I am a sensory engagement and inclusion specialist. In my work at The Sensory Projects, I explore how inexpensive resources can be used as sensory tools for inclusion and investigate how understanding sensory processing can help us better support those in our care. I deliver training nationally and internationally and can often be heard saying that I wish there was an easy way to distinguish between sensory and SENSORY.
What’s The Difference Between Sensory And SENSORY Engagement?
People are generally aware that engaging the senses during learning is useful, but there is a big difference between putting out a box of toys labelled as ‘sensory’ in a catalogue and creating a SENSORY banquet for exploration.
In this series of articles, I will discuss the difference between sensory and SENSORY across different sensory systems and the impact of sensory engagement on people of all neurotypes, regardless of ability or disability.
This article focuses on touch. It is our largest sense organ and offers countless opportunities for tactile engagement.
How To Do Touch In A Little Letter Sensory Way
Touch: Sensory
Include a touch-and-feel book in your library.
Why isn’t this capital letter sensory? Touch is your largest sense organ, and a touch-and-feel book offers stimulation to only a very small part of it. If we were aiming for capital-letter sensory, we would look for a standout experience – something attention-grabbing and engagement-capturing. Why, then, would we target the part of the body that is always targeted for touch?
What about the soles of the feet as an alternative or the back of a knee? Already it’s sounding more interesting, isn’t it? Sensing is a connection between a sense organ and the world, taking in a part of the world and relaying it to the brain. Part of this connection depends on how much access the organ has (it would be tricky to fold a touch-and-feel book to tickle the back of someone’s knee, wouldn’t it?), and part of it depends on what sensation the world is offering.
What tactile sensations are offered by your average touch-and-feel book? We already know: a swatch of fur fabric, maybe some velvet or felt, a smooth page, a leatherette page, and possibly – if we are lucky – a bit of sandpaper. These small swatches might stimulate a fingertip but are far from sufficient for the whole hand. If this tactile experience were a dinner party, we’d have arrived late to find the meal nearly finished, left with only a few crumbs.
What would a touch banquet be?
Touch: SENSORY
- Plunge arms and legs into barrels of rice
- Create a sensory walkway: take shoes and socks off and crackle through dry leaves, squelch through mud, or explore textured trays. You can raise this walkway to foot level for people who cannot walk
- Make a tactile rainbow: use tubs, trays, or tough trays to create a graded touch experience. Imagine starting with water at one end and ending with sand or rocks at the other. What would go in between? Custard? Gunge? Gack? Sticky dough? Playdough with bits in it? You could arrange these together with participants to see what order they think they go in or set them up beforehand and let people explore to find their favourite
Sensory Engagement For All: Exploring Touch Beyond The Basics
Thinking about the distinction between sensory and SENSORY can help you create more engaging invitations to learn and explore for the people you support.
In my next article, we will look at how to support people who struggle with touch and why tactile offerings have importance beyond engagement. In the article after that, we’ll move on to another sensory system. Check back through those already published to develop your sensory banquet. No leftovers for those you support—just sensory deliciousness all the way!
Read more from this series here:
Sensory Engagement: Transform Visual Learning Into An Engaging Experience
Sensory Strategies To Transform Visual Learning
