Lesson 3: How can sensory be used as a behavior management tool?
Objective
Learners will generate a list of at least three types of sensory activities that can be useful in the classroom as a behavior management tool, along with correctly identifying the motor skill that students must use.
Scenario 2
Mrs. Johnson is ending the day with allowing students to have some sustained silent reading time. One of her students, Billy, has taken his book out of his desk, but is not following directions and instead of reading to himself, he is trying to talk to his friends in the next group over, is constantly tapping on his desk and throwing wads of paper to try and get their attention. How can Mrs. Johnson possibly use sensory integration to manage Billy's behavior and get him to focus on his reading?
Introduction
Incorporating sensory integration into a classroom is not only beneficial to various ways of instruction and learning, but it can also be highly beneficial to curbing various problem behaviors as well. Many times these poor behaviors can be attributed to symptoms of a child's disability (such as hyperactivity stemming from ADHD), a child may be over or under-stimulated due to a sensory-processing disorder, or a student may simply choose to act out in specific contexts. As an educator it is important to be aware of the surroundings in the classroom, and try to curb the bad behaviors or sensory-processing problems before they start. Not only that, but it is also important to have various sensory options for children (and to make them aware and encourage) to begin to choose on their own to avoid these problem behaviors. Some children exhibit these bad behaviors and high activity level so much that it not only prevents them from completing their own work, but that it is also distracting to the performance of peers. These students often appear to be driven by a motor, unable to hit the brakes when necessary (Carbone, 2001). This is where sensory integration can come into play.
The following are just a few possible suggestions of how to use sensory exercises and activities as a behavior management strategy:
- Incorporating movement into classroom life, either as part of a learning activity, or as a means of giving students a break between lessons
- Seating the child with problem behaviors in close proximity to the token-chart area to increase the likelihood of self-monitoring
- Designate a "quiet corner" of the room, possibly cornered off from anything visually distracting, perhaps with plush chairs and pillows to provide the child a safe, comfortable place in which to focus (Carbone).
- Incorporate small, interactive centers requiring fine muscle control (computers, art stations, etc) that could help a child focus their attention elsewhere (this could also be something they work toward in their token-chart to earn)
When applying some of these activities as a behavior management strategy, it is important to also have the background knowledge of what gross motor skills, fine motor skills, or visual perceptual skills are required to achieve these tasks. Some sensory exercises can often be a challenge for some students in both general and special education because they may still be developing some of these basic skills. Keeping this in mind, here is a brief description of the difference between gross motor, fine motor, and visual perceptual skills:
Gross motor skills
Gross motor skills involve large muscle movements for activities such as walking, climbing, running, jumping, swimming, ball skills, bike riding, and pumping a swing. Balance, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, postural strength, motor planning, and sensory processing are foundational building blocks for active play.
Fine motor skills
Fine motor skills involve small muscle movements of the hands for activities such as picking up cereal, holding a pencil or a crayon, stringing beads, picking up small toys, and tying shoes. Many fine motor tasks require foundational building blocks of strength, in-hand manipulation skills, and appropriate grasp patterns.
Visual Perceptual Skills
Visual perceptual skills are needed to understand or give meaning to what we see. We use visual perceptual skills to perform everyday activities such as putting puzzles together, finding objects in a toy chest or junk drawers, deciphering worksheets, copying from the board, art, reading, writing, and math (Kidventures 2009).
Whew! That was a lot of information...make sure you're jotting down notes in your reference guide! This will certainly help you recall these important facts about using sensory for behavior management in your own classroom!
Investigation
Watch: A very informative video on the use of Applied Behavior Analysis to help with behavior management through various sensory techniques. Behavior Management using Applied Behavior Analysis
Read: Here is a quick read on curbing behaviors with the use of sensory. One great example they give here is using a visual token board to have a student earn their sensory toy or activity. Check it out!
Application
After reading the above information, links, and watching the video, it's time to show off what you've learned! Using the discussion page for this lesson, please list three sensory integrated exercises and/or activities you could have a student do that is expressing problem-behaviors. Along with those three activities, please list the skill that is used to perform the activity (fine motor, gross motor, or visual perceptual skill).
Reflection
I want you to take this time to reflect in your reference guide on a time when you were teaching that you really could have used sensory in your way of managing the behavior of a student. Reflect (in just a few sentences) on specifically what the behavior was that was challenging, and then how you would incorporate some sort of sensory activity mentioned above in order to curb or prevent that same problem behavior in the future. This is simply your time for your own personal reflection on what you've learned so far, this will obviously not be graded, but will serve to help you better understand the importance of sensory in your classroom.
Once you are finished posting to the discussion space on this lesson and reflecting in your reference guide, let's move on to Lesson 4: How would you handle specific behavior situations with the use of sensory?
References
Carbone, E. (2001). Arranging the classroom with an eye (and ear) to students with ADHD. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(2), 72-80.
Graphic of boy with headphones. n.d. [File:Images-10.jpg]. Image courtesy of littlemisskindergarten.blogspot.com
Graphic of notepad and pencil. n.d. [File: Images-8.jpg]. Image courtesy of blog.roodoo.com
Kidventures Therapy Services. (2009). Occupational therapy. Retrieved from http://kidventurestherapy.com/services-specialties/occupational-therapy/
Maxpokids. (2008, September 30). Behavior management using applied behavior analysis [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLAbiNZeQfc