Gross Motor

I have observed many different (free!), gross motor techniques in the classroom which help stimulate students.  In my class we do gross motor activities in the morning and in the middle of the day to help students control their bodies.  Running around on a playground is one of the easiest things to do, a child is excited to be on a playground and is willing to do things like monkey bars and climbing walls, because it is fun.  Other things which work include yoga in the classroom and mini exercise breaks.  Things like catching and throwing a ball allow students to be awware of where their bodies are in response to a stimuli.  Playtime isn't just for a break, its a way for students to "ready" their bodies for the rest of the day.

Multisensory Environments

The reason I am talking about Multi-Sensory Environments (MSE), is because the local children hospital just added one and now is the second place in New York which has one.  These are which regulate noise, lighting and sometimes temperature.  There are also things inside which promote relaxation and stimulation of the senses.

MSE is a relatively knew to the United States. It originated in the 1970's in Netherlands and didn't come to the States until 1992.  In 2006 a group of professionals created The American Association of Multi-Sensory Environment (AAMSE). " according to the AAMSE Web site, "as a way to bring together different disciplines to improve education, research, training, and awareness in the use of MSE. It was also a way for those interested in MSE to network with each other and find out where MSE rooms are located throughout the nation (Carter Hollingsworth)."'

Because these are such a new phenomenon, it seems to some professionals to be unbelivable. The idea, that just a quiet room can change a person, can be hard to believe. Dr. Christoper C. Giza wrote, "MSE and many other rehabilitative strategies have been viewed with some skepticism in the medical community. This is due in part to the difficulty in standardizing these therapies and also because it is difficult to demonstrate that
these therapies work distinct from a person's normal course of recovery (Carter Hollingsworth)."

I have a feeling that as more research is done, the more people will understand how important MSE are for community members with sensory motor impairments.

Hollingsworth, J. C. (2007, December). The American Assiciation of Multi Sensory
     Environments. The Exceptional Parent, 37(12), 47-48. Retrieved from
     http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/hww/results/
     getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.35

Worry Stones

Worry stones are oval shaped stones with a thumbpring indentation.  People use them as calming devices.  A middle school teacher told me they allow their students to use them in the classroom and keep them in their desks. "They work well for students with test anxiety, and those who always need something in their hands."
 Also, these are relatively cheap and small to keep in pockets or in desks.

The hugger

My friend Annie is an ESL teacher in a suburb of Buffalo.  She pushes into a classroom which has some great adaptions.  One in particular, which they call The Hugger.  It is simply excercise bands which the students put around their stomachs and twist or on their legs and pull.
I also have hear of putting them on the bottom of a chair to use while sitting at a desk.

Mr. Fuzzy

These were all the rage when I was student teaching last semester.  Pretty much all they are, are fuzzy little toys that move easily across a child's arm. This is a great form of stimulation for children and also it is something cool! Andy, a teacher in the Onondaga County, he allows students bring these into the classroom and hold onto them as long as they don't need become a distraction.  Also, he has some ready for rewards.

the wonders of a blanket

There are many different things that can be done with a blanket to help students who have sensory processing issues.  These come from different things I have seen in the classroom I'm interning in.
1.  If the child is young put them on a blanket and drag them across the floor, or have the child drag another child across the floor so they feel the weight.  In the school I'm in now, this is done as a part of gym time so every student has the opportunity to be pulled or to pull.
2.Make a kid burrito by rolling her tightly in a blanket. 
3. Have a blanket ready with a flashlight for students to read under.  This will help students who have a tendency to look other places other than the book to read.  It is space weeks so students are reading under a table which has stars glued to the bottom and has a blanket covering it.

corduroy

My friend Lindsey gave me this idea after talking with her aunt. She volunteers in a school in Mississippi.  "...they glued/stapled corduroy fabric to the inside/underside of the desk/table. That way the kid could rub her fingers across the corduroy but still pay attention." Corduroy is a little over 5 dollars a yard, meaning every student in the class can have some, creating a norm for the classroom.