Diana, an Occupational Therapists (OT) who works with pupils in an autism base in Sutton tells us about a recent experience helping a child regulate his emotions, so he could access his PE lesson at school.
“I have been working closely with one boy who has difficulty with regulating his emotions in the classroom. We have been trialling using strategies and activities for regulation such as deep pressure. After his OT session, the OT brought him back to the classroom, he was very dysregulated, so he was not able to change his clothes for PE. I sat with him and used a picture symbol to show him I could see he needed some help, and he took my hands and placed them on his head to indicate he would like some deep pressure on his head. He was then able to achieve a calm state to be able to change his clothes and engage in the PE lesson alongside his peers.”
It is great to see how sensory strategies can be implemented within the school environment to help children and young people access their school curriculum.
