Sensory issues

Finding sensory distractions during a pandemic

Claudia Boes, an occupational therapist, explores the issues that can arise if sensory modulation needs are neglected and how this can be addressed.

Research overwhelmingly suggests that many people with SEN have difficulty processing sensory information. If someone’s sensory needs are ignored, this is likely to result in other challenges such as an inability to engage with meaningful activities and connect with others or lead to a lack of focus, all of which are crucial for learning and development.

Sensory modulation

Sensory modulation refers to the ability to respond appropriately to sensory information from the environment and remain at an appropriate level of alertness for daily activities. People with sensory modulation difficulties frequently fluctuate between being over-responsive to stimuli (for example bright lights and loud noise) and under-responsive to stimuli (like not responding to verbal communication or being unaware of pain or temperature). These reactions to sensory input can result in distress, aggression or anxiety and need to be addressed with care and thought.

Finding new coping mechanisms

In a pre-Covid world, I’m sure most people with SEN and their carers or educators would have had access to any number of coping mechanisms to ensure that their sensory needs

“However, you can never control the environment or a student’s mood entirely.”

were adequately catered for. This includes activities such as swimming, countryside walks or riding bikes. However, many of these have been curtailed for safety reasons during the pandemic and subsequently, many people are having to do without activities they previously relied on. When you add in the changes to routine caused by Covid-19, things have been especially challenging for people with SEN. Our current challenge is to think creatively about ways to engage their senses.

For us, one of the main issues has been making sure that our students continue to be alert and engaged with their learning, even while things are especially trying for them outside the

“Reactions to sensory input can result in distress, aggression or anxiety and need to be addressed with care and thought.”

classroom. This has been such a tough time for so many people with SEN and it is vital that we find tools and strategies to help them with their sensory needs.

There are some basic things that can be employed in all classroom settings to ensure students are engaged, such as natural lighting, the use of movement breaks, having headphones or earplugs available, or arranging furniture in a different way. However, you can never control the environment or a student’s mood entirely, especially when there are so many external factors at play. My OT colleagues and I have spent the last few months working closely with our lecturers and learning support assistants (LSAs) to create ‘task boxes’. These are targeted at two states of sensory modulation; a calming/organising box for those who are over-stimulated or over-excited and an alerting/organising box for those who are tired, disengaged or under-stimulated.

Using the boxes

Signs that someone might benefit from activities included in the calming box would be sensory avoidance behaviour (e.g. putting their hands over their ears or closing their eyes), sensory-seeking behaviour (bumping into furniture or getting into small tight spaces), increasing repetitive behaviour (such

About the author

Claudia Boes is an Occupational Therapist at Beechwood College, near Cardiff.

lshealthcare.co.uk/ beechwood-college @ls_healthcare

as touching the same object over and over), bolting or running away, withdrawing or not engaging, or self-injurious behaviour.

Items which could help address these actions and could be found in the calming box include weighted lap pads, noise cancelling headphones, white noise machines, theraputty, therabands, fidget toys, bubbles, adult colouring books and essential oils such as lavender, ylang ylang and rosemary.

Students who don’t respond to their name, those who appear tired or disinterested, someone who struggles to stay engaged or a student who is predominantly engaged in sedentary activities might benefit from activities included in the alerting box. Items included in this box are vibrating massagers, headphones with uplifting music, wobble cushions, bouncy balls, light up toys and lemongrass and orange essential oils. It took a while for us to create the boxes. We made them in conjunction with the lectures and LSAs, and provided training so that they could identify when their student was being offbase and get the appropriate box. They also helped us design what should go in them, based on their own experiences in the classroom.

While these boxes have been created with a classroom environment in mind, there is no reason that they couldn’t be on hand outside of an education environment. Having some of these items at home or for journeys could be very beneficial, especially if you are aware of specific sensory modulation difficulties or triggers, which cannot always be eliminated but could be helped by the alerting, organising or calming activities included in the boxes.

Ultimately, when it comes to addressing the sensory issues of someone with SEN, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and the main thing is to learn to identify the individual characteristics which show whether someone is over- or under-stimulated and have a number of coping mechanisms at your disposal to pre-empt them or help you deal with them as soon as they arise.