- Ordered on working days before 23.00, shipped the same day
- Customer satisfaction of 9.2/10
The start of a school year literally means a new but also exciting start for sensitive children. Often there is a new teacher, new children or even a new school. Expectations have been cultivated again and hopefully you as a parent will succeed in setting up a pleasant cooperation with all those involved in the interest of your child.
Not only the new teacher, but also the school environment can cause stress and tension. After all, stimulus-sensitive children have to contend with the most stimulating environment in the world! Because let’s face it, that swarming when the school bell rings and the students thunder into the school, it gives a lot of stimuli and therefore unrest. And what about the mass of students who come together in the auditorium during the stayover.
Have you ever experienced it? It is therefore not surprising that going back to school can cause stress or tension in many children, especially stimulus-sensitive children.
But the start of the school year does not have to be negative. On the contrary, together with the teacher and your child, you can work to better arm your child and learn to grow in dealing with various stimuli as well as de-stimulating in between.
Discuss with the teacher which simple calming activities can be used. Simple interventions and tools that take into account your child’s stimulus processing problems . Tips for the teacher to help your stimulus-sensitive child get through the school day well.
A quiet space where your child can retreat for a while if he needs a break because of imminent overstimulation is a nice way for children to de-stimulate.
A quiet space can be a corner, furnished with a beanbag and nice cushions or a tent. A quiet space is a great way to limit auditory, visual, and other input from your child so they can settle down.
In that space you can put a weighted cuddly toy , which they can take on their lap. Weighting helps a child calm down. In this room you can also help a child to relax through scent. Consider, for example, the positive effect of aromatherapy. [read more about aromatheraputty]
Have the teacher make agreements in advance about the use of the space with your child. A small signal or gesture is desirable so that the teacher knows that your child needs some ‘me-time’. Chewigem’s emotion bracelets are also highly recommended. One side is red, indicating that a child is unable to talk for a while and therefore needs some me-time. The green side indicates, I can talk again, I have calmed down.
Offering tactile input is easy. Fill a large container (preferably a nice large transparent container that is not too deep with sensory material. Think of play sand, Playfoam, water beads or dry rice (possibly colored with dye) and let children fidget in it with their hands. Add some toys, you can make a theme box and adapt it to the theme. Wonderful sensory material in which children can process stimuli.
Applying deep pressure to the body with a weighted blanket or weighted cuddly toy also provides calming tactile input to children who are at risk of becoming overstimulated at school. [Read more about deep pressure]. But a Senseez vibrating cushion can also help children as a calming aid due to the gentle vibration.
The oral system can provide rest and self-regulation for many stimulus-sensitive children. Chewing on appropriate materials can provide soothing oral but also proprioceptive input. Offer children something that they have to chew on a lot, such as crackers, nuts, carrots.
But what can also work is to do a lot with the mouth area. For example, drinking a thicker liquid (yogurt) through a straw, but also blowing through a straw the other way around. Think of making a beautiful (water) paint drawing by moving the paint by blowing. Or trying to blow a soft ball over a line.
But you can also use special chewing jewelry to provide oral sensory input. The Chewigem collection has a wide range. For pencil-chewing children, the pencil covers are a safe alternative.
Read more tips for children with chewing needs here.
One of the quickest ways to help children who are overwhelmed by sound stimuli is to make the environment quiet. So, use a calm voice to get a child’s attention.
In a classroom you can work with a sound meter and draw children’s attention to this.
Hearing protection is also often used for stimulus-sensitive children to dampen the sound. However, if a child uses this a lot, it can become more sensitive to sound. It is important that children remain exposed to noise.
What is also a good option is to use an MP3 player while working independently in the classroom. Use classical music or nature or ambient sounds on it. And the regular noises in the classroom (such as sliding chairs, falling pencils, walking children) are drowned out.
Read more about auditory stimulus processing here.
Some children with stimulus processing problems are overwhelmed by visual input. The movement of children, the bright light, the many posters and diagrams on the walls in a school setting can just be too much. There is usually enough natural light coming through the windows during the day so that the children can see. Then it is nice if the light can be dimmed a bit to reduce visual stimulation.
It’s also important to limit other visual distractions in the learning environment for children who are easily visually overstimulated. Make sure your classroom is tidy. Do not leave supplies and materials on tables unnecessarily, but have them cleaned up. Also think carefully as a teacher about what to hang or not to hang. Only the most important thing. Or choose 1 wall with a lot of hanging and make sure that the stimulus-sensitive students sit with their backs to that wall.
Calming activities that can be used during the lesson are playing with sensory tubes (filled with water and glitter or with water and water beads or you name it), but also looking through a kaleidoscope or lava lamp or fun sand or visual hourglass can help a child relax.
Many children with stimulus processing problems benefit from proprioceptive input in the form of heavy work. Heavy work means moving the body against heavy resistance. This provides stimulation for the muscles and joints so that the body can calm down.
Heavy work activities are very suitable calming activities: playing with play dough, pushing with the feet against elastic (which is attached to the chair legs), or other stretching exercises with the snuggle huggle. But also think of moving furniture, lugging books or blocks.
Chewing against resistance is another great way to provide calming input to the proprioceptive system.
Read more about the vestibular system here
Many children find repetitive and rhythmic vestibular input, such as rocking, very nice to relax. These kinds of sensory calming activities can help when your child is overstimulated. So add a rocking chair or balance board in the space.
But also letting it roll back and forth slowly, lying on a large gym ball can have a calming effect.
Fine motor-visual tasks that are repetitive can also have a calming effect on your child. Consider the following options:
Share this post on social media
