Special learners endure many challenges, including sensory overload. At the “Lights, Colors, Shapes, Sounds and Scents” workshop, Carolyn Feder, TBAE and TAID, will discuss sensory overload solutions with families and teachers of students with special needs. 

Presented by the Plano ISD Council of PTAs SAGE (Special and Gifted Education) Committee, the workshop will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 in the Colorado Room at the Plano ISD Sockwell Center, 6301 Chapel Hill Blvd. in Plano. 

Feder, owner of Sensory Interior Design, will discuss how lights, colors, sounds, shapes and scents impact the sensory environment of special learners. Topics include diagnosing spaces and their effects on special learners, how organizing spaces organizes thoughts, and balanced sensory interior design diet for special learners. She will also reveal some unexpected sources of sensory overload and how to prevent and remove them.

“Our senses are bombarded every day,” Feder said. “Most of us can block it out, but special learners can’t. They need us to do it for them.”

Feder defines sensory overload as anything that causes distraction, from lighting to too many doors, too much furniture, too many bright colors or shapes, or even grout lines.

The holidays are a prime time for sensory overload.
 

“What’s comforting to one person can be traumatic for another, especially those affected by sensory integration or who are sensitive to irritants,” Feder said. “For them, even the noise of wrapping paper can hurt. Simplifying the sights and sounds of the holidays can let in the peace of the season.”

Feder recommends minimizing decorations, scents and sounds to make a tremendous difference for someone affected by sensory integration. Creating a space that reflects the peaceful simplicity of the season can provide a calming sanctuary where anyone can relax and recharge their energy.

“For those with sensory integration sensitivities, the fewer scents, sounds and sights the better. The key words are smooth and simple,” she said.

For special learners, smooth and simple are key words for every day.

“Most of us access it without paying attention. But lighting, windows, condition of flooring, ceiling and walls, colors, shapes and more are processed as noise by special learners,” Feder said. “Think of it as when you’re in a restaurant, and there are 10 people talking around you, and you can’t hear the person directly in front of you. For a special learner, if there are too many distractions in a room, he can’t hear what the teacher is saying. Reduce the noise and he can pay attention to the one conversation he needs to: the teacher.”

At home it would be the parent, or perhaps homework or therapy.

“You need to create a space where the student can sit and focus on work and pay attention to the homework, not the sensory

environment,” Feder said. “If the parents have to follow through on therapy at home, they need a space where the focus can be on the therapy.”

Through Sensory Interior Design, Feder offers consultation and coaching for families, teachers and professionals, applying specialized techniques on homes, classrooms, offices and even commercial spaces. Her “Lights, Colors, Shapes, Sounds and Scents”  is free and open to the public. No registration is necessary, but seating is limited to the first 30 people.

For more information about the presentation, contact Julie Cincotta at juliecincotta@verizon.net. Directions to the Sockwell Center are at http://www.pisd.edu/about.us/departments/sockwell.center.shtml.

For more information about Carolyn Feder and Sensory Interior Design, visit www.SensoryInteriorDesign.com or e-mail sensoryinteriordesigner@yahoo.com.

 

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