Monday, 26 August 2013

Week 4 - Nothing like digging the garden to get the ideas flowing!

Nothing like digging the garden to get the ideas flowing!

Alien Plant rescued!
It does have a name
but we renamed it
the 'Alien Plant!'


Lots of thoughts going around in my head today - but one particular thought won't go away!  I have been thinking about how much we are all affected by the sensory stimuli that surrounds us on a daily basis and the impact (either good or bad) that this can have on us as individuals. 

I began to consider how we as individuals react differently when presented with certain stimuli.

Those of you who know me really well know that I suffer from Koumpounophobia (fear of loose buttons!) Since I was little I have always had a fear of buttons - not buttons on clothes, but loose ones (the black 4 holers from men's trousers are the worst!) Even writing about this now is causing me extreme discomfort.....so imagine if I was given a tin of loose buttons to experience as stimuli....ARGHHHHHHH! My anxiety levels are heightened just blogging about it let alone having to actually put my hands in the tin! I feel nauseous and can feel my elbows going into spasm.....yet.......my youngest daughter could happily put her hands in the tin and find it quite therapeutic!

 This got me thinking . . . 

 I can communicate with words, I can tell you of this irrational fear - I cannot explain it, but I can let you know that I cannot touch a loose button, it makes me feel physically ill. But what about the child who is unable to express his/her feelings vocally?

 How do I address this issue in my Sensory Story? How do I know if the stimuli I have chosen will cause anxiety or stress to the child?  Do I need to introduce some kind of 'symbol' card or sign to enable the child to 'tell' me ..."I am not happy at experiencing this stimuli."

 Gosh! There is so much to think about on this Sensory Story journey! It is more than writing a few poetic lines and waving a nice smell under your nose!












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1 comment:

  1. Unknown27 August 2013 at 15:26

    Hello Pam, getting children to communicate about emotions is a really big deal.
    It helps to simply label their emotions for them as they experience them - symbol support for this can be helpful for those who don't understand language so well.
    So, you'd say "You're sad" when a child is sad, or "you're angry" emotions can be difficult to discern and giving students a lexicon relevant to their life is helpful.
    In a story you could have a character that has the emotion too.
    Anxiety is a tricky one. Some students will start of just recognising happy and sad, and all negative emotions will be expressed as sorrow, all positive as joy. Learning the different nuances is useful at both ends of the scale (how often to children get in trouble because they're over excited, being able to express a range of emotions is the first step in the process of being able to cope with them)

    A great thing for a story to do!

    What about getting students to create their own experiences? I recently heard the inspirational Camila Batmanghelidjh describe the anxiety of the young people she works with as being like having a helicopter in their stomachs.

    I'm going to have to commission you to write for the Sensory Story Project!

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