Action
Research Report
Abstract:
To be
completed when results for project are final.
Title:
Sensory
Integration
Author:
Kristopher
Shustella, Bullard High School
Introduction:
During
my career at Bullard High School, I have worked exclusively in the
Special Education department. Through my work in this department, I
have noticed that students that suffer from sensory processing
disorders have a hard time staying in the mainstream classroom
setting due to behavior or environmental setbacks. The same is true
of the students that carry an Emotional/Behavior (EBD) diagnosis. For
most of these students, they are reported as behavior problems and
usually sent back to the Special Education classroom. I began to
notice that these behaviors seemed to look more like sensory
deprivation.
Sensory deprivation results when students are
deprived
of usual external stimuli and the opportunity for perception ("The
free dictionary"). This is shown most with students that suffer
from autism or other sensory processing disorders. This deprivation
takes place when a student's basic sensory needs are not being met.
Students then, in turn, respond is a variety of ways. Sometimes it
could be a complete shut down of any interaction, or is could be a
behavior outburst. Our students frequently have aversions to regular
events in the day that most students would not notice. When one of
these aversion responses take place, all learning stops. If response
is elevated, learning stops for multiple learners. This is where
Sensory
Integrated Therapy(SI)
comes into the picture. The goal of SI therapy is not to teach
specific skills or behaviors, but to remediate deficits in neurologic
processing and integration of sensory information to allow the child
to interact with the environment in a more adaptive fashion (Meyers,
MD, 2007). These sensory needs are different for every student.
This is why establishing a sensory diet as a part of the student’s
schedule is vital for success. This sensory diet will include many
different approaches. Some students may need vestibular stimulation
by swinging or spinning to help develop speech. Some may need time in
the multi-sensory room to allow them to calm down after a difficult
time on the school bus. Because students' sensory needs are so
diverse, all of these plans must be individualized to address the
specific impairment. This integration of sensory approaches will lead
to sensory satisfied students that are ready to learn. We must have
certain resources in place in order to meet these needs. There is a
great need for this complete multi-sensory classroom environment.
In
order to implement these effective strategies, we must first have the
tools to do so. This will require some changes to the classroom. When
working with a student with sensory aversions, especially those with
autism, one must be very aware of the learning environment. Things
like lighting and space are very crucial to these students. Some
autistic students are bothered by fluorescent lights because they can
see the flicker of the 60-cycle electricity. Other students need to
have the learning environment moved outside because they tend to feel
confined later in the day. Establishing a multi-sensory room is
crucial for helping students calm down after extreme depravation
episodes. All of these things are important when considering the need
for this project.
While
we have known the importance of sensory integration for some time,
most schools do not immerse the students in a complete multi-sensory
environment. Our goal is to fully expose these students to a broad
range of approaches that meet all sensory needs. This type of sensory
integration will place us on the cutting edge for educating students
with sensory handicaps.
My
goal in this project is meeting students' needs on a sensory level in
order that student success to take place. My big dream for this
research is applying this to all students, not just those with
disabilities.
Literature:
Sensory
Integration is a theory developed more than 20 years ago by A. Jean
Ayres, an occupational therapist with advanced training in
neuroscience and educational psychology (Bundy & Murray, 2002).
Ayres (1972) defines sensory integration as "the neurological
process that organizes sensation from one's own body and from the
environment and makes it possible to use the body effectively within
the environment." While we know very little about the cause of
autism and other sensory processing disorders, we do know sensory
depravation hinders their capacity to grow. Sensory deprivation
studies (Doman, 1984) show that sudden and nearly complete
deprivation of stimulation through the five senses can lead to
autistic-like behaviors (withdrawal, stereotyped movements, etc.),
but these problems are reversible with proper stimulation. This
approach seems foreign to most educators, but it must become a part
of the way that we reach these students (Kaylyn
Smialek, 2013). The
goal of SI therapy is not to teach specific skills or behaviors, but
to remediate deficits in neurologic processing and integration of
sensory information to allow the child to interact with the
environment in a more adaptive fashion (Meyers, MD, 2007).
Subjects:
My
target population for this study will be the students within my
self-contained Special Education classroom at the high school.
Although this is a very limited study in relation to the overall
goal, it will grant me a framework of how to implement these
solutions campus wide and eventually throughout the district.
Procedures:
My
approach to sensory depravation is to set up a learning environment
to meet the sensory needs of students the entire day. In order for
this to be successful, I applied and received a large grant to
transform my classroom into full integrated sensory environment. We
changed the lighting from florescent to LED, added a multi-sensory
room, and indoor and outdoor swings. We also added a vestibular
spinning board and a variety of other tools to help meet students'
needs. The largest approach to this research is simply the change in
mindset. Sensory integration starts from the moment the student
arrives at school. It may be something as simple as riding a bike for
30 minutes or walking around the campus. So, we alternate learning
and sensory integration throughout the entire day. This approach is
called a sensory diet. It is a part of the student's daily
structure, and is no different than the core subjects that the
student engages in daily.
The
biggest piece to this puzzle will be in the willingness of the high
school faculty. Will they join with me in testing this approach in
their mainstream classrooms?
Data
Collection:
My
data will be collected in a variety of ways. The first will be daily
assessments of how the student is responding to the stimuli and how
he then transitions back into regular academia. The second will be in
behavior. Are the student's depravation episodes slowing? Is the
student adjusting to change? These observations will take some time
to gather enough data to draw any conclusions to the approach. This
data will be tracked daily, weekly, and every six weeks according to
the students IEP progress report.
Findings:
My
initial findings are positive. From the moment that we began this
approach in the self contained classroom, we have seen clear changes
in the behavior and adaptation of the students. The really amazing
thing about this environmental approach has been the positive
outcomes academically. We have seen large growth in students'
reading, math and other functional objectives. During the 2012-2013
school year, the number of IEP goals that were met is unprecedented.
But, because of the confidential nature of the findings, the details
of the research cannot be shared outside of the ARD committee.
Conclusions:
This
project has changed my entire approach to education. The success that
we have seen firsthand because we are intentionally meeting sensory
needs is amazing. My hope is that this continued research will lead
to attempting these types of approaches outside of the Special
Education department and that it will be implemented district wide.
We are already in the process of writing the sensory diet as a part
of the students' IEP and planning staff development in order to train
teachers in ways to implement sensory integration. I am excited about
the future of this project.
References:
Meyers,
MD, S. (2007). Management of children with autism spectrum disorders.
American
Academy of Pediatrics,
Volume
120(Number
5), 1162.
Doman,
R.J. (1984) Sensory
Deprivation, NACD
Kaylyn
Smialek. (2013, Marcy 27). [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://www.childdevelopmentclub.org/index.php/blog/blog-posts/170-the-impact-of-sensory-integration-in-the-classroom
Ayres,
A. J. (1972). Sensory integration and learning disorders. Los
Angeles: Western Psychological Services. Ayres, A. J. ( 1989).
Sensory integration and praxis tests. Los Angeles: Western
Psychological Services.
Bundy,
A. C., Lane, S. J., & Murray, E. A. (2002) Sensory integration:
Theory and practice. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
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