A cause of some students’ distress, anger and anxiousness.
When we think about things that cause young people to become dysregulated, we often think about stressful school work and maintaining and making friendships. These certainly can cause stress and dysregulation. We are finding more and more that there are many other things as well. Something that many may not consider for all students is sensory processing issues (SPI). We often exclusively associate sensory processing issues with children on the autistic spectrum, however we are finding that many children who are not also on the autistic spectrum experience this. Young people with sensory processing issues experience the world much more intensely than other young people do.
For example, if most people hear a TV at a medium volume someone with sensory processing issues may hear it as an exceptionally loud or quiet sound. It is not just with sounds, it can occur with the other senses as well. This has significant implications for schools. One of the most obvious examples of this is the school bell. Children and teenagers naturally hear much higher pitched sounds than adults do. If you add sensitivity to sound this creates a significant problem. When people become triggered, their sympathetic nervous system is activated, this can send someone into, fight, flight, faint or freeze mode. None of these modes are helpful if you are trying to teach. If people are triggered by this they won’t just stay in a hyper aroused state for a few minutes, they can be in this state for an hour or more. If school bells are going off hourly this means some students are never calm.
Until recently we thought this was fairly rare in young people. I am finding that it is increasingly common, especially in Christchurch where the earthquakes have not helped. I am not just hearing about this in Christchurch I am hearing about this all over NZ.
I urge schools to reconsider the high-pitched school bell, it dysregulates too many students, this increases behavioural problems and reduces learning.
Dr Stephen Porges has created something called the polyvagal theory. It sounds more complicated than it is. There is a part
of your brain called the vagus nerve. This helps regulate your nervous system, including your heart beat. He has found that low pitched sounds such as those from an air-conditioner or even humming lights can disregulate people. I highly recommend his book, The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory.
It is not just sound. Have you ever noticed that often the most disruptive child in the classroom is the first to point out bad smells? If someone farts, usually a child with behavioural problems is the first one to loudly announce it. Often adults think they’re just being disruptive or they’re trying to get a reaction out of people, but what if they are misunderstood? What if they find smells far more repulsive than some people do? It’s entirely possible that the reason these children react so strongly to smells is because they find them more intense than
the general population. Tragically, many instances of bullying revolve around body odour. We often think that children are being rude if they point out someone else has body odour, but perhaps they’re trying to say, I find the smell unpleasant, I would like you to do something about it. This could be one of the most misunderstood groups in society.
Another example of how an activity that many children consider a fun activity can be a nightmare for someone with sensory processing issues (SPI), is going to an indoor pool. Indoor pools tend to be very noisy, life guards can blow whistles and the sound of many people splashing in the water can be deafening. When you have water in your ears that can distort sound.
Imagine how a child with SPI would feel? Indoor pools usually have bright lights, which causes the reflection of the water to dance on the walls. Most indoor pools have gritted titles that feel harsh and rough, this could be exaggerated many times with SPI. When most people get chlorine in their eyes it stings a little, but to a child with SPI it becomes unbearable. Also, pools tend to have warm water, to a child with SPI it may be very hot. We can easily see how a trip to the pool would be overwhelming and, in some cases, traumatic for someone with SPI.
Currently sensory processing disorder is not a recognised medical condition. It could be part of autism; it can occur after a brain injury, on its own or in other situations we don’t know why it occurs. Despite this, it is still a very real condition and teachers must take active steps to address this in the classroom.