My trick: Incorporating in sensory to our sessions
If there is one thing I learned from my medical placement this semester, it was to incorporate in sensory tricks. Working with an OT taught me a lot of different ways to add it in my session. You may be thinking- "Um I'm not an OT. Why I am addressing this?" Here's why it's important that we dot:
-If sensory needs are met, the kids will enjoy the sessions more and will do more work! Of course this isn't guaranteed, but they will be much more productive than if their needs are not met.
-Some of our kiddos have a lot of sensory needs and need to work on them as much as possible.
-For an area like AAC, sensory needs not being met could affect their access method, which in turn limits their ability to communicate.
There are many many more that OTs can list off.
Here are some ideas for you:
-Use a weighted blanket
-Tie some Therabands around the bottom of the chairs. Students can kick them during the session.
-Have the student push against the wall to try and make the room bigger.
-Apply deep pressure on joints, hands, or back as needed.
-Have student push around a car and stop at each of their cards.
-Have them crawl through a tunnel and say their words at the end of the tunnel each time.
-Do army crawls or crab walks.
You can consult an OT for more ideas, but those are some to get you started. I know how much it has helped my students, so I hope it helps yours!!
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Carissa,
ReplyDeleteAs an SLP AND a mom of a child with sensory integration issues, I so appreciate this post!! I did so much of this when co-treating with others in a medical setting, but I haven't done as well in the school setting. You've inspired me to get back to it! Thanks!
Mia from PuttingWordsInYourMouth
I agree - OT's have awesome ideas! I'm lucky enough to get to co treat with our COTA each morning at my school. She saw me working with a child using a mirror to try to get a sound in isolation. She told him to say it with his eyes closed and had him trace the sound on a textured letter card at the same time. He said it perfectly the first time! I don't know why I didn't think of using a multi-sensory approach before that....but I definitely use it now. It works better for some kids/sounds than others, but it's another trick in my bag. Thank you OT!
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