The experience of practitioners who have worked with autistic children in Sensory Rooms. Part 5

This is the fifth instalment of our discussion of the work of by Dr. Katy Unwin, Dr. Georgina Powell and Dr. Catherine Jones of the Wales Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

The researchers conducted interviews with ten practitioners. They identified six themes reflecting beliefs about Sensory Room (SR) use with autistic children.

These were

1. SRs benefit behaviour, attention and mood.
2. SRs have distinct properties that facilitate benefits
3. The use of the SR should be centred on the child’s needs
4. They are most effective when the practitioner plays an active role
5. They can be used for teaching and learning.
6. However, they can present challenges.

Our first four instalments summarised the findings in themes 1,2, 3 and 4 (see TFH Sensory Rooms Blogs). This part will consider theme 5.

Sensory Rooms can be used for teaching and learning.

Many practitioners described the SR Room as an effective teaching and learning environment and some considered this its main purpose. “It’s fun, you know, and they don’t realise that they’re learning when they’re having fun”, echoed the opinions of many practitioners. Some practitioners expressed frustration at how the Sensory Room was often used as a, “cop-out” or for, “chill-out time”. They highlighted that the Sensory Room was a resource that must be actively engaged with to bring about positive outcomes including learning, linking to the theme of “the active practitioner” (see part 4), “When you come into a Sensory Room you have to also set up a lesson plan and you know work out what you want your pupil to achieve in there”.

Some practitioners suggested that sensory needs are a barrier to learning for autistic children. The SR helps to eliminate some of those sensory needs so that they can start to learn. They went on to add that the environment in the SR can offer what you wouldn’t necessarily get in the classroom. This concept of the SR being a unique space that offers more possibilities than a typical classroom arose many times. In addition, practitioners also reported that support regulation; preparing the child for learning in the classroom.

Citations:

Katy L. Unwin, Georgina Powell, Catherine R.G. Jones, A sequential mixed-methods approach to exploring the experiences of practitioners who have worked in multi-sensory environments with autistic children, Research in Developmental Disabilities, Volume 118, 2021, 104061, ISSN 0891-4222, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104061.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422221002109)

TFH, and indeed everyone working in the Sensory Room field, would welcome any comments arising from this article. If you have conducted or know of any research or observations on behaviour please let us know: John.t@tfhuk.com and we will post it.