Practical adjustments are sometimes very simple, says Monique. “Put a sign on the door saying ‘Not right now’ when interruptions are not desired. It often happens that people briefly enter a classroom with a question. By turning the sign to red, you indicate that this is not allowed at that moment.” She mentions another easy adjustment. “Some pupils want to leave the classroom and go into the hallway for a while. This may be because they need movement when they have been sitting still for too long (under-stimulated). Or because there are too many stimuli in the classroom at that moment (over-stimulated). You can give these pupils a number of cards—three, for example—and agree on a certain amount of time they are allowed to be away. Each time a pupil feels the need, they hand in a card to the teacher. The pupil can go to the restroom or, for example—if there is one—make use of a movement circuit in the hallway for a while. This allows a pupil to calm down when over-stimulated, or to become active again when under-stimulated.”
She once again emphasizes the importance of an individualized approach. “Not all solutions have to be implemented with the whole class. If you do breathing exercises, you do not want under-stimulated pupils to become even sleepier. And if you exercise with the whole class, you do not want over-stimulated pupils to become even more overstimulated. Therefore, give the pupils concerned the space not to participate and explain why.”
Teachers now know what sensory processing is (part 1) and how to recognize signs of sensory processing difficulties (part 2). They have also learned how to take these into account (part 3) and how they can make progress with small practical interventions (part 4). But decision-makers can also play a role. More on that in part 5.
BOX
Practical quick wins
- Put a sign on the door saying ‘Not right now’ when interruptions are not desired.
- Give pupils three ‘time-out cards’ and agree on how long they may stay away.