Independent Sensory Exploration in Standing for Children with Significant Disabilities

Check this video out. I love how they are able to explore the objects by themselves. I do not love the price tag though!

Holiday Soft Tee Giveaway!

We are sponsoring a holiday Soft® Tee giveaway of 5 seamless, tagless, soft cotton tees! Created by a Mom and special educator, Soft® is the first line of inclusive clothing designed with the needs of all children in mind, including those with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, and tactile defensiveness. They use flat seaming and seamless construction for extra comfort, 100% of the softest combed cotton and specially developed Soft Sensory Blends , wide collars, encased elastic waistbands, printed labels (tagless), custom fits, and much more. Their goal is to design clothing that can enhance social skills, sensory organization, concentration, by addressing unique sensory needs, but without sacrificing personal style and self expression. Read more on the company's mission. For more info on their products, sign up for the Soft email newsletter.


Here is how the contest will work. Soft® is offering 5 FREE seamless (flat seaming), tagless, soft cotton tees in any color/size of the winners choice. Look closer at the t-shirts and sizing.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment below on this blog post.

We will pick 5 winners on 12/6/09. Please check back on 12/7/09 to see if you won. If you do win, you will need to send us your mailing address before 12/09/09 to receive the t-shirt before the holidays. Soft will ship the t-shirt to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Remember, just leave a comment below to enter to win a FREE tagless, seamless, soft cotton tee in any color/size. How easy is that!

Physical Education and Section 504 or IEP's

There was an interesting news story this week in the Philideplphia Inquirer. A sixth grade boy with diabetes and his parents are requesting daily physical education under Section 504. The parents say that the daily exercise of physical education have helped their son "to maintain his health and alertness" to participate in school. The school has turned down daily physical education and offered other suggestions to increase daily physical activity for the student. This issue is going to a due process hearing.

Please take a minute to vote on this issue at the poll on the right hand side of this blog. Should physical education be mandated on a Section 504 or IEP for a student with a disability?

If a similar issue has occurred in your district please comment below.

Need some ideas in your district to encourage movement and diabetes prevention? Download this free guide from the National Diabetes Education Program.

Playful Pennants - $0.99 Sale!

Get our newest download, Playful Pennants, to encourage fine motor, visual motor and gross motor skills for only $0.99. Here is a sample idea from the download:

Multisensory Lessons - Math

This is the second in a series of posts on creating multisensory lessons in the classroom or home. Go to Simple Multisensory Lessons - Spelling to read the first post. By incorporating various sensory pathways in learning you can help all students especially kinesthetic learners.

Here are several ideas for math lessons:

1. Clapping: When counting, clap hands. Count by 2's, 5's, 10's and clap at each number. Clap at chest level or overhead.

2. Ball Math: Throw a beach ball to a student. Call out a math problem. The child solves the problem out loud then creates a new problem for a different child. The child throws the beach ball to the next kid to solve the problem. C

3. Ball Math #2: Beach balls are very cheap at the end of the summer. Use a permanent marker and write math problems all over the ball. Maybe do all of one family of problems (i.e. all 9 addition problems). Throw the ball to the child. Whatever problem the child has their thumb on must be solved.

4. March around room while doing math facts.

5. Write large numbers outdoors with sidewalk chalk. Create math problems and children run to the correct answer. Try running to only even numbers, odd numbers, multiples of 2, etc.

6. Manipulatives - this one is quite obvious but use manipulatives to give meaning to math and they frequently encourage fine motor skills.

7. Clothes Pin Line - children can hang math problems in numerical order. See video below.


8. Jump Rope: Jump rope while counting or doing math problems.

9. Large Number Line: Draw a large number line with sidewalk chalk outdoors to learn about positive and negative numbers.

10. Movement and Math activities for the whole class

Any one else want to add to the list?

Simple Multisensory Lessons - Spelling

This will be the first post of a series on simple multisensory lessons. Traditionally, a classroom lesson is delivered as verbal or written material. The student relies on auditory and/ or visual input to understand the concepts. The student is expected to sit for extended periods of time and remain on task. For many of the students who receive related services, this can be a frustrating method of comprehending academic material. If a student exhibits deficits in auditory or visual input, failure may ensue. On the other hand, if a teacher uses a multi-sensory approach to teaching material this student may succeed. A multi-sensory lesson allows for a student to learn using the various senses of the body instead of just auditory or visual. School based therapists can play a large role in helping teachers to incorporate additional sensory input such as tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular and motor skills when presenting academic material.

Occupational and physical therapists have a strong understanding of the large role that sensory input and sensory output plays in a students life. By offering that expertise to teachers when planning lessons, all students receive the benefits of multi-sensory learning. In addition, the students who receive related services will be able to experience improved carry over of therapeutic interventions.

By employing multi-sensory strategies in the classroom, information is delivered to the brain from several sensory systems. This spreads the load on the brain over several systems which may result in improved memory. Students can improve problem solving skills and retain more information by touching, feeling and moving to learn new concept When physical activity is included in the lesson plan, students are able to release energy, reduce stress, increase level of alertness and practice motor and coordination skills.

For elementary school children spelling is an integral part of the curriculum. Here are 5 simple multisensory lessons to practice spelling:

1. Spell the words in the air using different body parts - hands, elbows and feet.

2. Use magnetic letters to spell the words out.

3. Write the spelling words on a partners back. Can the person guess what you spelled out?

4. Write the words in shaving cream, sand or flour on a tray.

5. March around the room and spell out loud.

6. Write letters on small objects (i.e. small ceramic tiles from home store, white beans, letter dice from Boggle game, Scrabble tiles) to manipulate to spell words

7. Put paper over bumpy material such as rough sandpaper or plastic needlepoint canvas. Write spelling words on paper and you will have tactile feedback.

8. Hide magnetic letters in sensory table (i.e. rice, beans, sand). Find letters and spell words.

Need more activities? Check out Get Up and Learn! or Educational Sensory Motor Activities.

Children with Autism and Handwriting

The current issue of Neurology published research on handwriting abilities in children with autism (14 children with autism and 14 children without autism). The research indicated that children with autism displayed poorer quality in forming letters but size, alignment and spacing were similar to their peers without autism. In the study, motor skill level was predictive of handwriting performance but age, IQ, gender and visuospatial abilities were not predictive of handwriting performance. The researchers recommend training in letter formation and fine motor skills.

Reference: Fuentes, Christina T., Mostofsky, Stewart H., Bastian, Amy J.
Children with autism show specific handwriting impairments Neurology 2009 73: 1532-1537