The importance of movement & sensory needs
Everyone uses movement to help them to manage everyday life, from twiddling hair or bouncing their leg when anxious to going for a run or a workout to reduce stress and get a better night’s sleep.
These strategies are an important part of everyday life; most people naturally find movements that help to regulate emotions without even realising. The normal school day has many movement opportunities for students; the journey to school, transition between lessons and even the organisation of their equipment at the beginning and end of each lesson.
With learning now being virtual almost all of these opportunities are being missed and this will impact on students’ ability to self-regulate in order to learn effectively.
Interestingly, in our research with parents, many reflected on the challenges and difficulties that their child was experiencing with concentration and focus, and many commented on the challenges of getting their child to do anything other than focus on a screen all day, and also for their relaxation time:
Getting him to exercise is a battle. Just getting him out of the house to get fresh air is difficult!!
Yet, there was little mention of sensory or movement needs in the responses from parents. This is often an overlooked area, which actually has a significant impact on the student’s ability to concentrate, focus and engage successfully in learning. It is also an area which is often overlooked and neglected in the school environment with our intense focus on the learning process. The transition from virtual learning back into the classroom offers a perfect opportunity to give this more consideration as we review the effectiveness of the systems and processes that we have in place in our schools to support our students.