For my senior capstone, I decided to work with children with disabilities within the school districts. I wanted to make an environment for students with sensory issues to be able to thrive in and find the space they need. My senior deep-dive project is known as Classroom Sensory. What is it you may ask? Classroom Sensory is a project that helps students with Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD/ADD, Autism, and other disabilities. This project could be executed in classrooms at all desired grade levels.

My project was first being implemented at Owen County School Districts in the Middle School and High School where I met with many of the faculty and staff in special education to talk about their specific needs with students and sensory disorders. I also had the opportunity to sit in with students and see their normal day in the classroom.  

Most classrooms had a technique for dealing with situations when students were escalating out of control. My project worked to provide ways to prevent or decrease these episodes by using sensory strategies. Many students in the program did well when given small jobs in the school such as preparing drinks and wiping down tables in the cafeteria. Not only does this activity help them with their sensory needs to move about, but it also allows them to communicate with others and build life skills. Working in the cafeteria is not an appropriate activity for all students. Some get easily frustrated when working with others, or can't handle noise and visual stimulation in a place like a cafeteria. Many of these students find relief in squeezing a stress ball or a stuffed animal after feeling aggravated or upset. One particularly challenging student was able to calm himself with a stuffed animal, but staff outside of the special education department deemed the stuffed animal inappropriate for the student's age. I talked with staff about alternative solutions for this student. Water orbes and small crafts were somewhat successful. Another suggestion I made to help students self-regulate was to incorporate sensory corners into the classrooms. This would require having a designated corner in the classroom where a student could go and use sensory tools for self-regulation. It is important  to realize how individualistic sensory needs can be and that not one thing will work for the entire classroom. Based on my research I was able to suggest items to include in this area such as headphones to decrease auditory stimulation, sunglasses to decrease visual stimulation, items with various textures, stress balls, and fidget toys. The staff seemed to love this idea and thought it would be a great addition to the special education department.

I also had the opportunity to show staff members my ADHD Positive Plan. I developed this plan from my research on ADHD. It is a guideline for parents and teachers to help them with strategies to ensure the most success for their students.