Modifications to the Learing Environment

*Start the day at home with sensory input such as brushing, joint compressions, and linear swinging

*Use a picture schedule for the days events and review this at breakfast, in the car, and teacher reviews events of day at school. When an activity is completed, then the picture goes in the all done basket, with the next activity always at top. Make sure there are sensory diet breaks at least every hour, with short intense learning periods mixed in with movement and sensory diet activities.

*ROUTINE, ORGANIZATION, AND PREDICTABILITY are vital to their ability to focus and attend! Anything that is unpredictable, chaotic, unorganized, or cluttered makes them feel very unfocused and they can=t attend to what is important.

* Use regular sensory breaks using the above suggestions and Tool Chest handouts.

*Place the student with SID at the side front of the room, so that they won't get touched very often by people walking by their desk, but yet they can focus more easily on the teacher and not have to filter out so much stimuli between the teacher or board and their desk.

*CUT DOWN ON WALL ART!!! Visual distractions are very hard for them to "filter" and get used too, this only takes away from them looking at you the teacher! The colors Blue and green are great calming colors and are best if walls are left with nothing on them.

*cover up bookshelves and all extraneous stuff in room with calming green or blue sheets

*Allow for standing times at a desk, or laying on belly on the floor, or sitting on a therapy ball when trying to listen or recite or answer questions. Get up and have structured movement times very often!

*Vary learning times so that intense short "sit down times" are no longer than 15 minutes at first, then you can work up to 30 minutes. After sitting for longer than 30 minutes, give a 10 minutes movement break, this doesn't mean that they have to run around disorganized. Be creative and find ways to incorporate the academics into the movement and keep it structured and organized movement!

*Avoid a lot of worksheets with a lot of paper and pencil tasks, learning needs to be through movement and hands on and more visual than writing! Look at Montessori teaching techniques and other hands on learning books for ideas! Think of how you learn the best, through touch and movement!

* Use a timer (one that is visual with the red area for the remaining time is great, or a silent kitchen timer) when they must sit for certain period of time, and tell them that they cannot get out of their seat until timer goes off, and when the timer goes off then they can choose a sensory diet activity. This helps the student know when the work will end, and a sensory motor break is coming.

*After an unorganized and unstructured time such as cafeteria or recess, or a classroom visitor popping in, do a classroom calming activity such as Soldier Walks to a metronome beat: Russian soldiers with same arm and leg up and down, then British soldier with opposite arm and leg. Clap patterns to a beat, creeping and crawling, etc.

Another one is tree waving: Have class march around the room following a path that is marked clearly on the floor (can also use path to follow for creeping activities)with no obstructions in the way and have students pretend to be trees waving in the breeze, "How slowly can you wave?" You can do this standing behind chairs as well if the marching is too distracting and unorganized.

*Often the cafeteria is too much for these students and fights and aggression show their face. May want to look at creating a "quiet lunch group" picking a small group that eats separately and play soft relaxing music.

*Have a calming area in the classroom or a sensory area at home. This is an area that the child can go to when they are feeling overly stressed, and can swing calmly, rock in a glider or chair, sit on a bean bag and look at books, lay a bean bag on their body, go into a small tent, or cover a table with a dark cloth and let child go under there to calm down. This area has to be used wisely and cannot continue to be a way out of work. Use headphones with Gregorian chant or other calming music such as light classical music in this area as well, or play for the entire classroom.

*Some need "white noise" to help filter background noises this is often a fan or a CD made especially for white noise found in sensory catalogs.

* Use a reward system that is easily achieved such as the sensory diet choice, tokens, or sticker sheet, with a larger reward at the end of the day or week when goals are achieved. This often has to be changed as they may get bored with the rewards pretty quickly. A good reward at the end of the day or week is often to be able to do a big sensory motor task such as swinging at the end of work, or at the end of the week going to a local jungle gym. These children need as much positive feedback and encouragement as possible, they already feel like a failure and self esteem is always an issue, avoid as much failures as possible, look for the good in everything!

*Give each child a sign like a raised fist, or red card, or some kind of sign language that can be shown and raised to your attention when they feel like they are losing control. Give an immediate calming tool break, swinging in linear direction is usually a good choice at this time or going to the calming area of the room in a tent or under a table. This prevents explosions and outbursts!

To increase attention to tasks and increase sit down time at a work area when working one on one: A more structured adult led activity time in which environmental distractions like the T.V., alerting music, other toys, and bright colors are limited and student can focus only on you and the activity presented with no other distractions. This is often best accomplished in a cubicle type area in which you can use a corner with a desk and chairs and high walls around you to block out visual stimulus. Using a refrigerator box cut on one side and putting around you works well. You can call this area the "office" or work station and let the child paint and color the outside of the box, leave the inside plain to decrease distractions.

All children need routines, and schedules that the student can understand help to establish predictability and routines which help the child tremendously...

1. Start each morning with an outline of the schedule for the day, highlight any changes that may be different. For younger children, you will have to keep it simple with shorter lengths of time, such as for the morning schedule before lunch, then review the afternoon after lunch. Use large picture symbols, and PECS system and place it where it can be seen such as on the desk, or on the board so that it can be found easily. Take off symbols and put in an all done basket when that task is accomplished to help the child keep track of what is next.

2. Use timers, such as the Red timers or digital timers that the child can understand for each activity length. This helps the child know when a sensory motor break is coming, hopefully a small break in between each 30 minute schedule, then larger 20 minute breaks after each 2 hour block.

3. Discuss or create stories about unexpected events such as fire drills to prevent meltdowns when they occur, take children to the gym or cafeteria before everyone arrives or a big event, or tape record these more stressful times and play in preparation for the actual event.

4. Use adaptions for each transition, such as the working left to right and all done basket routine; the clean up song, or other ways to cue the child that it is time to transition. Giving two choices with symbols helps with transitions as well.

5. Assist older children with homework organization, write it down in a specific place in their binders, or tape record assignments.

6. Color code notebooks and book covers to go together, or dividers in one large notebook to match so that they can keep track of each class.

7. Create classroom schedule with many breaks for movement and sensory motor activities. A good schedule goes as follows: