How to Effectively Manage Sensory Behaviors in the School Setting

Presented byCindy W. Bean, OTR/L NSSED

Matt Brauer, teacher assistant Indian TrailApril 5, 2011

Ahhh….if only everyday were like this!

What is Sensory Integration Anyway?

Sensory integration is a “theory” that was developed in the 1970’s by an occupational therapist named Jean Ayres.

SI Therapy is often done in private OT clinics using various equipment.

This type of SI Therapy is not appropriate to use in the school setting for several reasons:

Follows a medical model Not an educational based model It does not meet the legal requirements for “least

restrictive environment” It does not meet our legal requirements in school for

using evidence-based practice.

IDEA 2004 and “No Child Left Behind”

What CAN we do to manage sensory behaviors in the school setting? First must identify a specific behavior that you

want to change. It must be observable! It must be measurable!

Behavior Chart

Date What is the behavior?

When does the behavior occur?

What is the frequency of the behavior?

What is the duration of the behavior?

What supports are in place to address the behavior?

How did the supports change the behavior?

Measuring Behaviors

What is an observable and measurable behavior?

What is not observable or measurable behavior?

Common Sense Strategies for “SI/Behavior Regulation in the School Setting

You want to implement a behavior strategy and try it for 1-2 weeks with consistent integrity with implementation and data collection.

If the undesired behavior is not altered after this time, then another strategy should be tried in the same manner.

Important Points to Keep in Mind

Every human being uses behavior regulation strategies to either increase or decrease arousal levels.

We all take a coffee break, go for a walk, tap our leg or pen in a meeting, daydream, get a drink etc. to maintain our attention levels.

We cannot expect that our students don’t have these same needs. Our students may have more extreme needs or may require differing methods for maintaining behavior regulation.

Final Thoughts

Our job is to uncover and decipher what their behaviors are trying to communicate to us in order to help them to learn to regulate their behaviors.

Our ultimate goal is to teach our students to learn functional means for SELF regulating their behaviors throughout their lifetime, rather than teaching them to rely on an adult to direct them through their regulation process.

We need to help our students learn how to self regulate their behaviors!