Most children with special needs have a problem with sensory overload. Therefore, one of the most helpful things we can do to help them with this problem is to remove as much distraction as we can and give the child a place to go to de-stress. We also need to recognize the childs coping skills.
I had a child with Aspergers Syndrome that covered his ears every time we even walked into the music room. The music teacher, who by the way was a wonderful teacher, thought he was being rude and told him to uncover his ears. Of course this just made matters worse. After class I explained that he covered his ears because there was so much noise in the room. He needed to have that control to cope with the situation.
Some of the structuring of the environment we can give are keeping things neat and orderly, and in their rightful place. Reduce clutter by putting things in containers and out of sight. Have a place for each object and label boxes. Put artwork and class objects out in the hall instead of the room to cut down on that distraction. Keep chalkboards clean. Keep lighting down in the classroom and put distracting children away from doors and windows as much as possible.
One of the best pieces of advice I've ever been given is to break tasks down into smaller tasks. I think as adults, we assume children should know how to do things because we do. Present one task at a time. Ask the child to repeat the instruction and then follow up to make sure the task was completed. Being the mother of eight children of my own, I realize that it is sometimes easier to just do the job myself but that is not going to help your child learn.
Some physical adaptations are making sure that the childs' feet are flat on the floor and "fit" in his/her chair. Introduce a quiet corner in the home or classroom where the child can go if they need a sensory break. This is also a great reward for good behavior.
There should always be a daily schedule posted where the child can look at it frequently through the day. You can always use visual cues to help organize and stay on task. For instance, #1. get backpack, #2 clean out mailbox, #3 fill out agenda, #4 put all papers in your backpack. The same schedule can be used with a student's arrival in the morning.
There are so many other ways to help our special children to be more successful in school and at home. A lot of times it's just thinking what helps us to function better in this very busy world.
