Sensory Activities for Students with MD

Sensory Activities for Students
with Multiple Disabilities

The Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments can work with a student to help them develop efficient use of their vision for visually attending to their environment, shifting their gaze between materials presented and visual pursuit of objects and people. These skills will help prepare a student for learning as well as prepare them for safe and efficient travel.

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
October 29, 2017

The Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments can work with a student to help them develop efficient use of their vision for visually attending to their environment, shifting their gaze between materials presented and visual pursuit of objects and people. These skills will help prepare a student for learning as well as prepare them for safe and efficient travel.

Lightbox Activities

Objective: The student will visually fix or briefly gaze at lights.
Depending on the student’s abilities, present the following activities for the student.

Display unit related window clings or gel forms on the lightbox.
Fill Ziploc bags with hair gel or other clear gel substance. Add food coloring in a unit related color and/or metallic sequins or other unit related shapes. Be sure to secure bag with strong tape!

Decorate Mobile/Stand

Objective: The student will regard, visually attend to or reach toward objects (ex. Lights, reflective, colorful, etc.). The student will touch a switch to activate an activity (cause & effect).

Decorate the mobile or stand by wrapping miniature lights along the bars in a color the student prefers. Alternate with other colors depending on the student’s ability to tolerate complexity. Consider attaching a fan to a switch and encourage the student to push the switch to blow the materials that are suspended, play a unit related song or turn on the mini lights.

Possible Materials to Suspend:

metallic pom-poms
old CDs with striped or checkerboard patterns
a string of metallic beads
other materials that encourage the student to reach (consider qualities that student will attend to)
metallic balloons

Character Play

Objective: The student will attend to and follow the movement of objects.

Obtain a switch activated toy or stuffed animal. Encourage the student to activate the switch to make it move while visually attending to it.

Visual Interest Box or Backdrop

Objective: The student will regard or visually attend to lights and reflective materials. The student will touch a switch to activate an activity (cause & effect).

Decorate the box by drilling holes in the box and attaching miniature lights. Suspend reflective materials. Alternatively, suspend lights to the back of an APH Invisiboard and suspend metallic materials. Consider attaching a fan to a switch and encourage the student to push the switch to blow the materials that are suspended and turn on the mini lights.

Picture of a sensory area using a clear box with lights and a tinsel garland suspended inside. Power Select box and switches to activate box and HelpKidzLearn game on switch activated computer.

Picture of multicolored lights suspended on APH Invisiboard on table. APH Power Select and switches placed in front of student who is viewing a HelpKidzLearn game on computer.

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ECC Complete Set Bonus

Purchase the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC Complete Set and immediately unlock the pages within the ECC Complete Set Bonus including bonus printables, interactive sensory stories, interactive matching activities, interactive choice making activities, job task box activities and MORE! This is my way of continuing to support you and say "Thank you!" for choosing to purchase the Complete Set.

TVI's Guide Complete Set Bundle + BONUS Resources

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The TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC Complete Set includes the following:

TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired (a 346 page pdf download)
Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements (a 210 page pdf download)
Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement (a 338 page pdf download)
Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement (a 446 page pdf download)
NEW!Interactive Sensory Stories page access and booklet of activities!

BONUS!

Lotto Cards

The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC.

On My Way File Folder Cards

Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27.

NEW! Access to TVI's Guide Bonus Membership Pages

Bonus pages include tutorials, printables, interactive sensory story downloads, and interactive choice making, matching and visual discrimination computer games (PowerPoint based interactive games), and job task activities.

Note:

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