Transcript SENSORY IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING ASD STUDENTS

SENSORY IMPLICATIONS
FOR TEACHING ASD
STUDENTS
Characteristics of the Sensory
System
 7 basic sensory stems within nervous system
– Sound
Movement
– Touch
Body Position
– Smell
Vision
– Taste
Location of Systems
 Tactile
 Touch - Skin
 Vestibular
 Balance – Inner Ear
 Proprioceptive
 Body Awareness –
Muscles and Joints
 Visual
 Sight – Retina of Eye
 Auditory
 Hearing- Inner Ear
Location of Sensory Systems
 Gustatory
 Taste – Chemical
 Offactory
Receptors in tongue
 Chemical Receptors in
tongue.
Dunn’s Model for Sensory
Processing
 Model characterizes patterns of responding
 Based on:
– 1, neurological thresholds- continuum runs
from low to high thresholds
– 2. Self regulation strategies – a behavioral
continuum runs from passive to active
strategies
Neurological Threshold
 Represents amount of input nervous system
requires before responding.
– High threshold = takes considerable input
– Low threshold = takes very little input
Self Regulation
 Represents range of strategies used in
responding to: task and environmental
demands.
– Passive strategies – lets things happen
– Active strategies – generates responses to
control input
Intersections of Continuums
 Creates 4 basic patterns of sensory
processing:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Low registration
Sensation Seeking
Sensory Sensitivity
Sensation Avoiding
Low Registration
 Uninterested
 Self absorbed
 Sometimes dull affect
Sensation Seeking
 Very Active
 Continuously engaging and excitable
 Pleasure from Sensory experiences
 Generate sensory experiences for
themselves.
 These students need to move and pace while
others are seated
Sensory Sensitivity
 Distractible
 Notice and comment on sensory events
 Low threshold enables them to have hyper
awareness of what is around them.
 Have passive strategies – allow things to
happen rather than move themselves away.
 Sound and sight sensitive
Sensation Avoiding
 Rule bound
 Ritual driven and appear uncooperative
 Engage in behaviors that limit sensory input
 Engage in active self-regulatory strategies
to understand and organize the sensory
input.
 This sensory input is often threatening
Combinations
 Children do not have a single sensory
processing pattern
 Rather have several patterns in their
repertoires
 Sensation avoider for auditory stimuli but
have moderate responses for other sensory
system input.
Sensory Processing Concerns
 Present in:
– Autism
– OCD
– ADHD
– Tourette-Syndrome
– Schizophrenia
Implications for School
 School environments include sensory
information that is familiar but different in
intensity and duration.
Difficulties
Elementary Classroom
furniture – need for movement
visually stimulating environments- distracting
Cafeteria – smell
Difficulties
Middle and High School
 Multiple passing periods
 Myriad hallways
 Lockers opening and closing
 Different numbers of teachers
 Different teaching styles and expectations
 Cooperative learning activities -
Strategies
 5 strategies
1. Priming
2. Working Independently
3. Visual Supports
4. Home Base
5. Social Stories
Priming
 Priming – preview activity – presents
materials and task process in advance of
instruction (predictability)
 Decreases anxiety and subsequent
behavioral responses to anxiety
Working Independently
 Initial instruction of strategy
 Plenty of practice
 Adjust if necessary
 Complete a task without assistance or
reliance from anyone to initiate, persist, and
terminate
Visual Supports
 Supports which are a concrete
representation
–
–
–
–
–
–
Reduce ambiguity
Help anticipate
Organize physical space
Help with transition
Help to understand expectations
Can convey directions
Home Base
 Access to a place apart from routine
environment
 A positive atmosphere not punishment or
escape from tasks
 May have to have more than one across
contexts
 Allows person to:
– Plan – Regroup – Recover
Social Stories
 Short stories from child’s perspective\
 Describe social situations
 Include relevant social cues
 Very visually descriptive
 Less directive
 Help address – fears, obsessions, anxiety
Summary
 ASD kids have complex needs
 Necessitate creativity to recognize reasons
and think of solutions
 Use their strengths
 Recognize their weaknesses
 Resist giving up