Question for special ed teachers

[azdisneymom]

If you are a teacher who works with elementary age children who are on the Austim spectrum then this question is for you. What sensory integration activities have you incorporated in your classroom? Just looking for a few fresh ideas. Thanks!

[Rekenna]

I would be very interested to know as well, thanks!

[BrerGnat]

I'm not a teacher, but my son is in K and he's in a special ed classroom with many autistic classmates (he has autism as well).

Some of the activities/aides that his teacher works into the day include:

1. Daily trip to the "sand park". Sand is VERY therapeutic for most autistic kids. It's a great sensory activity. The playground at the school is on asphalt, but there is a neighborhood park with sand about 100 yards from the school, so she takes the kids on a "field trip" there every morning.

2. Wikki Stix are a favorite activity as well. Good for fine motor skills and good sensory.

3. Legos. She has a HUGE box of legos of all sizes. Block play is a big hit when kids get overstimulated and need a calming activity.

4. Jumping and spinning "games". Lots of ASD kids like to jump and/or spin. Jumping while counting or spelling sight words is good. Playing "duck duck goose" is good for those kids who like to run in circles.

5. She has weighted lap pads that some kids use to help keep them focused during independent work or stuff like group story time. My son uses this daily. He tends to get the "wiggles" when he has to sit still for a long time.

[teambricker04]

I also am not a teacher but a parent of a DS with an ASD. He needs a lot of deep pressure activities. Some of our most successful activities are:

* Playdoh
* Dry Pinto beans in a big container. DS can stand in them, pour them over his legs, bury stuff and dig it up and it is cleaner than sand (we do it in the house).
*Ring around the rosey (He doesn't understand duck duck goose yet).
* We jump on the bed for 20 minutes a day (for real)... my bed, not his or he would always be jumping on the bed.
* He has his own "quiet time" tent in his room fully equipt with sensory and tactile things he likes and his own lambswool rug.
*A big ball that he can sit and bounce on (while he sings row row row your boat SLOWLY to slow his body down)

We still have our challenges, but these things seem to work for him and help him regulate himself.

I would love to hear some new ideas of things to do!