Page 80 - SEN113 SEN Magazine July-August 2021-V3

80 schools have additional sensory equipment, like scooter boards and trampolines. At home you can also make use of playgrounds, your garden and even your sofa. Example Circuits At school Willow class set their circuit up in the hall. There is a jumping station, a stretching station, a dancing station and a balancing station. The teachers vary the activities at each station through the term but always set up the four stations, one in each corner of the hall. The jumping station includes: jumping on the spot; star jumps; scissor jumps; tuck jumps; hopscotch; jumping side to side and jumping backwards. Stretching includes yoga style stretches. The dancing station usually follows a video on screen, with the volume down low so as not to disturb the other children. The balancing station sometimes uses the balancing equipment in the hall but also includes balancing on one foot, tree pose from yoga and lifting legs or arms (or both) when on all fours. Children with really low arousal (slower sensory responses) alternate between the jumping and dancing station completing each station twice. Children who need to regulate and calm down alternate between the stretching and balancing station. Those who need to increase their arousal but who also need to organise their thinking (typically called sensory seekers) complete all stations in this order, jumping, balancing, dancing, and finishing with stretching. At home Sarah is usually pretty overloaded after school. When the weather permits, her mum leaves the car at a local park close to school and meets Sarah at the school gate with her scooter. She has created a circuit which includes scooting to and around the park. Next, Sarah goes on the swing for five-ten minutes and she finishes her circuit by climbing up and down the climbing frame. ■ Exercise outdoors. If the weather doesn’t permit, they create an indoor circuit at home. First, they pull all of the cushions off the sofa and create a ‘tunnel’ by putting two cushions down on top of each other. Sarah has to crawl between the ‘tunnel’ whilst her mum or dad add some resistance to the top cushion. Next, they have a wrestle with the cushions. They stand one cushion up between them and Sarah tries to push the cushion over using her hands then her feet. To finish, Sarah lies over the top of her gym ball and rocks backwards and forwards using her feet for five minutes. For her snack, Sarah will have something chewy, like a flapjack or dried apple or mango and some raw carrots. She also has a straw style water bottle (e.g. Camelback). Because this snack gives a lot of proprioceptive feedback, it helps to decrease her arousal. Practicalities If you are running a circuit with multiple children who have different sensory needs, then you will need a system to ensure they access the most appropriate activities for them. There are two ways you can do this. Firstly, you can colour code the circuit. This could be done with coloured numbers which the children need to follow in sequence. Or, you could just use coloured cones to show the children which activity they should move to next. Or, you can give each child an individual activity schedule. The schedule will show them which activities they should go to in the circuit. If your circuit stays the same each half term, you can print off static schedules, or have them up on the smart board. In some cases, children could have their own laminated schedule which changes each week. Finally Remember, there is no one size fits all solution for any sensory support. You need to consider what the aim of your sensory circuit is, and monitor to see that it has the desired impact. It may take a few attempts to get it right and that’s OK! SEN113 senmagazine.co.uk Sensory About the author Kim Griffin is a paediatric occupational therapist. She has extensive experience working with children who have sensory and/or motor skill challenges, including those with autism and dyspraxia. GriffinOT.com @Griffin_OT @GriffinSensoryOT