Hi, my name is Jordan. I am a special education teacher from the UK. I share my passion for
everything communication, sensory regulation and fun lesson ideas for my classroom of disabled
pupils aged 4 to 11. Each week I am joined by experts in the field answering your questions
and sharing our knowledge and experience working alongside our beautiful young people. Let's get started.
Hello everybody. So we are going to do a Q&A today. How to manage stripping in public places in school
if there are no visuals? Great question and it's a question I get a lot actually about stripping.
It's really really common. So I have seen this before in my last school and a really easy
solution is to put coats on backwards. So the zips at the back or the velcros at the back or
the buttons that are back. That's a really easy solution as to stop the stripping or maybe their
school cardigan or whatever is backwards. There's also special clothing that you can purchase that
has hard to open poppers or zips again that are often at the back so that even if children can
open it that it kind of slows them down a little bit so that you can then stop them. So that's all
well and good but also I would look at why the reason why they're doing it because that's the
solution to what they're doing the behaviour but it doesn't actually solve the why. So I would ask
why they're stripping you know what are they getting out of that. I once spoke to an occupational
therapist that explained that some children's skin is as sensitive as an eyeball. I've never
forgotten that because my goodness if my skin was as sensitive as an eyeball I wouldn't want my
hair cut or shaved. I wouldn't want to be wearing clothes with itchy labels or weird fabrics you
know I'd want to be wearing soft smooth silky fabrics with no seam that with no labels you know.
So maybe even if their skin isn't as sensitive as an eyeball because I'm sure lots of people
aren't even if they do have sensory regulation needs but let's assume that it is because we
don't know that it isn't and then maybe talk to parents about if there's alternative uniform they
could wear that's a little bit more soft or silky or doesn't have the seams or take labels out and
all those kind of things. So maybe that's why they're stripping. It also could be they love
their reaction or it's a good opt out because if they don't want to do their work and then they
strip well obviously you're not just going to say look get on with your work and ignore that
behaviour obviously you're going to take them away take them to the bathroom and get them changed.
So it could be a learn opt out as well. So think about the why and go from there. It's a four body
strip unfortunately we put a blanket over but this doesn't work. I think the young person gets a
reaction which is why. Yeah of course if you're running over and having blankets and it's you
know maybe they're wanting that kind of interaction. So if that is the why then also embed opportunities
to positively interact throughout their day. It could be intensive interaction it could be
as simple as that or it could be some kind of turn taking games it wrestling maybe they want that
kind of swaddle with a blanket give them opportunities to do that that isn't stripping
if that is what it is. The young person also gets hot very often yeah that's so common
so lots of children with sensory regulation especially if they have interoception you know
regulation difficulties they really struggle with regulating their temperature so maybe having a fan
or having an opportunity to ask for lots of drinks or a cold flannel and other ways of calling down
or asking for clothes to be you know off without all being off and sometimes autistic children
particularly it can be all or nothing so just giving them a structured way of showing them
jumper off weight you might cool down you might not take everything off and lots of games like
that maybe through attention autism or role play we could modeling hot and then cold and and go
that way so yeah it could be an understanding there's lots of reasons why a child could be
stripping but look those are lots of them so I hope that helps yeah I hope that's useful a useful
answer for you. The next question is from Diane and she says how do you manage self-harming behaviours
in younger students? I have seen lots of self-harming behaviours before again there can be
lots of different reasons why they're self-harming sometimes it can be they really want grounding
it's a really great way of getting a sense of self is through hurting yourself because if I didn't
know where my body was in space say if I've got poor proprioception needs then if I'm biting myself
or hitting myself then I definitely know where my body is I definitely know where my legs are I
definitely know where my hands are because I'm getting that feedback or my head is because I'm
headbutting or biting or whatever it is there's no you know more stronger feedback that I exist
in the world and I know where my body is and grounded than that and usually that is the way
and usually it stems from a feeling of feeling completely dysregulated in fight or flight mode
really anxious really frustrated lack of communication and loads of frustration and
demand typically usually is where those self-harming behaviours come in sometimes also and I have got
this as well self-harming behaviours start like that but then become a learnt behaviour to opt out
or communicate that they want something and and all of a sudden when they self-harm I've got a
little girl who punches herself in the head and I think that started by her wanting to ground herself
I think she genuinely needs that when she's frustrated however what she then learnt was
when I do this adults come running to me and fix my problem so what was happening it was a very
small problem she just wanted a blanket or she just was slightly frustrated that the chair
wasn't with her or she was slightly frustrated that she couldn't have chris straight away you
know slight annoyances she was really punching herself in the head because that was what she'd
learn if I want help if I need help from an adult or want help to access something I need to do that
because that's the quickest way they will come to me and that was learnt so the hardest thing that
we had to do for that one was react slower to the punching and react faster to anything safe
so if she was reaching for something or giving some vocalizations or looking at something we
needed to react super fast to that and give her it straight away if she was punching herself we
needed to react a bit slower get her blanket and give her squeezes a bit slower so that she's
learnt and within a year it's taken a year but within the year now she has learnt if I want
if I want something I have to reach for it and she still sometimes does this but she doesn't punch
herself she just does I'm gonna I will but now we know that yeah now she knows actually when I want
something actually it's much quicker for me at school to just reach for it or look for it so
that's really great for her but often self-harming behaviors come from frustration and that often
comes from a lack of ways to communicate or be understood I mean how think about how frustrating
it is to know what you want not be able to have the words to ask for it and not be understood
and only have your body to communicate I think I would be hitting myself or other people or other
things that's incredibly frustrating so let's give them some communication let's offer them
uh iPads let's offer them symbols photos objects of reference uh sound buttons signing let's offer
all of that to them because something might stick and it might help them understand or be understood
and all of a sudden even though we've not dealt with the actual self-harming behavior all of a
sudden there's no need to self-harm because they can be understood the anxiety is reduced they
they they know that they're heard and they know what other people are saying and they can communicate
their wants and wishes as well and all of a sudden they're not self-harming anymore and that I know
you've said for younger students but actually that goes all the way through everybody deserves a voice
everybody deserves to be heard and understood and if we want to reduce those self-harming behaviors
then communication has to be first and then second it's sensory regulation so what are the
demands on them at the time is a busy environment are the lights on is it noisy is it cluttered
what demands are you putting on them are you asking too much of them at this moment yes they might be
able to have done it yesterday but today is a new day and actually they're feeling particularly
anxious or out of sorts today and it's just too much and is that why they're self-harming
so just have a look at the environment as well and and think about how you can reduce those demands
uh because ultimately we don't want any students to be self-harming so we want to reduce that how
do you know what sensory output they need in the moment it's a really great question shawnee I have
what's called a sensory profile tool on my website and it breaks down all of the senses so we've got
the five senses haven't we that we know about we've got sight smell touch taste and hearing nearly
forgot the five so they're the five that we are all taught about in school but there's actually
three more we've got proprioception so proprioception is letting us know where our body is even if we're
not looking at our limbs so I know where my hand is even though I can't see it I just know where
it is I've got a feeling about where it is um and that helps us feel positioned in that bodies and
positioned in the world well lots of children with proprioception difficulties and it's really
common with children with autism and down syndrome any fine motor you know motor thing cerebral
palsy all have really really tricky proprioception um regulation needs and they don't really know
where their body is so that's why you might see lots of um self-harming behaviors might be lots
of tiptoe walking that might be why you see flapping or rocking or stamping or laying on the
floor or wiggling in their chairs but all of those things wanting to swing wanting to be upside down
all of those things are telling your child this is where my body is in in the world in the space
this is it makes me feel grounded so they might have some difficulties there the seventh one is
vestibular so that is your sense of balance so these children either seek or avoid going upside
down so if they've got a heightened sense of vestibular if they are vestibular avoiding
it might be because they're a bit unsteady on their feet and they're scared of tipping up or
over so they these children are nervous about walking upstairs they'd avoid swings or see-saws
they even get scared like sitting back on their chair because they're really nervous about that
kind of movement and we've got some children like that at school we've also got some children that
are vestibular seeking and these are your children that want to be upside down all of the time and
swung around and on the swing and thrown up in the air and all those kind of children and they are
your vestibular seekers because they are seeking that dizziness or they don't even get dizzy but
they're seeking that spinning and then the eighth sense is called interoception the inter the internal
sense so this would be the sense that makes you know if you're poorly or thirsty or hungry or hot
or cold is that gut sense and it helps us regulate our temperature and regulate our internal self so
lots of children also on the spectrum will struggle with that too knowing when they're too hot when
they're too cold through your question how do you know what sensory output they need in those
moments it's about understanding if they are oversensitive to each of those eight senses
or undersensitive and you can be over in some and under in others and completely regulated in others
so it's about creating a profile for your children about that and then having a look at it once you've
got it and thinking okay so they're seeking vestibular but they're avoiding this and they're
seeking taste strong taste but they're avoiding loud noises and coming up with a profile about what
they need ultimately but really it won't surprise you because you'll say oh yeah they they're upside
down all the time or oh yeah they constantly are seeking strong flavors and smells yeah they do
do that because ultimately your children know what they don't know why but they they know to seek
those things or know to avoid those things they're naturally doing it anyway and and parents amongst
you and and teachers that have worked with your children for a while will certainly be able to
know oh yeah they they always eat bland food or they always hate noise or or really noisy or whatever
and that's about their sensory profile so yeah if you are interested in your own sensory profile or
a child sensory profile my sensory profiling tool is really useful it's it's ten pounds
on my website and it takes you through really it's quite thorough but it takes you through
step by step about what each sense is whether you're seeking or or over or under responsive to it
what that means it helps you profile your children on a really easy grid you literally just do a tick
or a cross whether they are or aren't and then it takes you through step by step if your child is
this then you need to do this if your child is this then you do this and it supports children
from kind of toddlers right through to adulthood really so yeah if you're interested in sensory
output and input and how to support then that is a great start often it's the second thing i
recommend that people get the first one is intensive interaction training just because i think
it just works with everyone and it's only five pounds so i often send them that the sensory diet
the poster again it's a pound so i often send people that and then the third thing i think the
best thing that i've ever created even though i barely talk about it is the sensory profiling
tool because it's the start it's the key to unlocking all those things there's no point
having a wonderful curriculum or a wonderful call word program that you're running if your
children aren't regulated and that's what this sensory profile will hopefully support you to
understand and support them with so i hope that answers your question shawnee next question how
can we stop a child from spitting on people and hurting others well it's similar to the self-harming
one really um but i feel like self-harming is you wanting adults to come to you whereas spitting
and hurting others well it's the opposite isn't it you're wanting people to go away and a really
effective way of making people want to go away is by hurting them or spitting on them because
naturally people you know avoid you for that so the easy answer is give them an i need the break
button or give them a symbol so they can ask for a break and honor it even if it looks like they're
avoiding work let them have their break because they probably do need it and um and then they
can always come back to do to finish their work task let them have the break if they're asking
for it because we'd rather that and then have the break when they need it we'd rather that than them
spitting and hurting each others or throwing their work whatever whatever the alternative is you know
they're going to find ways to avoid work if they want to avoid it so we'd rather them do it in an
appropriate way i want to break brilliant you want to break great go and have your break you know
for a countdown timer or some kind of limitation do one puzzle and then come back whatever it is
and then bring them back to the work task and they they complete their work task and carry on
um uh yeah so if they're spitting or hurting others i would be offering them a safe quiet
intense free cutter free environment to escape to it might be that they go under the table with a
blanket over it and then they come back out and then they're ready to do their work again it might
be that they need a bit of a run around in the playground or a bit of a sensory circuit instead
as of a quiet break you know your children um but yeah i really believe that if they are having the
breaks that they need then they won't feel the need to spit or hurt others i suppose the alternative
also could be that they um are not they wanting to interact and they quite like the reaction of
other people you know hurt and spitting and that's the only time they ever get an interaction from
somebody else even though it's negative it's quite a fun one to them because they don't get a positive
interaction with other children they don't really know how to do it so another way would be to set
up some kind of intervention group of teaching them how to interact with children more appropriately
maybe a legotherapy group or equivalent and supporting them to join a group and how to
initiate a play in that way i suppose so nicola has asked why is repetition so beneficial for
learners with complex needs and i love this question because i'm always i know i am i'm always
hammering on about the fact that i repeat everything so i repeat my lessons every week for six weeks or
i repeat the core word program every day or i repeat attention autism every day for a week you
know i'm always hammering on about repeating things and there are lots of reasons it's a really
good question often with global delay or developmental delay or disabilities your working
memory struggles to remember something right off the bat often they need to repeat it in order for
the new learning to be embedded so if you've got a child if you're working with a child with poor
working memory or short-term memory then it will need to be repeated repeated to consolidate that
learning so that's the first reason another reason is often children with autism or children in
special education or mainstream or the one-to-one for any reason often have anxiety it's kind of
part and parcel of having the disability and having a living in a world that isn't you know
built for you or or how you learn and how you like to be often anxiety comes as part of that so if
you're repeating learning then it boosts their confidence because it becomes predictable it
becomes routine the anxiety is reducing and therefore you can really see what they're capable
of if i was only going to do an activity once and then another activity once and another activity
once my children or my class will be in a constant state of anxiety and unknowing and it'll feel
unpredictable it'll feel unfamiliar and they won't really know what it's about so even though they
could perfectly do it well they don't know what i'm asking them to do at first so they can't show me
what what they're really capable of whereas if i'm repeating it every week for six weeks week one is
just watching me and thinking this is weird what's this all about week two is yeah i remember that
from last week yeah okay this feels a little bit more familiar by week three they might be actually
having a turn so it's taken three weeks for them to even have a turn and then they can improve on
those skills and by week six they're doing it they're independent they're modeling and really
seeing what they're capable of and they're really progressing and learning that's why that's why i
repeat the lessons also there's another benefit it means i only have to have to plan every once
every six weeks or once every 12 weeks which is a huge benefit because that means i can spend all
those hours with the children engaging with the children creating the most amazing resources and
that's another thing as well if i'm using the resources every week for six weeks it means my
budget is way bigger because otherwise i'd have to buy a new thing or make a new thing every week or
every day or every lesson you know that would be huge cost to resources in my time whereas this means
i can buy a few amazing resources that we can repeat and use over all of those all of that time
in my last school i used to teach six lessons a day every day and we used to change the topic
every week it's crazy i used to do 36 lessons a week and we used to change the topic every week
like completely completely new topic the amount of resources and time that took was crazy in
comparison to the progress that the children didn't did or didn't make basically so that
yeah it was huge and and i don't see any benefit from that at all do you use a sam timer for a
break um i don't typically i often use a countdown um mainly because i don't like to determine how
long it's going to take a child before they need to come back to me for example if i say okay take
three minutes and then come back or what if actually they're not quite ready in three minutes or what
if they're ready after a minute and a half what if they go into a sensory circuit and actually they
like completion is a really important thing especially for all the people with an autistic
profile they need to complete an activity before it's finished otherwise it feels unfinished and
uncertain and stable and i'm not ready to finish yet if that sam timer finishes and the activity
isn't finished like they haven't completed their rotation of the obstacle course or they haven't
completed their puzzle or they haven't completed their ipad game that is a gotta be dysregulation
and we're in the you know of regulating children so i use a countdown it's basically just three
symbols that we gradually take off and they will not take that last one off until i feel like you
know the things come to an end or they're ready basically so it helps them work alongside each
other and we kind of negotiate in that way as as when a good time to finish is and that's whether
it's a preferred activity or a non-preferred activity we kind of work together and and work out
you know how it's going to work how is the introduction to that break if you haven't had
it before yeah great question so often i just model it if i feel like they need a break i get
the symbol and i say i need a break and then i bring them with me it might be really small and
i do something i know they'll love it could be bouncing on a exercise ball spinning on a chair
jumping up and down whatever it is something that i know they really really really want to do
they'll join me with it and then we'll go back to class five minutes later because this is the real
learning here i don't actually care about the learning i'm teaching the lesson is i'm teaching
them how to get asked for a break five minutes i'll say i need a break and then we go back again we
do that really fun activity maybe even a different fun activity and then we come back and then the
third time i might just leave it there and they might point to it or look to it or grab it or i
might just say i need a break and then we go out again and eventually they will understand when i
want to do that thing i just have to hold this and and i can get it just know though that it isn't a
treat lots of people say oh you're just rewarding them for not doing their work no no no no these
children need sensory breaks like they need water or air or blinking and we need to treat it as such
we wouldn't deny these children the toilet or we wouldn't deny these children a drink of water when
they needed it we cannot deny these children a sensory break when they need it even if we think
they're faking it and they're using it as an opt-out we have to honor that let's assume competence
let's assume that they know what their body needs and if your lesson was really fun then they're
not going to want to avoid it so one maybe just improve your lesson and make it more fun but also
let them have a sensory break and then come back and finish your lesson later like that's okay
that's perfectly okay and i know that's the luxury of special education that we can do that really
easily but i really feel like mainstream can do that too you know especially if they're responsible
and they can meet their sensory needs on their own in a corner or outside or whatever and then
come back in great how would you know if a child is anxious if they don't speak they will be fussy
about where things are like an ocd type thing maybe they will be refusing to move or avoidant
they will be no no no or pushing you away they i mean god non-speaking children are incredible
about communicating their feelings wants needs wishes without any words they use their body
and you really can tell when they're feeling anxious because their body is all up tight
and they're avoiding or they're hiding or they're running away or they're no no no no you just can
tell when they're actually they're quiet you know maybe they're seeing a bit tired or maybe they're
feeling a bit poorly or they look a bit peaky or they're crying or they're hurting themselves
you know they're all anxious things that i see often hurting yeah hurting themselves is the
worst one and that's how i tell if they're anxious just like you can tell if they're happy
they're relaxed they're clapping their their head is up they're they're up straight they're looking
they're smiling they're seeking more they're reaching out that's happiness that's focused
and ready to learn well anxiety is the opposite of that we're looking yeah we'll look for all
those other things okay another question why is repetition so important for gestalt language
processes so we've spoke about repetition before but gestalt language process is like repeating
even more they will watch the same clip over and over and over again or they'll play the same game
over and over and over again they're over and over and over again children gestalt language
processes it's because it becomes familiar to them it becomes predictable to them because the
world and language is so unpredictable and and confusing for children that are non-speaking
but all of a sudden they can latch on to this phrase and they understand its meaning you know
i want juice could be one for example and all of a sudden when they say it they get juice or they
get apple juice or they get some you get choices this is great this is awesome i'm gonna keep saying
that i'm gonna keep playing it so i can learn it now what about this phrase i need a friend
and then if and you keep saying it and then the friend comes oh my goodness this is amazing you
know how exciting that they're finding these words and phrases and they don't learn it by
separate words they learn it with the phrase um as a whole uh and then and then gradually they go
step by step and gradually mitigate the phrase and then they can use it as separate words it's
incredibly exciting it's an incredible way of learning language i love it i love working with
gestalt language processes we've got a good few in my class and it's so interesting and exciting
i've got a free blog post on my website all about the stages from echolalia so immediate echoing
exactly what they hear of time and then working through it stage two uh is delayed echolalia so
they're repeating exactly the phrase but they're doing it not immediately afterwards they're you
know doing it other times in the day and then they're learning using it into context and it
goes through really exciting and and eventually they are typically developmenting a developmental
stage of speech you know they catch up which is so exciting um yeah i find gestalt language
processes incredible and it's why i wrote my call word program and it motivates lots of things i do
actually and it could also be stimming it's why they repeat you know it's enjoyable it's funny
it's it makes me feel good stimming literally means repetitive stimulating behavior anything
they repeat and it's in a stimulating to them could be a stim it could be something like this
it could be something like this it could be something like this or it could be repeating
on the ipad is stimming and it's just because it feels good it makes them feel good and it's
regular and it it's consistent and it's predictable and it just makes me feel good so that's yeah
that's why i guess that language processes repeat my mission is to share all of this stuff because
there are a lot of children out there and there's more children than i can have access to um you
know hands-on access to i've only got 10 spaces in my class and it just feels very unfair
um so if i can share some of my knowledge to other practitioners or parents caregivers so that a
little bit can also go to them then it makes me feel a little bit more comforted because there's
so much need out there and i wish i could work with everyone i really really do i really do oh i love
this question down syndrome students struggle with simple instructions to stand or sit yes so i can
just imagine it i've worked with lots of down syndrome students could it be a gross motor thing
so typically down syndrome students and and they're not the only ones they're children with
cerebral palsy as well and sometimes autism um struggle with a lack of proprioception feedback
because they're hypermobile and they're your children that you know can bend their thumbs
all the way back or like put their feet like all the way up over their head or they're like really
hypermobile these children often struggle with proprioception feedback because they're not getting
they don't know where their body is in space because their body is kind of everywhere they're
not getting that um sensation of limitations with their body so they often struggle with
proprioception feedback so they often also struggle to sit because they don't feel comforted or
grounded by sitting they still kind of feel a bit floaty i often liken it to feeling a bit drunk
like if you've had about too much alcohol i mean people say people tell me that if you have enough
alcohol and you lie down then you feel like the room's spinning and you you often like have to
touch the wall as you're walking because you feel like you know it's a bit spinny or maybe you put
your foot out of bed so it touches the floor so so that you know where the ground is because
the world feels a little bit spinny that's honestly how i think a lot of people with proprioception
needs regulation needs feel all of the time which is why you see the flapping the rocking the tiptoe
walking often you'll see if you watch autistic children will run their hand along the wall as
they're walking or they'll be a little bit more stompy with their feet or they'll be a bit more
jumpy because they're trying to seek that grounding just like when you're feeling a little bit
inebriated so naturally these children will struggle to sit so i try a weighted blanket
they are incredibly effective again for that grounding so they know where their body is in
space they feel grounded and settled in their seat this could be a big weighted blanket or
sometimes a lap blanket and also deep pressure squeeze as well anybody that's ever met me
will know that i'm constantly squeezing your children and it's often down their arms it's
often on your head so front and back or it's down their legs and it's their feet often i go for hands
and feet as well and when i'm with children i'm constantly squeezing their hands and squeezing
their feet because it just settles them they don't need to flap and jump and rock and run around and
be a bit chaotic they can just settle in the moment because i'm giving them that feedback
in that same space so deep pressure squeezes is a great one for dancing time children not sitting
it could also be processing time often with children with any disability or cognitive impairment
they need extra processing time time to process what you've said so you need to allow at least
eight seconds ideally 10 before repeating an instruction or even better just go visual and
don't say anything at all it's far more easy to understand visual than spoken so it might be
something like tommy sit down tommy sit down you know how often do we actually wait eight seconds
it feels like a really long time doesn't it but it's essential and i always liken it or kind of
visualize it like rolling a ball to them and hoping they catch it so me saying tommy sit down is me
rolling a ball and hoping they catch it but it takes eight seconds for the ball to reach them
and if i say tommy sit down sit down here's your chair sit down go on like i'm not being mean i'm
being really kind but i've rolled about five balls to tommy and he doesn't know which ones to catch
which ones to drop he can't capture all of them and things are going to get missed especially the
main meaning of the instruction so wait eight seconds for the ball the instruction ball to
reach them before repeating and even better go visual first autistic children especially
are incredibly visual so why are we giving instructions in a neurotypical way we need to
be giving instructions in a neurodivergent way and that's visual first so it might not be saying
anything just and maybe modeling what you want them to be doing you know another visual way is
modeling and then and then you might go and say to them i also only give instructions with if i'm
within arm reach of them any longer than that it just feels like shouting and a demand and
and neither of us like that so be an arm reach away from them give them processing time go visual
first give them proprioception feedback and then ultimately people with down syndrome are often
just quite stubborn it's really common so try a change of face try and switch out with another
adult try and make it a little bit more fun reduce the demands give them opportunities to control
the activity or choose the activity quite typical and similar to the students kind of on a pd with
a pda profile as well that's pathological demand avoidance profile i use the panda approach for
that right if there's no question more questions for me thank you so much for being here bye