Sensory Solutions for
Children at School and
Home
Marvin Williams, Director of Ed.
Michaela Parker, MOTR/L
Intermountain School
What is Sensory Integration?
• Sensory integration is the organization of sensation
for use. Our senses give us information about the
physical conditions of our body and the environment
around us.
▫ Jean Ayres
• The brain must organize all of these sensations
to function successfully in our daily activities.
Neurodevelopment
• How the brain receives and interprets
information
• Five main senses
▫ Taste, touch, smell, vision, hearing
• Two other senses important
▫ Vestibular (Movement Sense)
▫ Proprioception (Muscle Sense)
Intermountain and SI
• Emotionally Challenged
▫ Reactive Attachment Disorder
▫ Autistic Disorder
▫ Sensory Processing Disorder
• Goal is to promote children’s ability to know
their sensory needs and how to address them on
their own.
Stress and Anxiety Effects on
Sensory Processing
• A child’s ability to successfully process sensory
information is greatly interrupted by stress and
anxiety.
▫ Symptoms of Anxiety: Sweating, Loss of Appetite,
Headaches, Tremors, Butterflies in Stomach, etc.
• Stress prevents the creation of learning and
memory.
Occupational Therapy and SI
• OT will evaluate a child’s sensory
processing skills to determine if
intervention is necessary.
▫ Ex: Sensory Profile
• OT can provide specific interventions
to address a child’s sensory
processing needs.
▫ Ex: How Does Your Engine Run
Sensory Diets
• School
▫ Goal is for child to use sensory diet to identify
their individual sensory needs to enhance their
success as a student.
• Home
▫ Goal is for child to use sensory diet as part of their
daily routine to have more positive and safe
experiences every day.
Learning Through Movement
• Heavy Work
• Physical Activity
• Movement breaks
Gum and Fidgets
• Gum
▫ Gum can be GOOD!
 Oral motor movement
 Deep pressure to jaw
• Fidgets
▫ Squishy ball, pencil toppers
 Anything with texture
▫ Rules for fidgets
Calming Strategies and Centers
• Devoted time and space for students to calm
their nervous systems
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Light dimmers, turn down light
Slow swinging
Tightly wrapped in a blanket
Headphones/Soothing music
Calming Strategies, Cont.
• Deep Pressure
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Dots and Squeezes (joint compressions)
Quiet corner with large pillow/bean bag to lie on
Weighted Items
Sit in an adult’s lap
From Classroom to Home
• Routines
▫ Starting day
▫ Ending day
• Transitions
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Visual timers
Sounds cues
Musical interludes
Countdown from 5 (or 20!)
BAL – A – VIS – X (BAVX)
B-rhythmic balance Auditory Vision; eXercise
Originated by Bill Hubert
What is Bal-A-Vis-X?
• A series of Balance / Auditory / Vision
exercises that are rooted in rhythm
• Exercises that require full-body coordination
• Necessitates “focused” attention
Who Benefits from BAVX?
• Children and adults who are:
▫ Learning Disabled: cognitive integration improves.
▫ Behaviorally disordered: “settles”.
▫ Diagnosed with ADD / ADHD: attention becomes more
focused.
▫ Gifted: coordination improves and stress headaches diminish.
▫ Non disabled: academic achievement improves.
BAVX: founder Bill Hubert
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Teacher for 30+ years – English and reading.
Tutor for math, ADHD, writing and reading.
Upward Bound summer teacher.
Martial arts instructor.
Runs a BAVX lab for 7th graders at Hadley
Middle School in Wichita, Kansas.
So – what did Bill see?
• Inability to control eyes, focus attention, sit or
stand without moving
• Illegible handwriting
• Stiff/locked posture while sitting, standing,
walking or running
• Rhythm less gait while walking or running
• Difficulty in distinguishing left from right
• Often unclear handedness
• General clumsiness
• Mental and/or physical apathy
BAVX – Exercises
• Exercises are not just for the athlete or daring.
They are for everyone!
• First graders are capable of more than half of
them.
• Nine-year-olds can master all but the most
intricate.
• The non-athletic and physically challenged find
BAVX well within their ability range.
• At least 75% of all exercises can be done while
seated.
Quotes
• Movement is the door to learning – Paul Dennison
• The more you move your hands, the more the brain
grows – Carla Hannaford
• The ear choreographs the body’s dance of balance,
rhythm, and movement - Don Campbell
Resources
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Out of Sync Child
Sensory Integration and the Child
How Does your Engine Run?
Sensory Profile
S’cool Moves
DSM-IV-TR
BAVX – Bill Hubert developer
▫ phone: 316-722-8012
▫ email: bill@bal-a-vis-x.com