Some learners can be over-sensitive (hyper-sensitive) to sensory stimuli. Other learners can be under-sensitive (hypo-sensitive) to sensory stimuli. A learner may experience over and under sensitivity at the same time or on different occasions.

Find out more about sensory sensitivity issues here: www.autism.org.uk

Some learners find it hard to coordinate their senses and process the information they get from them. The sensory input that they receive might be fragmented, which means that it becomes very difficult for them to understand the ‘big picture.’ Instead a learner might just focus on one element, ignoring the rest of the sensory information in their environment. Alternatively, they might be overwhelmed by all the sensory information and be unable to focus in on the activity.

Learners might also process sensory stimulation much more slowly, meaning that they are still processing one stimulus (e.g. a noise from outside the classroom) when another stimulus is presented (e.g. a verbal or visual instruction) which results in confusion about what is happening and what they should do next.

Sensory seeking activities can be very important to some learners and these might include flapping, spinning, vocalising or twisting.

Simple explanations for this behaviour may include:

• The ability to control a sensory input to help them regulate or calm
• Blocking out an unwanted stimulus with a preferred stimulus that they can control - e.g. the ‘hum’ of the projector may be painful and distracting, but fiddling with a rubber band blocks this out
• There can be a need for bold or intense sensory stimuli to help ‘reconnect’ to the world around them