Dealing with Schools

Sensory Overload • Circle/Meeting Time • Tests and Assignments

To be sure, not all children with SI dysfunction need to enter the special education system. Many kids with mild sensory issues and no other co-existing conditions do just fine with a bit of understanding, extra support, a sensory diet, and a few simple accommodations. You may be able to work all of this out informally with your child's school. Quite often, though, a child with SI dysfunction needs more help to thrive in school. If she qualifies for special education services, your child will receive an IEP, created cooperatively by you and the school, that spells out how the school will meet your child's unique needs.

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If your child isn't in special ed, he can still get help through a 504 plan. A 504 plan might include accommodations such as allowing your child to eat lunch somewhere other than the noisy cafeteria, having more time allotted for taking tests, and so on.

A wonderful book for helping you further understand the IEP process and your all rights, deal effectively with the school system, and resolve disputes is The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child by Lawrence M. Siegel. Also see IEP Pop-Up, a helpful web page from the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities (created for kids with hearing loss, but most points apply to any child with an IEP).

School-Based Sensory Strategies

Avoiding Sensory Overload

Your child may participate in "sensory diet" activities in order to stay calm, focused, and attentive. The activities, of course, vary from child to child as individual needs vary. A sensory diet at school might include taking brief walks in the hall at specified intervals or listening to calming music through headphones during "quiet time." An OT can help you to identify which activities will be most helpful to your child before, during, and after school.
Your child is allowed to avoid eye contact when answering a question that requires concentration if he needs to "block off" his visual sense in order to focus.
When lining up with other children, your child can always be at the front or end of the line so she isn't disturbed by other children crowding or bumping into her. (You might ask the teacher to appoint her "line monitor" so that this doesn't seem like a punishment.)
Your child will be warned in advance about fire drills.
Your child will be seated preferentially according to his needs. The best spot varies from child to child and you, the teacher, and an OT may need to brainstorm to figure out the best seat location. Children with sensory issues often do best in the front of the classroom close to the teacher, where there is less conflicting visual stimulation, away from distractions, and out of direct sunlight. A child may also need to sit where she can't see out the door or windows, or next to a wall for a sense of security.

Circle Time, Meeting Time, Hard Time

Most schools require children of all ages to sit still, be quiet, and listen for increasingly long periods as they mature. This does not come easily for most children with sensory issues. Some accommodations might include:

Your child may sit on an inflated seat cushion while sitting on a classroom chair or on the floor at circle time. This enables a child to get a little movement input in an appropriate way as he sits rather than to get up to move a bit when not acceptable to the teacher.
Your child may use hand "fidgets" such as a koosh ball, hand exerciser, or other non-distracting handheld item. Fidget items help calm and organize the child who is "always on the go" and also gives a child who tends to "zone out" out a tool to stay alert and tuned in.
Your child can use a weighted lap pad or weight vest to get calming sensory input, as well as a physical cue to stay put.

Tests, Classroom Assignments, and Organization

Your child can take tests in a separate room (to reduce distractions), have extended time (if she processes information slowly), and record her answers in any manner (if writing is a problem, for instance, her answers may be typed or dictated to a scribe).
All instructions are to be given not just verbally but visually as well, either written on the board or provided in writing to the student.
A written (or picture) list of what will be done in the classroom each day will be provided to your child.
The teacher or aide will help your child check his backpack at the end of the day to be sure no items are left behind.
Your child may have a second set of books, to be kept at home.
Your child may sit at a desk by himself instead of a table when working on multi-step, complex assignments, for better concentration.
Your child may wear any prescribed eyewear, including colored lenses and sunglasses, that has been determined necessary.