5 Ways Sensory Processing Sensitivity Affects Learning
What is Sensory Processing Sensitivity?
Sensory Processing Sensitivity, also known as SPS is what happens when the fight-flight-or-freeze response is triggered as a result of exposure to certain stimuli or a number of stimuli within a timeframe that the learner doesn’t have time to process. This sensitivity has real implications for student learning and information processing. Teachers can help sensory-sensitive students by emphasizing partnership with each student, facilitating the building of agency, and building from learner strengths.
Which learners are affected by SPS?
Any learner can experience Sensory Processing Sensitivity. It is also common with those whose experiences include neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions like: developmental delays, ADHD, Bipolar, and ASD.
As an educator, what can I do if students are having difficulty with expressing their experience of sensory overwhelm?
The importance of listening to both verbal and nonverbal communication is vital to your partnership with all students, including those with Sensory Processing Sensitivity. You can also work with students to build their sensory vocabulary through strategies like the ones mentioned in this article from The Ruth and Scott Podcast Blog. Click here to open the article in a new tab.
Sensory Processing Sensitivity is a topic that’s gaining more traction. More research is being conducted. Individual learners are trying to put their lived experience into context. But what does this mean for classroom instruction? How can you, as a teacher, meet your students where they are? Here are 5 ways SPS affects learning.
Some Things to Know About Sensory Processing Sensitivity Before We Start
A common misconception is that Sensory Processing Sensitivity only affects people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While people with ASD may also have SPS, this sensitivity affects those with ADHD, certain learning disorders, Bipolar Disorders, and others not facing psychiatric or neurodevelopmental challenges. Sensory Processing Disorder affects the lives and experiences of learners across the board. Click here to open a new tab and open this article by the Cleveland Clinic that talks more about Sensory Processing Sensitivity.
Before we continue with this conversation, here’s something else you need to know: SPS doesn’t look the same in every situation and for every student. Because of this partnership is one of the most vital elements of your toolkit. What this looks like depends on the learners you’re working with. For younger learners, this partnership starts with parental involvement. It may also include occupational therapists. At every level, you can bring along with you on your journey to best serve your students, admins, and possibly even community advocates, though the shape of this involvement may also vary based on the learners you work with. You also need to know that your work with students with SPS, as with each of your other students, is a process of continual learning and growth. These 5 points will help to get you started on this journey.
Overwhelming Sensory Load Can Mean Students Aren’t Able to Focus on Learning Materials
One way to think about Sensory Processing Sensitivity is like you would think about an allergic reaction. Your body is having an overreaction to what could, to some people, be harmless. To others, that same thing could evoke a sneeze on one end, or on the other end, be deadly.
For someone with SPS, a stimulus could be mildly annoying. It could also be much more than that. But, just like when you’re having an allergic reaction and the itchy eyes and runny nose interfere with your attention and learning, a similar thing can happen when a student with SPS engages with classroom instruction.
An Overwhelming Sensory Experience Can Lead to Overwhelm and Exhaustion
That was Sensory Processing Sensitivity and its similarity to an allergic reaction. But let’s talk more about what it actually is. A stimulus is introduced, and the body goes into fight-flight-freeze mode. The body’s fighting in response to SPS can look like an emotional overreaction, and it could look like a learner looking for certain stimuli as though its experience is a craving. Freeze could look like delays in response time after a stimulus has been introduced. But the responses can be even more varied than this.
When a sensory experience is overwhelming, the result can be an active reaction that leads to exhaustion. Experiencing this as a younger learner is something that can be helped by the formal organization of the day that includes a nap time. This isn’t the case when a learner is in more advanced grades. But it’s still important for learners to be able to withdraw for a time so that they can come back and re-engage in a way that actually facilitates learning.
Your Student Might Not Have the Language or Vocabulary Available to Make Their Experience Understood
In the article, 3 Breathing Exercises to Help with Emotional Regulation, one of the topics discussed is how intrapersonal communication can be complicated by internal noise. Click here to open that article in a new tab.
The amplification of sensory input common with SPS means that learners may have challenges with communicating about their experience in the moment. They may lack the words or vocabulary to communicate with others in ways they can understand. Alternatively, it could be that the process of thinking about communicating this becomes itself overwhelming. The combination of these factors makes listening to both spoken and unspoken feedback increasingly important for educators working with learners struggling with Sensory Processing Sensitivity.
Students May Self-Select to Avoid Overwhelming Sensory Experiences
While learners may not always have the language to express what’s happening in a moment when sensory overwhelm surfaces, they may try to avoid situations and other stimuli that may contribute to it. For you, observing this from your role as an educator, what this might look like is a student being more withdrawn. A student might also appear to be more withdrawn, choose not to engage with certain experiences, or even bring into the classroom setting a sensory tool like a fidget spinner or other toy.
Frustration Can Sometimes Look Like Anger. It Isn’t.
Frustration happens when there’s an attempt to meet educational outcomes and comply with societal expectations. Continuing to run into this proverbial brick wall adds to this frustration and can itself result in sensory overwhelm. When this happens, frustration can sometimes be expressed as anger. As an educator, you can help students by practicing patience, encouraging effort and not just results, and by allowing space when it’s needed so that students can rest, reset, and re-engage. One of the keys here is building agency. Agency and connection can be encouraged through social entrepreneurship and the partnership between parents, educators, and students. Click here to open a new tab and discover how these elements can transform your learners’ experience with building childhood agency.
Share in the Comments:
What are some of the strategies you’re looking to adopt to build a classroom environment that takes into account the sensory needs of your students?