A Model for Classroom-Based Intervention for Children with Sensory Processing Differences

This study examines the impact of a general education classroom-based sensory program for students exhibiting sensory processing differences in the school environment. Students were divided by age and degree of sensory needs between control and experimental groups, with teachers of students in the experimental group implementing the recommended sensory program (Brain Works) with all students in the classroom. In spite of the top-down nature of the training for teachers, which generated a skeptical and in some cases resistant teacher population in both groups, results demonstrated a positive impact, although the degree of magnitude differed across classrooms and age groups. Of equal significance is the difference in teacher implementation structures, which provides input for future training approaches. The degree of change in classroom performance of students in the experimental group suggests that training for teachers with students who have sensory differences is effective and that students can benefit from a classroom-based sensory program as an investment in classroom performance. The significance of this study is that it goes beyond the therapeutic environment, where sensory processing is more commonly measured, and evaluates actual classroom-level/educational setting impact, with concrete implications for effective classroom interventions. Future research in this area could expand to evaluate actual academic gains as measured by standardized academic scores, furthering the data in this study which evaluated performance on standardized sensory and behavioral measures.