Maximizing students' potential to learning by providing sensory experiences as an integrated part of the classroom and curriculum.

2. "OT and Teachers: The Sensory
Approach to maximizing students’
potential”
1. Role of Occupational Therapists in the school
setting.
2. Creating Sensory Smart Classrooms
3. How to recognize children that would benefit from
OT
4. Helping Children that can’t sit still
5. Favorite products that can be used in a classroom
setting
6. Resources

3. Role of Occupational Therapists in
the school setting
1. Help children meet goals of curriculum
2. Help children become more independent in
school related tasks
3. Help children participate in specials, sports
etc..
4. Work on fine motor skills and functional
independence skills
5. Implement recommendations from other
therapists and professional involved with this
child

4. How do OTs meet these goals
• Affecting the ENVIRONMENT: General
classroom recommendations, curriculum
recommendations (consulting)
• Affecting the INDIVIDUAL: Individually by
addressing one-on-one a child’s
challenges (direct OT services)

5. Creating Sensory Smart
Classrooms
(Environmental Modifications)
• Goal is to create an environment that takes
into consideration the sensory needs of all
children. Try to find ideas that will benefit all
children.
• Sensory children have difficulty organizing
their bodies from the inside out. Our goal is to
try as much as possible to create a
classroom that helps them find balance from
the outside in.

6. Classroom Organization:
1. Set up your classroom in stations and make sure
you have a quiet area where kids can calm and
regroup if needed when class get too loud.
2. Make sure the quiet area has lots of book, heavy
blankets, pillows. Bean bags, earphones.
3. Provide fidget toys such as tactile balls, “stress”
balls.
4. Use visual schedules at the beginning of class that
“maps” out the children’s day. This helps kids
transition more easily from one activity to the next
and can keep them more organized.

7. Classroom Activities:
1. Use songs to help children transition such as “Clean up…clean up…” or flick lights
2. Make sure your schedule allows for movement breaks as well as table-top
activities. Brain Breaks are great.
3. During circle time. Keep the children that have a harder time keeping still next to
you or make sure you give them something to hold like a puppet. Or give them a
fidget toy to hold on to or even a weighted lap pad.
4. Try to plan activities that incorporate as many sensory components as possible. Ex:
finger paint on textured surfaces.
5. You can begin all table-top activities with a little “chair exercise” program that allows
all the children to get their state of arousal at the same level. Ex: prior to
commencing a handwriting task. Sing a song with the children that wakes up the
arms, legs, stretches etc…
6. Consider having a “treasure box” with a variety of sensory toys. You can send a
child to pick a sensory toy that helps them calm and become centered/organized.
Ex: Put stress balls, fidget toys, body brush, lotion, etc…
7. Make a “bean bag snake” using a sock and dried beans. The over-aroused child
can put it on his shoulders or lap to help calm during circle time or at table-top.
8. Outdoor activities are an all around wonderful sensory experience.

8. Sensory Smart Classrooms
Sensory/Arousal:
1. For children who need to calm, use deep pressure such as pressure with
your hands to his/her shoulders
2. Another great way to calm is to give a child heavy resistive work to do ex:
carry heave books to the table, push/pull heavy cart.
3. For children who need increased arousal, have them do a few jumping
jacks, wall push ups etc… or use light touch from your finger tips or a feather
to awaken their senses.
4. For children who touch other peers during circle time, consider sitting them
against a wall or bookshelf for extra grounding and trunk support, give them
a fidget toy to hold
5. Touching others can be an indication that the child needs tactile input to his
hands. You can brush the child’s hands, have him play with playdoh/other
resistive mediums, play hand clapping games, crawling or wheelbarrow
walking,
6. For a child who has difficulty transitioning from one activity to the next, allow
him/her to hold on to an object that they like (aka. A transitioning object)
This helps them “keep it together” during the transition. You can also assign
a task to the child such as “helper” (ex: he holds the cards you will be using
and brings them to circle time)

9. 4-Favorite products that can be
used in a classroom setting
• Weighted Items:

10. Favorite products that can be used
in a classroom setting
• Wedges and discs:

11. Favorite products that can be used
in a classroom setting
• Fidget toys:

12. Favorite products that can be used
in a classroom setting
• Visual Schedules:

13. Favorite products that can be used
in a classroom setting
• Brain Breaks:

14. Calming Corner

15. How do OTs meet these goals
• Affecting the ENVIRONMENT: General
classroom recommendations, curriculum
recommendations (consulting)
• Affecting the INDIVIDUAL: Individually by
addressing one-on-one a child’s
challenges (direct OT services)

16. How to recognize children that would
benefit from OT
I. SELF HELP SKILLS: The student's ability to manage personal
needs within the educational environment.
II. POSTURE/FUNCTIONAL MOBILITY: The student's ability to
perform basic developmental motor skills, posture, and balance
needed to function in and move throughout the educational
environment.
III. FINE MOTOR/PERCEPTUAL SKILLS: The student's ability to
manipulate and manage materials within the educational
environment.
IV. SENSORY PROCESSING: The student's ability to process relevant
sensory information and screen out irrelevant sensory information
for effective participation within the educational environment.

17. 3-Helping Children that can’t sit still
• Children with sensory processing disorders
have a tendency toward two major problems
regarding sitting:
1- Lack of focus
2- Inability to sit or stand for a long period of
time.
Their brain tends to "under register" movement,
and without that ability, they can't focus. Their
brains are telling their bodies to get up and
move to help them listen and attend
BETTER!

18. Successful strategies
• Provide as much support as possible while sitting
so the body feels secure. This includes: Feet flat
on the floor or footrest, Good back and hips and
knees at 90-degree angles.
• Allowing as much movement as possible without
disrupting others while sitting. This includes:
allowing small movement opportunities with the
hands, using fidgets, or with the mouth, using gum
or "chewys." Move and sit seat wedges or ball
chairs.

19. Movement is key
• Movement is what helps the brain develop
from infancy. Movement is stimulation that
the brain craves. Have plenty of movement
opportunities available for the children.
• Remember, kids in motion, aren't commotion!
CHILDREN LEARN BEST FROM
MOVEMENT AND WE HAVE FORGOTTEN
THIS IN OUR CLASSROOMS!

20. Nancy Amar OTR/L
cell: 786-384-0221
email: MissMancy@gmail.com
www.MissMancy.com