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Sensory Clothing, Sensory Therapeutic Tools, Sensory Toys, Adaptive Equipment, Autism Support, Neurodivergent Support, Sensory Swings, Sensory Room Design, Professional Development

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The Neurodiverse Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Individual Learning Needs and How to Meet Them

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The Neurodiverse Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Individual Learning Needs and How to Meet Them

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With specific learning difficulties more prevalent than ever in mainstream schools, this is the essential guide for teachers wishing to create inclusive and successful learning environments in diverse classrooms. Focusing on promoting acceptance and self-esteem of each child rather than on labelling their difficulties, it shows how to make good use of simple resources and meet a wide range of needs, including children with ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia and special speech and language needs.

The practical advice and strategies in this book enable schools to become more accepting places for all pupils, and embrace neurodiversity as the new 'normal' in education today.

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Amazon.com: The Neurodiverse Classroom: 9781785923623: Honeybourne, Victoria: Books

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These executive function games are specifically selected to improve attention, organization, focus, working memory, and other executive functioning skills. Executive function is a set of cognitive skills that allows us to perform tasks.

Use this list of games and toys to help kids build and establish executive functioning skills in the home, school, or community. These are great games to use in therapy to boost executive function for improved independence, safety, and task completion.

Kids, teens, and young adults are developing executie functioning skills up through the early twenties and even early thirties in order to accomplish daily life tasks. The key to building skills in attention, focus, prioritization, etc. is practice!

Actually trying and trying again when unsuccessful is a huge strategy when it comes to practicing executive functioning skills, but games and toys are a fun way to develop these skill.

Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Executive function games

There are some really fun and engaging games and toys for executive functioning skill development out there! We've broken down some of our top picks for building skills in distraction, planning, prioritization, self-control, and other areas of executive function.

Other tools you might like include our self-awareness games. These support executive functioning skills and overall awareness of tools that an individual might need to use.

You might want to check out our blog post on handwriting games for more ideas. Using pencil and paper games can target handwriting and executive functioning skills, which has a connection.

What is Executive Functioning?

First, let's briefly discus what executive function means...and how can you support this development through game play?

There is much that can be read about executive function. Essentially, executive functioning skills include the ability to perform a series of skills during functional tasks. These include attention, impulse control, emotional control, flexible thinking, working memory, self-monitoring, planning and prioritizing, task initiation, and organization. Looking at this skills set, executive function skills are essential for independence in most tasks.

Utilizing all of the underlying components that make up "executive functioning skills" is the mental dexterity that enables nimble thinking in the task or in the moment.

For the younger child, executive function abilities present themselves when they perform a multi-step task such as completing the parts of a morning routine. Parental involvement and the prompting that comes with young kids are more involved.

When a child is able to perform a multi-step process with more independence, they may be able to prepare their cereal, clean up the dishes, brush their teeth, get dressed, gather items needed for the day, and leave the house even when a shoe is hidden under a table, the toothpaste spills, and the dishwasher is too full to add another bowl.

Executive functioning is initiating a task, adjusting to problems, negotiating obstacles, while organizing and prioritizing all of the steps and details.

Children can strengthen executive functioning skills in fun and creative ways.

Games and toys are a great way to target the development of executive functioning skills!

Toys make practice fun.

Games are engaging and it's play...it takes the urgency off practicing essential skills.

Playing a game challenges kids to try their best to accomplish a specific task.

Executive functioning toys can break down target skills very specifically.

RELATED READ: Sometimes executive function skills are to blame for sloppy handwriting.

Another related read is this blog post on executive function coaching, which can include executive functioning games as a recommendation for building skills in specific cognitive areas.

Toys to improve executive function

Affiliate links are included.

Take a look at these executive function games. There is something for every level.

This I Never Forget a Face Memory Game (affiliate link) can help boost working memory and other executive function skills. The game focuses on details of faces and facial expressions, which can be a great way to focus on details and visual memory skills.

Head Rush (affiliate link) is a game that targets the development of mindfulness, empathy, and open communication. This is a great therapy game for helping kids develop communication tools with family and friends, especially when voicing their personal challenges and emotions.

This game would be perfect for family game night!

Visual Brainstorms Game (affiliate link) can help kids address executive functioning abilities by addressing problem solving, prioritizing, reasoning, logic, and abstract thinking.

Learning Self-Control in School (affiliate link) is a game that addresses planning, attention, and consequences to behaviors.

The game Actions and Consequences (affiliate link) can help kids learn that their actions have consequences! It's a good game for younger kids.

What Do I Feel (affiliate link) is a game that allows kids to explore emotions and address emotional control as they respond to different scenarios.

This Memory Chess Game (affiliate link) is a fun game to address focus, working memory, and concentration. It's got a great fine motor component, too.

The Original Memory Game (affiliate link) is the one that has spurred a TON of varieties of matching, memory, and concentration.

More activities for executive function

There are so many strategies to address attention in kids and activities that can help address attention needs. One tactic that can be a big help is analyzing precursors to behaviors related to attention and addressing underlying needs.

Look for toys that challenge the child to register, screen, organize, and interpret information from our senses and the environment. This process allows us to filter out some unnecessary information so that we can attend to what is important. Kids with sensory challenges often time have difficulty with attention as a result.

It's been found that there is a co-morbidity of 40-60% of ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder. Seek out games and toys that help kids boost attention and focus in the classroom by mastering sensory processing needs.

You will find information on the sensory system and how it impacts attention and learning. There are step-by-step strategies for improving focus, and sensory-based tips and tricks that will benefit the whole classroom.

Look for games that provide tactics to address attention and sensory processing as a combined strategy and overall function. There are charts for activities, forms for assessment of impact, workbook pages for accommodations, and sensory strategy forms.

Some top picks include:

Amazon affiliate links included below.

These games and toys support the development of metacognition, task initiation, planning, prioritization, working memory, and more!

Printable List of Toys for Executive Function

Want a printable copy of our therapist-recommended toys to support executive functioning skills?

As therapy professionals, we LOVE to recommend therapy toys that build skills! This toy list is done for you so you don't need to recreate the wheel.

Your therapy caseload will love these EXECUTIVE FUNCTION toy recommendations. (There's space on this handout for you to write in your own toy suggestions, to meet the client's individual needs, too!)

Enter your email address into the form below. The OT Toolbox Member's Club Members can access this handout inside the dashboard, under Educational Handouts. Just be sure to log into your account, first!

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Executive Function Games - The OT Toolbox

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These executive function games are powerful ways to work on working memory, attention, organization and other executive functioning skills.

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Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL

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Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) suggests exciting ways to design and deliver engaging, rigorous learning experiences-as a growing international movement of UDL practitioners can attest. However, implementing UDL also requires us to unlearn many beliefs, assumptions, and teaching practices that no longer work.

In this lively and fun book, UDL experts Allison Posey and Katie Novak describe colleagues who have implemented UDL and experienced exponential success: increased graduation rates, an increase in the number of students taking AP exams, and decreased special education referrals and out-of-school suspensions.

However, they have also found that sometimes, even when teachers learn about UDL and believe in its power to transform their teaching and learning environments, many still do not change. They don't believe this is because educators are unwilling to make changes, but perhaps because they may not think there is a strong reason to change, or perhaps they do not know the first steps to take.

The authors have wrestled with this dilemma for years, trying many different approaches to teach and model UDL. They have come to understand that for all the research, brain science, and best practices that are behind UDL as a way to reach all students without differentiating learning at every turn, there is an elephant in the room. Most teachers - and they include themselves in this group - have a hard time integrating new learning.

Why is changing what we do so hard? Posey and Novak posit that, to change how we think about teaching, how to manage classrooms, and how to develop curriculum, we must unlearn. In a profession that spends so much time thinking about learning, the process of unlearning is what needs to happen before real change can happen.

Wait, what? The unlearning process has been such a transformative experience for Posey and Novak that they want to invite fellow educators on this journey to design learning experiences that not only are accessible for students but that challenge them to become more autonomous and self-directed in their learning.

They have seen student agency increase and engagement skyrocket when UDL is implemented. They have observed teachers transformed by UDL who celebrated their learning journeys along the way. But this isn't just a book about UDL. It is a book that recognizes the fact that we aren't meeting the needs of all students and we know that we can.

The process of unlearning as part of the learning process has been well documented. What is unique about this book is that the authors support the process of unlearning using UDL. UDL is a tool that guides the design of learning environments to support the anticipated variability of students, to help educators be goal-directed and to prioritize engagement, and to ensure that every individual knows how to be an expert learner who is motivated, knowledgeable, and strategic.

Posey and Novak developed The Unlearning Cycle to support educators seeking to implement UDL in their practice. It includes the following essential elements, though these do not necessarily occur in a linear progression:

1) Understand variability

2) Know your goals

3) Transform tried-and-true practices

4) Prioritize engagement

5) Scaffold expert learning

This book is for teachers and the professionals who support them. It is for educators who are interested in UDL but have not been able to transform practice to increase the outcomes of all learners. As an educator, you can go through the process individual, with a team in a professional learning community, or as a school or district.

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Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL

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Amazon.com: Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL: 9781930583443: Posey, Allison, Novak, Katie: Books

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UDL Now!: A Teacher's Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning

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UDL Now!: A Teacher's Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning

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Katie Novak

Foreword
George Couros

2022

UDL Now! New Edition: Third Time is a Charm

Watch the recording and grab the materials from a conversation with bestselling author Katie Novak! She highlights how her book supports educators to get started with UDL, develop a strong foundation to reach all learners, and build meaningful connections around this work.

Access the webinar recording & materials

About the Book

In the third edition of UDL Now!, Katie Novak provides practical insights and savvy strategies for helping all learners succeed in a post-pandemic world using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

This powerful guide for educators covers timely topics including:

Supporting UDL within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)

UDL in the service of equity

Recruiting and engaging learners as UDL partners

How UDL and Differentiated Instruction (DI) work together

The role of student choice and voice

What learning expertise really means

Preparing for standardized assessments the UDL way

Novak presents examples throughout the book to make the content relevant and digestible. She concludes each chapter with reflection questions to help teachers apply key concepts to their work.

UDL Now! Third Edition is available in paperback ($29.99, ISBN: 9781930583825) and accessible EPUB ($29.99, ISBN: 9781930583832) formats.
Table of Contents
Praise for UDL Now! Third Edition

A master class in Universal Design for Learning is what you will get from UDL Now! Because of the way Katie writes and shares her wisdom and experience, you will get exactly what you need as long as you are open to it. There is no better guide than Katie Novak for this journey.

George Couros, author of The Innovator's Mindset

Whether you are skeptical or motivated about UDL, this book has something for you. In this updated version, Katie pulls each reader into a journey of discovery, design, and delight. I love the anecdotes, the transparency, and the invitation to revise. Katie has equipped every reader to face ourselves by modeling the characteristics of an expert learner and giving us the inspiration to do the same. Brilliant!

Andratesha Fritzgerald, author of Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning

UDL Now brilliantly weaves together stories, research, and complementary frameworks that are crucial to ensuring all learners thrive in our modern world. Katie delivers practical tips for how to address beliefs, skills, strategies, and systems to ensure you can design learning experiences for the variability in your classroom and support each learner to navigate their unique path. This is a must-read for every educator!

Katie Martin, author of Evolving Education: Shifting to a Learner-Centered Paradigm, and Chief Impact Officer at the Learner-Centered Collaborative

About the Author

Katie Novak, EdD, is an internationally renowned education consultant, author, graduate instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, and a former Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Massachusetts. Katie has two decades of experience in teaching and administration, has an earned doctorate in curriculum and teaching from Boston University, and has authored or coauthored 10 published books, including the best-sellers Equity by Design, UDL and Blended Learning, and Innovate Inside the Box: Empowering through UDL and the Innovator's Mindset.

You can find her online at katienovakudl.com and on Twitter at @KatieNovakUDL.

More from Katie Novak

Table of Contents

Foreword by George Couros

Short and Sweet Intro to Updated and Revised. . . Again

Chapter 1: Don't Do It Alone

Chapter 2: UDL and Equity

Chapter 3: Differentiating Between UDL and Differentiated Instruction

Chapter 4: Recruiting and Engaging Learners as UDL Partners

Chapter 5: The Power of Expert Learning

Chapter 6: Firm Goals and UDL Implementation

Chapter 7: Unpacking Choice and Voice

Chapter 8: But What About Standardized Assessments?

UDL Resources

References

Index

About the Authors

More from CAST Publishing

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UDL Now! A Teacher's Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning, Third Edition - CAST

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In the third edition of UDL Now!, Katie Novak provides practical insights and savvy strategies for helping all learners succeed in a post-pandemic world using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

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Child Development in Child Welfare Series: Executive Function

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Child Development in Child Welfare Series: Executive Function

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Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare

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Child Development in Child Welfare Series: Executive Function

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Identity-First Language - Autistic Self Advocacy Network

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ASAN intern Lydia Brown originally published this article on their blog Autistic Hoya under the title The Significance of Semantics: Person-First Language: Why It Matters. At the Adult Services Subcommittee’s final meeting last Wednesday, much to do was made about semantic disagreements -- “ASD indi…

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About Autism: Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)

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About Autism: Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)

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About Autism - Autistic Self Advocacy Network

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Autism is a developmental disability that affects how we experience the world around us. Autistic people are an important part of the world. Autism is a normal part of life, and makes us who we are. Autism has always existed. Autistic people are born autistic and we will be autistic...

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Neurodiversity is a term that seems to be everywhere these days. And increasingly, kids and young adults are using it to describe themselves. But what does it mean to be neurodiverse, and where does the term come from?

In short, it means that there are many differences in the way people's brains work. There's no "correct" or "incorrect" way. Instead, there is a wide range of ways that people perceive and respond to the world, and these differences should be embraced.

The term neurodiversity was coined in the 1990s to fight stigma and promote acceptance of people with autism. But it also includes other conditions that involve neurological differences, such as ADHD and learning disorders like dyslexia and dyscalculia.

The neurodiversity movement was launched by Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist who is herself on the autism spectrum. Singer saw neurodiversity as a social justice movement, to promote equality of what she called "neurological minorities" - people whose brains work in atypical ways. As she defined them, those minorities included people with autism as well as ADHD and learning differences. Singer felt that these differences should not be viewed as deficits, but rather as normal and potentially valuable variations on the way brains work.

A main goal of the neurodiversity movement is to shine a light on the benefits of this diversity. For example, the creativity that so often goes with learning differences like ADHD and dyslexia, or the hyperfocus and novel perspectives associated with autism.

"Everybody has strengths and everybody has things that they're working on," notes Stephanie Lee, PsyD, a clinical psychologist with extensive experience working with kids with ADHD and on the autism spectrum. "Instead of thinking of people with autism or ADHD as needing to be 'fixed,' we put a spotlight on things that they're good at and help with things that they're working on."

In this approach, focusing on strengths becomes an important part of treatment. "Being a strength-based therapist means that I look at the strengths of the family, and of the individual," said Dr. Lee. "And then I think, 'How can I take this unique individual's strengths and use them to breathe life into an evidence-based treatment?' "

Dr. Lee observes that this treatment approach also emphasizes helping kids work towards their own goals, rather than deciding the goals of treatment for individuals without including them. "If there are symptoms that are making it hard for an individual to reach their goals, that are getting in their way, that's what we want to work on."

Proponents of neurodiversity also argue that some of the impairment that affects kids with autism, ADHD and LDs is caused by problems in the environment they're in. For example a rigid school schedule or a loud, bright workplace can make it impossible for them to function well. They are also undermined by the social exclusion that can stem from misunderstanding by neurotypical people. That's why another focus of the movement is to encourage changes in environments - everything from workplaces to classrooms to kids' birthday parties - to make them more welcoming and open to those who think, process and learn differently.

Neurodiversity has also evolved from a focus on individuals with a formal diagnosis of autism, ADHD or a learning disorder to include a broader group of people, many of whom self-identify as neurodiverse. Cynthia Martin, PsyD, the Clinical Director of the Autism Center at the Child Mind Institute, describes this shift.

"The term used to be used to describe people who either had a clinical diagnosis or were borderline, with symptoms that are near the clinical threshold for a diagnosis," she explains. "More recently, what I've seen is broadening to include anybody who identifies with it. People who feel that they think or process outside of the box."

Neurodiversity, she says, has become something many people, especially adolescents, are increasingly comfortable identifying with. For kids around middle-school age who are struggling socially, identifying as neurodiverse can be a way to make sense of what they're going through. The concept gives them a brain-based explanation for their difficulties - "Oh, I'm like this because my brain works differently." It can also help create a sense of community with others who identify as neurodiverse.

Some children are now diagnosing themselves with conditions that fall under the umbrella of neurodiversity, seeing a potential diagnosis as a way to validate their experiences. "The result is that we've been seeing parents come in with their self-referred 11-to-13-year-old who wants to be evaluated for autism," says Dr. Martin. These children may or may not end up with autism diagnoses, but an evaluation is often an important step toward helping them feel better and cope with challenges (more on this below).

Kids aren't alone in finding comfort in the potentially broad applications of neurodiversity. Dr. Martin reports that parents, too, sometimes use the concept to describe children whose behaviors, especially their emotional extremes, don't seem to have any other explanation.

When kids are very rigid, or react with outbursts or meltdowns that seem out of proportion to the circumstances, frustrated parents are left looking for an explanation. "We have parents who say, 'Well, my child must be neurodivergent in the way they're processing information because how could this response be anything else?" she adds. That frequently leads them to seek an autism evaluation, though there are other factors that can lead to extremes in moods.

If a child comes to a parent to say they feel they are neurodivergent, the most supportive response is to be open and empathetic, without judgment, Dr. Martin says. Saying "I'm so happy that you're talking to me about this" is always a good place to start. Getting an evaluation is an appropriate next step, though it's helpful not to promise the child that the evaluation will automatically lead to the diagnosis they are seeking. The evaluation will be the start of providing a solution for the issues that are concerning them.

What the evaluation should yield is a pretty comprehensive look at what the child is struggling with. And it should identify whether those struggles reach the clinical threshold for a formal diagnosis - though it not might be the diagnosis they are expecting. "Sometimes through the evaluation there is another diagnosis that a child meets the criteria for," she says. "There might be social anxiety or a mood disorder. There could be ADHD, there could be non-verbal learning disorder. These are all diagnoses that make it difficult for individuals to navigate social relationships, group environments, and often have co-occurring challenges with sensory processing. Sometimes kids don't meet criteria for a diagnosis of anything."

But not meeting the criteria for a disorder doesn't mean the child's struggles aren't real, Dr. Martin adds. "I tell them, 'That doesn't minimize your experience, so let's talk about what we can do to support you, or find other answers if necessary.' " The end result should be a plan that both parents and child can have confidence in.

Dr. Martin notes that while the movement to use the term "differences" rather than "disorders" has benefits, it's still crucial to focus on actual diagnosis when children have serious symptoms.

"When kids have a disorder that is significant and will impact them on a daily basis, and will show up at school, will show up in their friendships, will show up in their home life, in their adaptive skills, you do need a diagnosis from a medical perspective," she explains. The diagnosis is the basis for understanding the child's condition, as well as for getting much-needed supports, therapies and school services.

But recognizing neurodiverse people as having differences, rather than deficits, is broadly useful in helping kids fulfill their potential and thrive. "Having the people who you are interacting with - our teachers, employers, friends and family - thinking more in terms of neurodiversity is much more inclusive, much less stigmatizing," says Dr. Martin. "It just recognizes that there are going to be differences in how people go into an environment."

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What Is Neurodiversity? - Child Mind Institute

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Why kids are proudly calling themselves neurodiverse, and what the term means for kids with autism, ADHD and learning disorders.

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Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.

The word neurodiversity refers to the diversity of all people, but it is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as other neurological or developmental conditions such as ADHD or learning disabilities. The neurodiversity movement emerged during the 1990s, aiming to increase acceptance and inclusion of all people while embracing neurological differences. Through online platforms, more and more autistic people were able to connect and form a self-advocacy movement. At the same time, Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist, coined the term neurodiversity to promote equality and inclusion of "neurological minorities." While it is primarily a social justice movement, neurodiversity research and education is increasingly important in how clinicians view and address certain disabilities and neurological conditions.

Words matter in neurodiversity

Neurodiversity advocates encourage inclusive, nonjudgmental language. While many disability advocacy organizations prefer person-first language ("a person with autism," "a person with Down syndrome"), some research has found that the majority of the autistic community prefers identity-first language ("an autistic person"). Therefore, rather than making assumptions, it is best to ask directly about a person's preferred language, and how they want to be addressed. Knowledge about neurodiversity and respectful language is also important for clinicians, so they can address the mental and physical health of people with neurodevelopmental differences.

Neurodiversity and autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with differences in communication, learning, and behavior, though it can look different from person to person. People with ASD may have a wide range of strengths, abilities, needs, and challenges. For example, some autistic people are able to communicate verbally, have a normal or above average IQ, and live independently. Others might not be able to communicate their needs or feelings, may struggle with impairing and harmful behaviors that impact their safety and well-being, and may be dependent on support in all areas of their life. Additionally, for some people with autism, differences may not cause any suffering to the person themself. Instead, the suffering may result from the barriers imposed by societal norms, causing social exclusion and inequity.

Medical evaluation and treatment is important for individuals with ASD. For example, establishing a formal diagnosis may enable access to social and medical services if needed. A diagnostic explanation may help the individual or their family understand their differences better and enable community connections. Additionally, neurodevelopmental conditions may also be associated with other health issues that require extra monitoring or treatment. It is important that people who need and desire behavioral supports or interventions to promote communication, social, academic, and daily living skills have access to those services in order to maximize their quality of life and developmental potential. However, approaches to interventions cannot be one-size-fits-all, as all individuals will have different goals, desires, and needs.

Fostering neurodiversity in the workplace

Stigma, a lack of awareness, and lack of appropriate infrastructure (such as office setup or staffing structures) can cause exclusion of people with neurodevelopmental differences. Understanding and embracing neurodiversity in communities, schools, healthcare settings, and workplaces can improve inclusivity for all people. It is important for all of us to foster an environment that is conducive to neurodiversity, and to recognize and emphasize each person's individual strengths and talents while also providing support for their differences and needs.

How can employers make their workplaces more neurodiversity-friendly?

Offer small adjustments to an employee's workspace to accommodate any sensory needs, such as

Sound sensitivity: Offer a quiet break space, communicate expected loud noises (like fire drills), offer noise-cancelling headphones.

Tactile: Allow modifications to the usual work uniform.

Movements: Allow the use of fidget toys, allow extra movement breaks, offer flexible seating.

Use a clear communication style:

Avoid sarcasm, euphemisms, and implied messages.

Provide concise verbal and written instructions for tasks, and break tasks down into small steps.

Inform people about workplace/social etiquette, and don't assume someone is deliberately breaking the rules or being rude.

Try to give advance notice if plans are changing, and provide a reason for the change.

Don't make assumptions - ask a person's individual preferences, needs, and goals.

Be kind, be patient.

Resources to learn more about neurodiversity

Neurodiversity in the Workplace

About the Authors

Nicole Baumer, MD, MEd, Contributor

Julia Frueh, MD, Guest Contributor

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What is neurodiversity? - Harvard Health

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The term neurodiversity conveys the idea that there is no single right way of thinking, learning, or behaving, and is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder. A growing self-advocacy movement aims to increase acceptance and inclusion of all people while embracing neurological differences.

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Resources on children with autism, including symptoms, diagnosis, therapies to help kids develop skills, and parenting kids on the spectrum.

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What Every Teacher Should Know About ADHD

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What Every Teacher Should Know About ADHD

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Teaching Strategies for Students with ADHD

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Teaching Strategies for Students with ADHD

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Parents: Is your child's teacher doing everything possible to support learning? Teachers often dictate the success or failure of a child's education - particularly if that child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD).

Next to parents, teachers are the most influential people in a student's life. The best teacher will develop ADHD strategies to show students that they are capable and worthwhile.

Here are some strategies for teaching children with ADHD that work to establish a supportive, structured classroom that will encourage learning, enforce discipline, and boost self-esteem.

Strategies for Students with ADHD

Assign work that suits the student's skill level. Students with ADHD will avoid classwork that is too difficult or too long.

Offer choices. Children with ADHD who are given choices for completing an activity produce more work, are more compliant, and act less negative. Establish, for instance, a list of 15 activity choices for practicing spelling words like writing words on flash cards, using them in a sentence, or air-writing words.
[Get This Download: How to Teach Children with ADHD - Classroom Challenges & Solutions]

Provide visual reminders. Students with ADHD respond well to visual cues and examples. For instance, demonstrate a skill like essay writing on an overhead projector or on the board. When children get to their independent work, leave key points about a topic visible on the board. Post important concepts the children will use again and again on brightly colored poster board around the room.

Increase active class participation. Group strategies include asking students to write their answers on dry-erase white boards and showing them to the teacher, asking students to answer questions in unison (choral response), having students give a thumbs up or down if the answer to the question is yes or no - a level palm, if they don't know the answer. Paired learning is also effective. Have students work through a problem in a group and discuss for maximized understanding.

Encourage hands-on learning. Create learning opportunities where children experience things first-hand. Have students write and act out a play, record an assignment on videotape or take apart and put together a model of a miniature eyeball when studying the human body.

Establish Rules & Routines for ADHD Students

Post classroom rules for student with and without ADHD. With input from students, establish short, simple classroom rules. State them in positive terms that convey what you want students to do.
For example, instead of saying: "No loud talking when you come into class," say, "When you come into class, check the assignment on the board and start working quietly." Or, "Sit down first and then you may talk quietly with your neighbor until I start teaching."

[Click to Download: 10 Teaching Strategies that Help Students with ADHD]

Establish classroom routines. This will help students with ADHD stay on task. Routines for all students can include: homework always being written on the board, "row captains" checking to see that assignments are written and that completed work is picked up, etc. Students with ADHD can check in with the classroom aide at the end of the day to make sure they understand the homework assignment and what's required of them.

Give appropriate supervision to ADHD students. Children with ADHD require more supervision than their peers because of their delayed maturity, forgetfulness, distractibility, and disorganization. Help these students by pairing them with classmates who can remind them of homework and classwork, using student partners to team up on a project, and involving classroom aides as much as you can during and after class.

Offer Accommodations for ADHD in the Classroom

Some students with ADHD may need school accommodations to address academic challenges. Make sure they get them. Some accommodations can be as easy as monitoring the student's work and developing a plan to help him not fall behind and even accepting the occasional late assignment - this can give the student confidence and get her back on track.

Other common ADHD accommodations include:

Extended time on tests

Shortened assignments

Instruction in note-taking or designating a class notetaker

Segmented assignments for long-term projects (with separate due dates and grades).

The Attention Deficit Disorder Association ( ADDA) makes the following recommendations for accommodations:

Reduce potential distractions. Always seat students who have problems with focus near the source of instruction and/or stand near student when giving instructions in order to help the student by reducing barriers and distractions between him and the lesson. Always seat this student in a low-distraction work area in the classroom.

Use positive peer models. Encourage the student to sit near positive role models to ease the distractions from other students with challenging or diverting behaviors.

Prepare for transitions. Remind the student about what is coming next (next class, recess, time for a different book, etc.). For special events like field trips or other activities, be sure to give plenty of advance notice and reminders. Help the student in preparing for the end of the day and going home, supervise the student's book bag for necessary items needed for homework.

Allow for movement. Allow the student to move around or fidget, preferably by creating reasons for the movement. Provide opportunities for physical action - do an errand, wash the blackboard, get a drink of water, go to the bathroom, etc. If this is not practical, then permit the student to play with small objects kept in their desks that can be manipulated quietly, such as a soft squeeze ball, if it isn't too distracting.

Let the children play. Recess can actually promote focus in children with ADHD so don't use it as a time to make-up missed schoolwork or as punishment as you might for other students.

Focus on the Positive

Establish a positive relationship with students who have ADHD. Greet them by name as they enter the classroom or when calling on them in class. Create a class bulletin board for posting students' academic and extracurricular interests, photographs, artwork, and/or accomplishments.

Provide frequent, positive feedback. Students with ADHD respond best to feedback that is immediate. Use positive praise, such as "You're doing a great job" or "Now you've got it." If a student's answer is incorrect, say, "Let's talk this through" or "Does that sound right to you?"

Ask questions rather than reprimand. If the student misbehaves, in class, ask, "Is that a good choice or a bad choice?" The student will get the message that his behavior is inappropriate.

Partner with Parents

For best results, teachers must partner with the parents to ensure that their child is ready to learn in the classroom. Here are some guidelines to share with the parents of your students with ADHD:

Communicate regularly with the teacher about problems.

See that your child's ADHD medication is working effectively at school and during homework sessions.

Help your child organize papers for evening homework and prepare for the next school day.

Watch your child put completed homework in the proper folder.

Monitor completion of work in the classes that he is in danger of failing.

Save all completed homework until the semester is over.

Talk with the teacher about using a daily or weekly report, if needed.

[Your Free Download: The Teacher's Guide to Better Assignments for Students with ADHD]

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Teaching Strategies for Students with ADHD: Ideas to Help Every Child Shine

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Your child's teacher is your partner in a fair and equitable education, but does she have the ADHD tools she needs? The following ADHD teaching strategies will help all students - but especially those with ADD - learn to the best of their ability in any classroom.

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Neurodiversity is a term originally coined by Australian sociologist, Judy Singer, in the late-1990s.

Judy has built on her original idea - which can be found here. Some of this material is reproduced below.

"Neurodiversity is:
- a state of nature to be respected
- an analytical tool for examining social issues
- an argument for the conservation and facilitation of human diversity"

- Judy Singer 2020

"Neurodiversity is a term that refers to an obvious and indisputable feature of Earth's biosphere."

"Neurodiversity refers to the virtually infinite neuro-cognitive variability within Earth's human population. It points to the fact that every human has a unique nervous system with a unique combination of abilities and needs."

"Neurodiversity is a subset of Biodiversity, a term mostly used for the purpose of advocating for the conservation of species."

"The NeuroDiversity Movement

Despite there being no official definition or spokesperson for the movement, its consensual aims can be discerned. They are to:

shift mainstream perceptions of marginalized NeuroMinorities

replace negative, deficit-based stereotypes of NeuroMinorities with a more balanced valuation of their gifts and needs

find valued roles for neurologically marginalized people

show that all society benefits from the incorporation of NeuroMinorities."

In the workplace it is the idea of inclusivity that extends to neurological differences, including hiring and retaining talent with neuro-variations such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia.

PREVALENCE OF Autism in the population

In a study in the US in 2016, amongst children aged 8, prevalence of autism was estimated at 1 in 54. The prevalence was 1 in 34 for boys and 1 in 145 for girls - so boys were 4.3 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed as autistic.

Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified average prevalence of between 1% and 2%.

There are 205,200 autistic Australians - with males 3.5 times more likely to be autistic than females and prevalence rates of 1.3% and 0.4% respectively

Of the 106,600 autistic young Australians (aged 5 to 20 years) who were attending school or another educational institution, 78% reported experiencing difficulty at their place of learning. Of those experiencing difficulties, the main problems encountered were fitting in socially (60%), learning difficulties (55%) and communication difficulties (51%).

In 2018, Autism Spectrum Australia estimated that about 1 in 70 people in Australia were autistic - or about 353,880 people - but only 40% were employed

As at March 2018, 29% of active participants in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) were autistic

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html, Australia Bureau of Statistics (2018), Autism Spectrum Australia: https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/news/autism-prevalence-rate-up-by-an-estimated-40-to-1-in-70-people-11-07-2018, NDIS "Outcomes for participants with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" (June 2018).

Alexander's film gives an uplifting introduction to autism for young non-autistic audiences, aiming to raise awareness, understanding and tolerance in future generations.

LIVED EXPERIENCE

Beth Radulski, La Trobe University PhD Candidate & Project Officer: Neurodiversity, speaks about her lived experiences as an autistic learner and offers ideas on what society can do you be more inclusive for all neuro-types. (Note: The YouTube videos may not play in Safari.)

What are the neurodiverse variations?

"These differences can include those labelled with Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, Tourette Syndrome and others."

- SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON NEURODIVERSITY 2011

Neurodiversity is a combination of traits that are seen as both strengths and challenges. Depending on the neurodiverse variation and its intensity, individuals can display strengths in different areas, including:

AUTISM

average to very high intelligence

good verbal skills, rich vocabulary

ability to think in visual images and identify patterns

propensity to think outside the box and generate novel solutions to problems

ability to absorb and retain large amounts of information, especially about topics of special interest

detail oriented

ability to focus for long periods on areas of interest

ability to perform repetitive tasks where accuracy, rules and routine are important

reliability and punctuality

honest, loyal, fair and just

non-judgemental listening

DYSLEXIA

improved visual processing and pattern recognition

good spacial knowledge

seeing the bigger picture, often seeing things more holistically

mechanical aptitude

picture thinkers

sharper peripheral vision

highly creative

creativity and entrepreneurial proclivities

50% of NASA employees are dyslexic

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

hyper-focused

higher levels of creativity and curiosity,

innovation and inventiveness

leadership abilities

high energy, spontaneity and productivity

DYSPRAXIA

creativity and original thinking

good strategic thinking and problem-solving

determination and hard-working

highly motivated

able to develop their own strategies to overcome difficulties

DYSCALCULIA

DYSGRAPHIA

Autistic teams undertaking software-testing roles in an Australian Federal Government Department demonstrated 30% higher productivity over Neurodiversity-typical teams.

A team in another Government Department were provided with a significant backlog of firewall security event logs. The backlog was assessed as likely to take 18 months to clear. However, the new team were able to clear it in 4 months and redesigned the process at the same time.

Cyber security analysts start at a level one and normally progress to level two after five years. In some cases, in a new autistic team in an Australian bank, some trainee analysts were writing level two reports after only five months.

In early 2018, a major Australian bank commenced their Autism@Work Program. Their initial cohort of nine trainees were proficient four months earlier than expected, returning 12 months' value in five months and delivered an over 50% increase in productivity. In April 2019, the bank took on its second cohort of trainees. Within four months, this team had created detection rules in the security/intelligence tools used and moved from a process that was mainly manual to the automation of more than 78% of the process - resulting in an ongoing saving of hundreds of hours per month.

A team at an Australian Bank - dealing with access requests - were 26% more productive that neurotypical team within 2 months of commencement

A program implemented by JPMorganChase in the US demonstrated 48% higher productivity from a neurodiverse team when compared to a "neurotypical" team. After three to six months working in one area of the bank, autistic workers were doing the work of people who took three years to ramp-up - and were even more than 50% more productive.

A study by Curtin University in 2016 found that employing autistic adults benefited employees, employers and their organisations without incurring additional costs.

A survey of co-workers of those in Autism At Work programs in Australia (as part of a larger longitudinal study by Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre) indicated strong conviction about the importance and value of such programs:

"They've actually helped sharpen up some of the thought processes amongst the teams. They'll ask questions where others fear to tread..."

- FROM SURVEY OF CO-WORKERS - BY DARREN HEDLEY, OTARC, LATROBE UNIVERSITY

In March 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that 85% of autistic people in the US are unemployed or underemployed and 60% of them have cognitive abilities at or above those of neurotypical people. A 2016 study by the National Autistic Society in the UK arrived at a similar conclusion. A United Nations proclamation on World Autism Day 2016 estimated that more than 80% of autistic adults around the world are unemployed.

In Australia,

the unemployment rate for autistic people is 31.6 per cent. This is three times the rate of people with disability, and almost six times the rate of people without disability.

whilst more than half of autistic Australians would like a paid job, only one in three were currently in a paid role

more than half of unemployed autistic Australians (53.9 per cent) had never held a paid job, despite often possessing the skills, qualifications and a strong desire to join the workforce

(source: Amaze - study by the Centre for Health and Social Research and Australian Catholic University - 28 March 2019)

Autistic Australians wereless likely to have an educational qualification beyond school. Neuro-typicals were 4.4 times more likely to have a tertiary qualification whist people with disabilities were 2.3 times more likely to have one.

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What is Neurodiversity — Neurodiversity Hub

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Neurodiversity is a combination of traits that are seen as both strengths and challenges. Depending on the neurodiverse condition and its severity, individuals can display strengths in different areas.

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Elora Dodd (online1roomschoolhouse) • Instagram photos and videos

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Elora Dodd (@online1roomschoolhouse) • Instagram photos and videos

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308K Followers, 5,321 Following, 3,140 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Elora Dodd (@online1roomschoolhouse)

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Supporting Neurodiverse Learners (Sensory Menus)

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Supporting Neurodiverse Learners (Sensory Menus)

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8 Senses of the Body: The Hidden Sensory Systems

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8 Senses of the Body: The Hidden Sensory Systems

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Have you ever been stuck in an elevator with someone with cologne or perfume and developed a headache? Do you intentionally avoid the detergent aisle in the grocery store? Or the grocery store altogether? Do fluorescent lights make your head pound? If your notice yourself cringing as you read those descriptions, I imagine you're someone who lives with sensory sensitivities. If you live with sensory disabilities understanding your eight senses and learning how to work with your eight sensory systems is vital. The more we understand our sensory systems, the better we can support ourselves and communicate our needs.

Between 5-15% of people have a sensory processing disorder, and this rate is higher among ADHDers and Autistic people ( Miller et al., 2017). As someone with sensory processing disabilities, I have firsthand experience of the disruption sensory processing issues can create. Once I was diagnosed Autistic-ADHD and began understanding my sensory profile, I could work with it for the first time. I created accommodations to support my auditory, visual and tactile sensitivities and was able to better communicate with my family and friends about my sensory needs. When I finally considered my sensory experience of the world, a new world opened up. As a Psychologist, I am frequently considering the sensory experience of my clients. Once I had this lens for understanding peoples' experiences it opened up a whole new way of understanding everyday experiences and struggles. Looking through everyday situations through a sensory lens can be deeply empowering and can unlock many new supports.

In this article, I will:

Our experiences of our bodies and environment are intimately shaped by our sensory systems. How our minds and bodies integrate sensory information plays a big role in everyday tasks. It influences our ability to self-regulate, interact with others, and accomplish basic tasks in living.

For a long time, it was believed we have five primary sensory systems (touch, smell, taste, visual, and sound). Over the past several years, there has been increasing awareness of the three "hidden" sensory systems. These three hidden sensory systems include the vestibular, proprioception, and interoception systems.

When a person has sensory processing differences, they may be hyposensitive (under-responsive) or hypersensitive (over-responsive) to sensory input. Complicating matters, a person may be hyposensitive in one sensory system and hypersensitive in another. For example, I am hypersensitive to touch, sound, and smell and hyposensitive to taste. For this reason, it can be helpful to "map your sensory profile" and become intimately aware of where your sensitivities are (identifying what your triggers are and what your sensory helpers are). Following is a description of each sensory system and examples of hyper and hyposensory processing.

The 5 Classic Senses

The five classic symptoms are the outward-facing and physical sensations of touch tactile system (touch), the auditory system (hearing), the visual system (sight), the gustatory system (taste), and the olfactory system (smell). These five senses are vital for taking in information about our external environment. These systems help keep us safe and provide necessary information about what is happening around us.

Tactile

Tactile receptors exist all over our skin and send signals to our brains letting us know when we've touched something and providing us with information about what we've touched. Our tactile receptors are responsible for our experience of touch, pressure, pain, vibration temperature, and texture. A person may be under-responsive (hypo-sensitive and sensory seeking) or over-responsive (hypersensitive and sensory avoidant).

Tactile Under-Responder (Hyposensitive)

A tactile under-responder has a dulled response to the experience of touch. They may bump into things or touch things without awareness of touching it. They may also create extra input (so they may fidget and touch things frequently to get more tactile input). They may also seek deep pressure as a form of sensory input.

Tactile Under-Responder May:

Not notice when touched

Have a good sense of pressure (may apply too much)

Enjoys roughhousing and play that involves deep pressure (wrestling, etc.)

Accidentally hurt others (unaware of pressure applied)

Seek pressure

Not notice when skin is dirty (may be prone to eat messily and be unaware food is on face)

Not aware when their nose is running

Enjoys fidgeting and touching things around them including toys and peers

Likes intense temperatures - a hot bath, hot food, chewing on ice

Strategies for Tactile Under-Responder:

Carry fidgets (like Pop It Fidget Toys) with you (quick tactile input and gives you something to fidget with)

Pressure: Consider constriction clothing (if you like pressure) or a weighted vest or weighted lap pad

Explore Textures: Explore different textures and mindfully observe their differences. For children, encourage exploration of different textures and talk about how they feel (nature is a great place to do this).

Sensory Play: For children, provide messy play opportunities using bins and sensory play (water, sensory bins, sand, and kinetic sand, leaf piles, water tables, chalk on sidewalk, etc.)

Tactile Over-Responder (Hypersensitive)

Tactile over-responders are extra sensitive to touch. They may be labeled as overly "sensitive" and "overly reactive."

Tactile Over-Responder May:

Have strong aversions to touch, clothing tags, certain fabrics, button closures

Avoid clothing with seams that contact the skin, or foods with certain textures

Not tolerate stickiness, mess, or dirt on hands

Experience difficulty touching specific textures

Appear to "over-react" when slightly touched or bumped

Be sensitive to temperature changes (and sensitive to heat and cold)

Have difficulty with grooming (hair care, nail cutting, washing)

Experience discomfort with food, facepaint, or makeup on the face

Strategies for Tactile Over-Responder:

Wear sensory-friendly clothing (find your ideal fabric and stick with it), remove tags, and find seamless socks

Consider bathing over showering, use dry shampoo to give yourself a break from hair-washing

Communicate with others about body boundaries (have a few pre-scripted boundaries you can comfortably say, such as "no thank you, I am not a hugger" or "please do not touch me, I have sensory sensitivities)

Auditory

Auditory receptors located in the inner ear identify loud, soft, high, near, and far noises. These experiences help us to process the volume, tone, pitch, and rhythm of sound.

Auditory Under-Responders

Auditory under-responders receive less input from their auditory system and seek out additional auditory stimuli.

Auditory Under-Responder May:

Strategies for Auditory Under-Responders:

May miss subtle sounds, which can make it seem as if they are not listening. For children, to get their attention, use visual supports; you may need to enter their body space and visually get their attention before providing auditory instructions (but be aware of their tactile profile as touch may startle them).

Use (or advocate for) visual supports when taking in instructions (take notes, draw diagrams, or ask for these things as an education or work accommodation)

Watch television and movies with subtitles.

Ask to audio record medical visits where there will be lots of auditory feedback and information provided, or ask your medical provider to write out the important details in your After Visit Summary.

People may often think you are ignoring them. You can self-advocate by communicating about your auditory processing differences. For children, you can be aware that if they appear not to be listening, it may be due to their auditory differences and not a sign of disrespect.

Auditory Over-Responders

Auditory over-responders are sensitive to auditory input and may be "super hearers" and can often detect sounds in their environment that others cannot. They often have adverse reactions to too many sounds or to certain frequencies of sound.

Auditory Over-Responders May:

How to Support Auditory Over-Responders:

Use of sound blockers and sound reducers

Reduce unnecessary noise pollution in the environment

Consider sound-proofing a space in the house (devices like door noise stoppers and sound absorbers can help with this)

Visual

Visual stimuli are picked up by visual receptors in the eye and provide information about color contrast, shape, form, and movement. Our visual processing system helps us to determine what to pay attention to and directs actions and movements in the world.

Visual Under-Responder (Hyposensitive)

Visual under-responders may struggle to spot subtle differences in visual elements and seek out additional visual stimuli.

Visual Under-Responders May:

Strategies for Visual Under-Responder

Visual Over-Responder (Hypersensitive)

Visual over-responders are hypersensitive to visual input and often experience physical pain (headaches/nausea) due to this.

Visual Over-Responders May:

Avoid visually overwhelming environments.

Perform poorly in functional activities that depend on visual information processing

Be sensitive to bright lights and sunlight

Seem scared of moving objects

Experience headaches or nausea after continuous visual stimulation.

Strategies for Visual Over-Responder:

Reduce visual clutter (for example, color and pattern on walls, clutter on counters, etc.)

Use dim lights and natural light when possible

Take breaks from visual input

Uses sunglasses when outside (color-tainted sunglasses can add an additional support)

Gustatory

Taste is picked up by gustatory receptors in our tongue and linked to our olfactory senses (smell). Experiences related to our gustatory system include our ability to taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy flavors. A person with gustatory sensory processing differences may be an under-responder (sensory seeker) or an over-responder (sensory avoider).

Gustatory Under-Responders (Sensory Seekers)

Gustatory under-responses are desensitized to taste and crave more stimulation by seeking out strong flavors.

Gustatory Under-Responders May:

Enjoy spicy foods and strong flavors

Become more alert & engaged after eating a strong flavor

Seek out strong and unusual flavors

Need constant stimulation (chewing gum, snacking on crunchy foods)

Crave specific textures of food (crunchy)

Chew, suck or eat inedible objects (may enjoy the taste or texture of these items)

Strategies for Gustatory Under-Responders:

Gustatory Over-responder (Sensory Avoiders)

Over-responders have a heightened sensitivity to taste. They tend to be avoidant to new flavors and have a narrow diet.

Gustatory Over-Responders May:

Experience a heightened sensitivity to food

Eats a limited range of food and has difficulty trying new foods

Be specific about temperatures of food (may eat food only near room temperature)

Avoid social situations (family mealtimes, community gatherings, public settings where there is a wide range of novel tastes and smells)

Dislike brushing teeth (the taste of toothpaste may be strong).

Become anxious at the thought of trying new foods and may have physical reactions (gagging) when attempting to try new ones

Have difficulty with mixed textures

Strategies for Gustatory Over-Responders:

Incorporate a mellow toothpaste flavor (for children, consider this brand).

Reduce stress and anxiety by keeping mealtimes calm (offer preferred food or "safe foods," create a calm eating environment, and do not coerce the child to eat new foods (this will increase stress and anxiety).

Create a list of your "safe foods," when traveling or eating in public, bring along some safe food items.

Keep your eating environment calm (eating is an intense sensory experience for you, so anything you can do to reduce sensory input from background sounds, bright lights, etc., will be helpful.

Introduce new foods outside of standard meal times. For children, create a playful routine around this; for example, you can have a "try time" period where a new food is tried (make sure this happens in a calm environment where the person is not otherwise sensory overloaded and choose a food that is similar to one of their safe foods).

Olfactory

Smell is processed through 'Olfactory' receptors located in the nose. Olfactory senses can distinguish between a range of smells. Strong memories can also be associated with smell. People with processing differences may be under-responsive or over-responsive to smell.

Olfactory Under-Responders (Sensory Seekers)

Under-responders have a dulled awareness of smell. The lack of awareness may place them in danger as they are less likely to detect toxins in their drink, foods, and environment. Increasing olfactory processing can help increase their safety.

Olfactory Under-Respondes May:

Strategies for Under-Responders (Sensory Seekers)

For under-responders, it is helpful to encourage and activate more processing of the olfactory system by incorporating intentional and intense input. The goal is to help them better identify scents (this is important to safety, food safety, identifying burned and outdated food, etc.). With intentional and intense input, olfactory pricing can be improved.

Use an essential oil diffuser and try different essential oils

Use herbs and spices when cooking (or have an herb garden)

Use scented play-dough, scented markers, or stickers (for children)

play 'Guess the Scent' with safe items like spices, coffee grounds, or tea (for children)

Olfactory Over-Responders (Sensory Avoiders)

Olfactory over-responders or "super smellers" have a heightened sensitivity to smell and can detect subtle shifts in their environment. Certain smells can induce strong physical reactions and a sense of illness.

Olfactory Over-responders May:

Have strong reaction to smells in the environment that may be unnoticed by others

Have physical responses to smells (gagging, nausea, headaches)

Refuse certain foods based on smells

Be bothered by perfume, cologne, and chemicals

Have difficulty with new places due to tolerating the smell

Respond to cleaning, bathroom or cooking smells with nausea or complaints of feeling unwell

Strategies for Olfactory Over-responders

The best strategy for over-responders is to remove smells in the environment that create an adverse reaction (bonus, as you do this, you are likely to decrease the toxic load of your household!).

Use chemical-free and fragrance-free cleaning products, body products, laundry soap, and dryer sheets

Avoid perfumes and colognes

Empty trash regularly

Keep rooms well-ventilated, use an air purifier, and fresh air (i.e., open windows)

Use preferred scents to mask unpleasant smells

When the above options are available, you can block unpleasant smells with a mask

There are also the three "hidden sensory systems," which include the vestibular, proprioception, and interoception systems. These are internal experiences and impact how we experience our bodies. Emergent research has begun looking at how these systems influence our sense of body awareness, time, our ability to self-regulate and manage emotions. These three hidden systems influence a great deal about how we experience our bodies in space.

Vestibular

'Vestibular' receptors are located in our inner ear and process balance and movement. This system helps us to distinguish between speed and direction of movement. Posture depends on the signals from the vestibular system.

Vestibular Under-Responder (Hyposensitive)

A vestibular under-responder receives less input from the vestibular system and seeks out additional vestibular stimulation.

Vestibular Under-Responders May:

Seek intense or prolonged vestibular stimulation, such as frequent rocking, swinging, or other kinds of intense experiences involving movement

Seek movements such as bouncing or jumping

Strategies for Vestibular Under-Responder

Rhythm, rocking, and swinging helps to self-soothe. Have equipment in the home that facilitates vestibular stimulation (rocking chairs, trampolines, swings, bouncy toys for younger children etc.)

Vestibular Over-Responder (HyperSensitive)

Someone with a hypersensitive vestibular system is overly sensitive to vestibular sensitivity and may easily feel sick or anxious when engaged in activities that involve movement.

Vestibular Over-Responder May:

Strategies for Vestibular Over-Responder:

Proprioception

Proprioception receptors are located in muscles and joints of the body and provide information about where your body is in space. Our sense of body awareness and coordination is impacted by proprioceptive input. The system helps to create smooth movement. Responsible for applying the "right" amount of pressure. You can read more about how to support proprioception differences in children here.

Proprioception Under-Responders (Proprioceptive-Seekers)

Proprioceptive under responders receive less sensation from their muscles and joints and have more difficulty knowing where their body is in space.

Proprioception Under-Responder May:

How to Support Proprioception Under-Responders

Encourage safe climbing, jumping, and physical contact games/activities

Provide ample hugs, deep pressure (back massages), physical contact, and play when desired

Giving them push/pull/lift chores--chores that require them to move objects (bringing in groceries), do yard work, and more

Consider incorporating a weighted blanket or weighted lap pad

Encourage play that incorporates movement and activities that stimulate proprioception

Proprioception Over-Responders (Proprioceptive-Avoider)

Proprioception avoiders are highly sensitive to movement and outside input. They are easily overwhelmed by touch and movement.

Proprioception Over-Responders May:

Strategies for Proprioceptor Over-Responders:

Advocate for healthy body boundaries from those around (and for parents-model healthy body boundaries and consent by asking for consent before touching/hugging)

Talking them through movement and what to expect (children)

Pressured clothing and weighted vests may help offset the distress of unexpected touch

Interoception

Receptors on our internal organs are responsible for interoception signals that provide information on our internal body and emotional states. Experiences: urge to urinate, hunger, temperature, pain, sadness, joy, anxiety.

Interoception Under-Responders (Hypo-sensitive)

Interoception under-responders experience less signals from their internal bodily states. They often lack awareness of the cues their body is giving them. They simply aren't getting enough information to process what is going on. The standard method for measuring interoception is the heart-rate detection test (under-responders struggle to accurately identify and detect their heartbeat).

Interoception Under-Responders May:

Strategies for Interoception Under-Responders:

Create accommodations to support your body (set alarms to remind yourself to eat, drink, use the bathroom, and to take sensory breaks)

Interoception Over-Responders

Interoceptive over-responders have the opposite experience-they have heightened experiences of their body signals. They may feel as if they are always thirsty, hungry, or feel they have to urinate at the slightest sense of fullness in their bladder. They also tend to have heightened pain experiences, and pain will last longer. It is common to have frequent sicknesses and ailments because the slightest sickness can cause the person to feel terrible.

Over-Responder May:

Strategies for Interoception Over-Responders:

Over-responders may experience things with so much intensity that they struggle to differentiate the different signals. Mindfulness practices, yoga, and other exercises that increase body awareness can help with differentiation struggles.

Working with an OT who is familiar with interoception differences

Engaging the vestibular system and proprioceptive system (rocking, swinging, heavy lifting tasks)

Consider your relationship to your pain. You will have heightened pain experiences that last longer. Take your pain seriously (seriously in the sense of honoring that it is real and it is not "in your head" while also reminding yourself that the pain doesn't necessarily equal danger. Work with a medical provider or therapist who can help you differentiate between "harm pain" and "normal pain" (when we become anxious about our pain, it intensifies the pain experience, so strategies that help reduce anxiety around symptoms of illness and pain will be helpful).

Summary: The 8 Senses and Sensory Systems

We covered a lot of information here today! To summarize, we have 8 primary sensory systems: five outward-facing sensory systems (touch, sound, hearing, taste, and sight) and three "hidden" sensory systems (internal): vestibular, proprioception, and interoception. The five outward-facing systems provide us with vital information about our environment and help keep us safe. The three internal systems tell us vital information about our internal world and help keep our bodies regulated, balanced, and organizing our movement.

Together these systems influence nearly every aspect of our lives. When we have sensory disabilities in any one of these systems it can lead to significant difficulties in daily living and social participation. While our sensory systems can not necessarily be "fixed," many of them can be improved through working with occupational therapists and other specialists, and we can learn strategies to better accommodate our needs.
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Have you ever been stuck in an elevator with someone with cologne or perfume and developed a headache? Do you intentionally avoid the detergent aisle in the grocery store? Or the grocery store altogether? Do fluorescent lights make your head pound? If your notice yourself cringing as you read those descriptions, I imagine you're someone who lives with sensory sensitivities. If you live with sensory disabilities understanding your eight senses and learning how to work with your eight sensory systems is vital. The more we understand our sensory systems, the better we can support ourselves and communicate our needs.

Between 5-15% of people have a sensory processing disorder, and this rate is higher among ADHDers and Autistic people ( Miller et al., 2017). As someone with sensory processing disabilities, I have firsthand experience of the disruption sensory processing issues can create. Once I was diagnosed Autistic-ADHD and began understanding my sensory profile, I could work with it for the first time. I created accommodations to support my auditory, visual and tactile sensitivities and was able to better communicate with my family and friends about my sensory needs. When I finally considered my sensory experience of the world, a new world opened up. As a Psychologist, I am frequently considering the sensory experience of my clients. Once I had this lens for understanding peoples' experiences it opened up a whole new way of understanding everyday experiences and struggles. Looking through everyday situations through a sensory lens can be deeply empowering and can unlock many new supports.

In this article, I will:

Our experiences of our bodies and environment are intimately shaped by our sensory systems. How our minds and bodies integrate sensory information plays a big role in everyday tasks. It influences our ability to self-regulate, interact with others, and accomplish basic tasks in living.

For a long time, it was believed we have five primary sensory systems (touch, smell, taste, visual, and sound). Over the past several years, there has been increasing awareness of the three "hidden" sensory systems. These three hidden sensory systems include the vestibular, proprioception, and interoception systems.

When a person has sensory processing differences, they may be hyposensitive (under-responsive) or hypersensitive (over-responsive) to sensory input. Complicating matters, a person may be hyposensitive in one sensory system and hypersensitive in another. For example, I am hypersensitive to touch, sound, and smell and hyposensitive to taste. For this reason, it can be helpful to "map your sensory profile" and become intimately aware of where your sensitivities are (identifying what your triggers are and what your sensory helpers are). Following is a description of each sensory system and examples of hyper and hyposensory processing.

The 5 Classic Senses

The five classic symptoms are the outward-facing and physical sensations of touch tactile system (touch), the auditory system (hearing), the visual system (sight), the gustatory system (taste), and the olfactory system (smell). These five senses are vital for taking in information about our external environment. These systems help keep us safe and provide necessary information about what is happening around us.

Tactile

Tactile receptors exist all over our skin and send signals to our brains letting us know when we've touched something and providing us with information about what we've touched. Our tactile receptors are responsible for our experience of touch, pressure, pain, vibration temperature, and texture. A person may be under-responsive (hypo-sensitive and sensory seeking) or over-responsive (hypersensitive and sensory avoidant).

Tactile Under-Responder (Hyposensitive)

A tactile under-responder has a dulled response to the experience of touch. They may bump into things or touch things without awareness of touching it. They may also create extra input (so they may fidget and touch things frequently to get more tactile input). They may also seek deep pressure as a form of sensory input.

Tactile Under-Responder May:

Not notice when touched

Have a good sense of pressure (may apply too much)

Enjoys roughhousing and play that involves deep pressure (wrestling, etc.)

Accidentally hurt others (unaware of pressure applied)

Seek pressure

Not notice when skin is dirty (may be prone to eat messily and be unaware food is on face)

Not aware when their nose is running

Enjoys fidgeting and touching things around them including toys and peers

Likes intense temperatures - a hot bath, hot food, chewing on ice

Strategies for Tactile Under-Responder:

Carry fidgets (like Pop It Fidget Toys) with you (quick tactile input and gives you something to fidget with)

Pressure: Consider constriction clothing (if you like pressure) or a weighted vest or weighted lap pad

Explore Textures: Explore different textures and mindfully observe their differences. For children, encourage exploration of different textures and talk about how they feel (nature is a great place to do this).

Sensory Play: For children, provide messy play opportunities using bins and sensory play (water, sensory bins, sand, and kinetic sand, leaf piles, water tables, chalk on sidewalk, etc.)

Tactile Over-Responder (Hypersensitive)

Tactile over-responders are extra sensitive to touch. They may be labeled as overly "sensitive" and "overly reactive."

Tactile Over-Responder May:

Have strong aversions to touch, clothing tags, certain fabrics, button closures

Avoid clothing with seams that contact the skin, or foods with certain textures

Not tolerate stickiness, mess, or dirt on hands

Experience difficulty touching specific textures

Appear to "over-react" when slightly touched or bumped

Be sensitive to temperature changes (and sensitive to heat and cold)

Have difficulty with grooming (hair care, nail cutting, washing)

Experience discomfort with food, facepaint, or makeup on the face

Strategies for Tactile Over-Responder:

Wear sensory-friendly clothing (find your ideal fabric and stick with it), remove tags, and find seamless socks

Consider bathing over showering, use dry shampoo to give yourself a break from hair-washing

Communicate with others about body boundaries (have a few pre-scripted boundaries you can comfortably say, such as "no thank you, I am not a hugger" or "please do not touch me, I have sensory sensitivities)

Auditory

Auditory receptors located in the inner ear identify loud, soft, high, near, and far noises. These experiences help us to process the volume, tone, pitch, and rhythm of sound.

Auditory Under-Responders

Auditory under-responders receive less input from their auditory system and seek out additional auditory stimuli.

Auditory Under-Responder May:

Strategies for Auditory Under-Responders:

May miss subtle sounds, which can make it seem as if they are not listening. For children, to get their attention, use visual supports; you may need to enter their body space and visually get their attention before providing auditory instructions (but be aware of their tactile profile as touch may startle them).

Use (or advocate for) visual supports when taking in instructions (take notes, draw diagrams, or ask for these things as an education or work accommodation)

Watch television and movies with subtitles.

Ask to audio record medical visits where there will be lots of auditory feedback and information provided, or ask your medical provider to write out the important details in your After Visit Summary.

People may often think you are ignoring them. You can self-advocate by communicating about your auditory processing differences. For children, you can be aware that if they appear not to be listening, it may be due to their auditory differences and not a sign of disrespect.

Auditory Over-Responders

Auditory over-responders are sensitive to auditory input and may be "super hearers" and can often detect sounds in their environment that others cannot. They often have adverse reactions to too many sounds or to certain frequencies of sound.

Auditory Over-Responders May:

How to Support Auditory Over-Responders:

Use of sound blockers and sound reducers

Reduce unnecessary noise pollution in the environment

Consider sound-proofing a space in the house (devices like door noise stoppers and sound absorbers can help with this)

Visual

Visual stimuli are picked up by visual receptors in the eye and provide information about color contrast, shape, form, and movement. Our visual processing system helps us to determine what to pay attention to and directs actions and movements in the world.

Visual Under-Responder (Hyposensitive)

Visual under-responders may struggle to spot subtle differences in visual elements and seek out additional visual stimuli.

Visual Under-Responders May:

Strategies for Visual Under-Responder

Visual Over-Responder (Hypersensitive)

Visual over-responders are hypersensitive to visual input and often experience physical pain (headaches/nausea) due to this.

Visual Over-Responders May:

Avoid visually overwhelming environments.

Perform poorly in functional activities that depend on visual information processing

Be sensitive to bright lights and sunlight

Seem scared of moving objects

Experience headaches or nausea after continuous visual stimulation.

Strategies for Visual Over-Responder:

Reduce visual clutter (for example, color and pattern on walls, clutter on counters, etc.)

Use dim lights and natural light when possible

Take breaks from visual input

Uses sunglasses when outside (color-tainted sunglasses can add an additional support)

Gustatory

Taste is picked up by gustatory receptors in our tongue and linked to our olfactory senses (smell). Experiences related to our gustatory system include our ability to taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy flavors. A person with gustatory sensory processing differences may be an under-responder (sensory seeker) or an over-responder (sensory avoider).

Gustatory Under-Responders (Sensory Seekers)

Gustatory under-responses are desensitized to taste and crave more stimulation by seeking out strong flavors.

Gustatory Under-Responders May:

Enjoy spicy foods and strong flavors

Become more alert & engaged after eating a strong flavor

Seek out strong and unusual flavors

Need constant stimulation (chewing gum, snacking on crunchy foods)

Crave specific textures of food (crunchy)

Chew, suck or eat inedible objects (may enjoy the taste or texture of these items)

Strategies for Gustatory Under-Responders:

Gustatory Over-responder (Sensory Avoiders)

Over-responders have a heightened sensitivity to taste. They tend to be avoidant to new flavors and have a narrow diet.

Gustatory Over-Responders May:

Experience a heightened sensitivity to food

Eats a limited range of food and has difficulty trying new foods

Be specific about temperatures of food (may eat food only near room temperature)

Avoid social situations (family mealtimes, community gatherings, public settings where there is a wide range of novel tastes and smells)

Dislike brushing teeth (the taste of toothpaste may be strong).

Become anxious at the thought of trying new foods and may have physical reactions (gagging) when attempting to try new ones

Have difficulty with mixed textures

Strategies for Gustatory Over-Responders:

Incorporate a mellow toothpaste flavor (for children, consider this brand).

Reduce stress and anxiety by keeping mealtimes calm (offer preferred food or "safe foods," create a calm eating environment, and do not coerce the child to eat new foods (this will increase stress and anxiety).

Create a list of your "safe foods," when traveling or eating in public, bring along some safe food items.

Keep your eating environment calm (eating is an intense sensory experience for you, so anything you can do to reduce sensory input from background sounds, bright lights, etc., will be helpful.

Introduce new foods outside of standard meal times. For children, create a playful routine around this; for example, you can have a "try time" period where a new food is tried (make sure this happens in a calm environment where the person is not otherwise sensory overloaded and choose a food that is similar to one of their safe foods).

Olfactory

Smell is processed through 'Olfactory' receptors located in the nose. Olfactory senses can distinguish between a range of smells. Strong memories can also be associated with smell. People with processing differences may be under-responsive or over-responsive to smell.

Olfactory Under-Responders (Sensory Seekers)

Under-responders have a dulled awareness of smell. The lack of awareness may place them in danger as they are less likely to detect toxins in their drink, foods, and environment. Increasing olfactory processing can help increase their safety.

Olfactory Under-Respondes May:

Strategies for Under-Responders (Sensory Seekers)

For under-responders, it is helpful to encourage and activate more processing of the olfactory system by incorporating intentional and intense input. The goal is to help them better identify scents (this is important to safety, food safety, identifying burned and outdated food, etc.). With intentional and intense input, olfactory pricing can be improved.

Use an essential oil diffuser and try different essential oils

Use herbs and spices when cooking (or have an herb garden)

Use scented play-dough, scented markers, or stickers (for children)

play 'Guess the Scent' with safe items like spices, coffee grounds, or tea (for children)

Olfactory Over-Responders (Sensory Avoiders)

Olfactory over-responders or "super smellers" have a heightened sensitivity to smell and can detect subtle shifts in their environment. Certain smells can induce strong physical reactions and a sense of illness.

Olfactory Over-responders May:

Have strong reaction to smells in the environment that may be unnoticed by others

Have physical responses to smells (gagging, nausea, headaches)

Refuse certain foods based on smells

Be bothered by perfume, cologne, and chemicals

Have difficulty with new places due to tolerating the smell

Respond to cleaning, bathroom or cooking smells with nausea or complaints of feeling unwell

Strategies for Olfactory Over-responders

The best strategy for over-responders is to remove smells in the environment that create an adverse reaction (bonus, as you do this, you are likely to decrease the toxic load of your household!).

Use chemical-free and fragrance-free cleaning products, body products, laundry soap, and dryer sheets

Avoid perfumes and colognes

Empty trash regularly

Keep rooms well-ventilated, use an air purifier, and fresh air (i.e., open windows)

Use preferred scents to mask unpleasant smells

When the above options are available, you can block unpleasant smells with a mask

There are also the three "hidden sensory systems," which include the vestibular, proprioception, and interoception systems. These are internal experiences and impact how we experience our bodies. Emergent research has begun looking at how these systems influence our sense of body awareness, time, our ability to self-regulate and manage emotions. These three hidden systems influence a great deal about how we experience our bodies in space.

Vestibular

'Vestibular' receptors are located in our inner ear and process balance and movement. This system helps us to distinguish between speed and direction of movement. Posture depends on the signals from the vestibular system.

Vestibular Under-Responder (Hyposensitive)

A vestibular under-responder receives less input from the vestibular system and seeks out additional vestibular stimulation.

Vestibular Under-Responders May:

Seek intense or prolonged vestibular stimulation, such as frequent rocking, swinging, or other kinds of intense experiences involving movement

Seek movements such as bouncing or jumping

Strategies for Vestibular Under-Responder

Rhythm, rocking, and swinging helps to self-soothe. Have equipment in the home that facilitates vestibular stimulation (rocking chairs, trampolines, swings, bouncy toys for younger children etc.)

Vestibular Over-Responder (HyperSensitive)

Someone with a hypersensitive vestibular system is overly sensitive to vestibular sensitivity and may easily feel sick or anxious when engaged in activities that involve movement.

Vestibular Over-Responder May:

Strategies for Vestibular Over-Responder:

Proprioception

Proprioception receptors are located in muscles and joints of the body and provide information about where your body is in space. Our sense of body awareness and coordination is impacted by proprioceptive input. The system helps to create smooth movement. Responsible for applying the "right" amount of pressure. You can read more about how to support proprioception differences in children here.

Proprioception Under-Responders (Proprioceptive-Seekers)

Proprioceptive under responders receive less sensation from their muscles and joints and have more difficulty knowing where their body is in space.

Proprioception Under-Responder May:

How to Support Proprioception Under-Responders

Encourage safe climbing, jumping, and physical contact games/activities

Provide ample hugs, deep pressure (back massages), physical contact, and play when desired

Giving them push/pull/lift chores--chores that require them to move objects (bringing in groceries), do yard work, and more

Consider incorporating a weighted blanket or weighted lap pad

Encourage play that incorporates movement and activities that stimulate proprioception

Proprioception Over-Responders (Proprioceptive-Avoider)

Proprioception avoiders are highly sensitive to movement and outside input. They are easily overwhelmed by touch and movement.

Proprioception Over-Responders May:

Strategies for Proprioceptor Over-Responders:

Advocate for healthy body boundaries from those around (and for parents-model healthy body boundaries and consent by asking for consent before touching/hugging)

Talking them through movement and what to expect (children)

Pressured clothing and weighted vests may help offset the distress of unexpected touch

Interoception

Receptors on our internal organs are responsible for interoception signals that provide information on our internal body and emotional states. Experiences: urge to urinate, hunger, temperature, pain, sadness, joy, anxiety.

Interoception Under-Responders (Hypo-sensitive)

Interoception under-responders experience less signals from their internal bodily states. They often lack awareness of the cues their body is giving them. They simply aren't getting enough information to process what is going on. The standard method for measuring interoception is the heart-rate detection test (under-responders struggle to accurately identify and detect their heartbeat).

Interoception Under-Responders May:

Strategies for Interoception Under-Responders:

Create accommodations to support your body (set alarms to remind yourself to eat, drink, use the bathroom, and to take sensory breaks)

Interoception Over-Responders

Interoceptive over-responders have the opposite experience-they have heightened experiences of their body signals. They may feel as if they are always thirsty, hungry, or feel they have to urinate at the slightest sense of fullness in their bladder. They also tend to have heightened pain experiences, and pain will last longer. It is common to have frequent sicknesses and ailments because the slightest sickness can cause the person to feel terrible.

Over-Responder May:

Strategies for Interoception Over-Responders:

Over-responders may experience things with so much intensity that they struggle to differentiate the different signals. Mindfulness practices, yoga, and other exercises that increase body awareness can help with differentiation struggles.

Working with an OT who is familiar with interoception differences

Engaging the vestibular system and proprioceptive system (rocking, swinging, heavy lifting tasks)

Consider your relationship to your pain. You will have heightened pain experiences that last longer. Take your pain seriously (seriously in the sense of honoring that it is real and it is not "in your head" while also reminding yourself that the pain doesn't necessarily equal danger. Work with a medical provider or therapist who can help you differentiate between "harm pain" and "normal pain" (when we become anxious about our pain, it intensifies the pain experience, so strategies that help reduce anxiety around symptoms of illness and pain will be helpful).

Summary: The 8 Senses and Sensory Systems

We covered a lot of information here today! To summarize, we have 8 primary sensory systems: five outward-facing sensory systems (touch, sound, hearing, taste, and sight) and three "hidden" sensory systems (internal): vestibular, proprioception, and interoception. The five outward-facing systems provide us with vital information about our environment and help keep us safe. The three internal systems tell us vital information about our internal world and help keep our bodies regulated, balanced, and organizing our movement.

Together these systems influence nearly every aspect of our lives. When we have sensory disabilities in any one of these systems it can lead to significant difficulties in daily living and social participation. While our sensory systems can not necessarily be "fixed," many of them can be improved through working with occupational therapists and other specialists, and we can learn strategies to better accommodate our needs.
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