant stimuli together with maintaining a Calm-Alert state. This can prove difficult for many children whose systems are not quite ready for it.

  • Start learning sessions with a movement task or brain gym activity.
  • Sit a distractible child away from busy parts of the classroom i.e. away from doors, windows or other distracting sounds.
  • Ensuring a child is sitting with feet flat on the floor or with feet supported with a footstool.
  • Allow for changes of position e.g. sitting or lying on the floor, a standing station or easel and going for a walk.
  • Consider the use of alternate seating e.g. move-n-sit or disc-o-sit cushion, ball chair, Hokki Chair, or Zuma chair.
  • Using a stretchy exercise band around the chair legs to allow movement whilst doing table top activities.
  • Consider the use of a weighted lap bag or shoulder pet.
  • Using ear defenders for focused times. Some children will benefit from the use of a personal music player with instrumental music to filter out other auditory distractions. Ensure they have understood the instructions before using these items.
  • Reduce visual distractions in the classroom.
  • Hand fidgets may help some children by keeping their hands busy while they are listening e.g. stress ball, koosh ball, rubber band, blu tack – Consider using a fidget contract.
  • Using chewing gum or a chewable item e.g. necklace, bracelet or pencil end.
  • Allowing movement breaks as needed:
    • Chair push ups.
    • Wall push ups.
    • Table push ups.
    • Throwing and catching a heavy ball.
    • Animal walks.
    • Hand pushes and pulls.
  • Yoga.
  • Identify non-verbal signals to use when overwhelmed or needing a break. Some children find it difficult to articulate their needs or ask for help, by providing a ‘time out card’, ‘toilet pass’ or other means to indicate that they may be feeling anxious and/or need a break.
  • Giving advanced warning and verbal reminders of loud noises e.g. bells, announcements or planned fire alarms.
  • Call the child to get their attention before giving them an instruction. Get the child to repeat the instruction back so you know they have understood.
  • Research has shown that the more senses used during a learning experience the more likely the child will retain the information; therefore provide learning in a multi-sensory manner – use of smells, sounds, visuals etc.
  • Some children find the transitions and moving through busy environments difficult to manage and this can impact on their class learning. They may benefit from coming in first, to minimise distractions. Try moving the child’s peg to one end and/or allow them to organise themselves within the classroom.
  • Use calming tools if a child is showing signs of becoming overwhelmed:
    • Go for a walk.
    • Go for a quiet sensory space.
    • Deep breathing.
    • Drinking water through a straw.
    • Blowing up a balloon.

Auditory stimuli

As with the visual system, it is crucial for our hearing (Auditory) system to distinguish between novel and routine sounds, and to understand if the sounds are a threat or can be ignored. If a child is over responsive to auditory stimuli, they may not be able to filter out irrelevant information that they are hearing. If a child is under responsive to auditory stimuli, they may miss vital pieces of information in a busy classroom environment. If a child is over or under responsive to sounds, this will have an impact on hearing, listening and understanding.

Ideas to help support Hearing in the classroom

  • Wearing ear defenders during targeted learning times or noisy times of day e.g. assembly or sport. Make sure the instructions are heard before ear defenders are put on.
  • Smaller quiet spaces for targeted learning times.
  • Get the child to repeat instructions back to ensure they have understood what you have asked of them.
  • Offering written or visual instructions to support understanding of the request.

If you have any concerns about a child’s hearing, it is recommended they be assessed by an Audiologist.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Parents may suspect that their child is not hearing or listening well at a younger age; however, it is often when the child starts school that the difficulties become more obvious. Children with APD have normal hearing but they have problems with processing and interpreting sounds and spoken language. Children with APD will present with more difficulties in noisy environments like a busy classroom or shopping centre, and may also have trouble reading with background noise

The visual system

Our visual system is essential for tasks such as reading, writing, motor planning, balance and hand-eye coordination. The visual system is responsible for visual acuity as well as motor control of the eyes and processing of the information it takes in through our eyes (Visual Perception). When there is a problem with one or more of these areas, this can have an impact on a child’s functioning in the school environment.

Difficulties with visual skills

There are many building blocks needed to develop visual perceptual skills and difficulties in any one of these can impact on success and learning at school. Common difficulties can include:

  • Difficulties with reading and writing.
  • Poor visual attention and concentration.
  • Poor self-regulation including emotional regulation.
  • Avoiding or refusing to participate in activities that require visual perceptual skills e.g. reading and writing tasks or PE.
  • Difficulties with hand-eye coordination.
  • Difficulties copying from the board.
  • Difficulties with organising workspace and/or finding belongings.

Ideas to help support Visual Skills in the classroom

  • If you have any concerns about a child’s visual skills, it is recommended they be assessed by an Optometrist or a Developmental Optometrist.
  • Seat the student at the front of the class.
  • Sit students away from visual distractions e.g. windows or doors.
  • Provide only one task or activity at a time. If a student has 3 tasks to complete, consider printing these on 3 separate sheets or cutting the paper into three pieces.
  • Use a multisensory approach during lessons. It may be easier for some students to visually focus during kinaesthetic (movement) lessons rather than auditory.
  • Use heavy work activities to support regulation – see handout on self-regulation and attention.
  • Use a privacy screen to decrease visual distractions.
  • Using a guided reading strip to help reduce extra visual input when reading.
  • Using a highlighted line down the left of the page to support uniform writing.
  • Using a highlighted line or coloured lines to provide extra visual for letter placements e.g. sky, grass, dirt or a cat visual.
  • Wear sunglasses outside if the child is sensitive to bright light.
  • If copying from the board is difficult, provide the child with handouts or print it off the smart board for them.

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