How to stop hitting and biting A common question that arises within sensory OT is how to help children with dyspraxia. Dyspraxia is a term used to describe the difficulty children and adults [...]
Support regulation with a sensory room You have been given the task of creating a sensory room or space in your school. It’s an exciting opportunity and you want to get it right. [...]
Support attention with sensory circuits Sensory circuits have evolved from sensory diets. They are like a gym circuit, but using sensory based activities to support a child’s readiness to learn. You can easily [...]
Behaviour or communication? When I speak about sensory differences, one question that always pops up is whether the behaviours are sensory needs or not. In this article I would like to explore classroom [...]
Reflections from a specialist provision Becky is a teacher who works in an autism specialist provision for autistic children in the UK. A specialist provision is a school which supports children whose learning [...]
Monitoring our progress I'm really excited to be able to share the preliminary review of our online course Sensory Processing with GriffinOT. I was able to present these results at the Royal College of [...]
Teaching interoceptive awareness Interoceptive awareness is the ability to notice the sensory information that the brain receives internally from the body. These messages come from the interoceptive receptors in our body. I explain [...]
Sensory strategies are a tool In the sensory world, there are lot of different terms and phrases. It can quickly get confusing, even for trained therapists! The terms also change over time. In [...]
Processing internal sensations Interoception refers to the internal sensory messages that the brain receives from the body. These sensory messages come from our organs and internal receptors. They let our brain know about [...]
A tale of two touch pathways The terms touch pressure or deep touch pressure are used by therapists to refer to firmer touch. Therapressure brushes or surgical brushes are one way to provide [...]
Navigating through diagnosis How it feels when your child receives a diagnosis can take you by surprise. It can be a very confusing and overwhelming time. During this time there is no right [...]
A personal story - Tina and Kelly It was not until her daughter Kelly started school, that Tina noticed there was something quite different about the way she interacted with others. Kelly had [...]
Sensory overloaded = too much information Sensory overload is a term which describes the experience an individual with sensory differences may have when they receive too much sensory information. The brain is unable [...]
Sensory diets to support arousal Sensory diets are a structured list of sensory strategies which an individual can use throughout the day to help to support their arousal, attention and focus. They are [...]
Arousal is all about alertness Arousal at its simplest is how awake or alert or how tired you are. It supports attention and focus. There are a number of things which impact an [...]
Lisa's story - Supporting Sensory at School Sensory differences are thought to occur in between 5-16% of the population. This means up to four students in a mainstream classroom may experience sensory differences. [...]