PSYCH 424 blog

February 3, 2017 by Lia Stoffle

Miss Maplethorpe and her wonderful sensory seating. Tennis balls were attached to the seats for increased sensory input. The fabric tied around the feet of the chairs are common in classrooms with sensory impaired students to control for loud, unexpected noises made on the floors. Photo Credit: Raymond Ellis Elementary School Facebook Page

When we consider of the process designing a space, whether it be a building, a pavilion, or an office, it is often associated with architects and interior designers. The common perception surrounds a “formal design” approach typically involving a “large scale” endeavor and a “paying client” (Schneider, Gruman & Coutts, 2012, pp. 314). Peering past the superficial, there are also design processes which focus on the needs and wants of the individuals who will be occupying the space. The roots of this process, called social design, lie within the desire to create beneficial designs for “the unfortunate” (Schneider et al., 2012, pp. 315). There are, of course, expert professionals with careers in social design, however the compassionate and empathetic roots of the practice enable a multitude of caring people to use elements of social design throughout their daily lives. A charismatic teacher in the speech and language department of an elementary school went above and beyond to create special furniture for her students, and is the inspiration for this article. I hope this information can shed light on the valiant health professionals and educators who take the opportunity to step into the shoes of a social designer to enhance the environment for their clients and students.

According to the DSM-5, Autistic, Asperger’s, and Child Disintegrative disorders as well as Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), all fall under the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD for short (Wicks-Nelson & Israel, 2015). Characteristically, children diagnosed with ASD display restrictive behaviors such as “over- or undersensitivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment” (Wicks-Nelson & Israel, 2015, pp. 310). Though many of the primary characteristics of the disorder are related to interaction, communication, and other socioemotional difficulties, secondary features involve sensory impairments. “Overselectivity” of single aspects of stimuli, rather than perceiving the stimuli as a whole, can consume the attention of a child with ASD (Wicks-Nelson & Israel, 2015, pp. 313). Other stimuli, even something considered attention grabbing or startling to a mentally healthy child, may be entirely lost to the child fixated on a specific part of a stimuli.

It is also known that oversensitivity to stimuli, can cause ASD and anxiety to interact in a bidirectional manner in which the child experiences co-occurring disorders (Wicks-Nelson & Israel, 2015). Children with co-occurring ASD and anxiety can be subject to panic attacks based on certain environmental triggers where the child can experience “rapid heart rate…(and) feeling short of breath,” among other symptoms (Wicks-Nelson & Israel, 2015, pp. 122-123). Additionally, autism can at times be associated with “self-injurious behavior,” commonly triggered by environmental contexts (Wicks-Nelson & Israel, 2015, pp. 304). These experiences and subsequent behaviors of children with ASD clearly present obstacles when it comes to creating a cohesive classroom setting for a beneficial learning environment.

Special needs educators encounter children with sensory impairments on a frequent basis. They are no stranger to the negative effects that sensory impairments can have on a learning environment, like a classroom, if not attended to properly. Thankfully, social design can be of assistance in this area. Social design in regards to a special needs classroom would entail designing a classroom “in collaboration with” children with sensory impairments “so that it is more user-friendly,” and more cohesive to learning (Schneider et al., 2012, pp. 298). When attempting to create a successful social design, it is important to consider six main areas of interest. Thankfully, many mental health professionals and psychologists have implemented specific socially designed elements in classrooms across the world in accordance with the six goals of social design.

1. To match the environment to the occupants. The first, and likely the “most important” goal of social design focuses on “matching” the physical environment of a particular space with the needs of those intended to use the space (Schneider et al., 2012, pp. 314). Relating to efforts to make a classroom the best environment for children with varying sensory impairments, this goal is quite general and really includes a healthy balance of the following five goals. Ultimately, it is important to recognize that children with ASD are unique individuals, and therefore require a space that is easily adaptable and has different levels of sensory input in designated spaces throughout the room. Occupational therapist Judy McCarter explains the importance of “quiet spaces” being made available within a classroom (McCarter, behaviordoctor.org).
2. To create satisfaction through habitability. In the social design realm, this concept is referred to as “beta matching” and solely focuses on the satisfaction of the occupants (Schneider et al., 2012, pp. 315). As previously mentioned, the uniqueness of each child’s sensory perception can create challenging obstacles in designing classroom elements. Some children may require more sensory input for improved sensory regulation. Miss Maplethorpe, created these simple chairs (shown in the photo above) to improve the classroom experience for sensory impaired students at Ellis Elementary School in Illinois (Raymond Ellis Elementary School, 2017).
3. To influence behavior. Social design seeks to employ certain design elements with occupant’s precipitating behavioral factors in mind to create an environment which fosters positive behavioral change (Schneider et al., 2012). Changing sensory impaired student’s disruptive behaviors is very much linked to increasing emotional regulation through environmental factors. It is usually the environmental factors which cause such behaviors. Noises can be controlled for by keeping student seating away from “hallway noise,” and smells can be diminished by avoiding scented body works and using a “draft dodger” under the classroom door to keep outside smells from entering the room (Riffel, 2014, pp. 33). Additionally, playing music set to sixty beats per minute as a auditory cue prior to a transition has been shown to “have a calming effect” by aligning with the resting heartbeat (Riffel, 2014, pp. 8).
4. To increase perceived personal control. This aspect of social design focuses on the occupant’s ability to regulate their own personal space to avoid feeling as if control is lost or that there is a social or informational overload (Schneider et al., 2012). For sensory impaired students, maintaining control can be aided by the sixty beat per minute music previously mentioned. Additionally, incorporating proprioceptive input into the children’s seating helps the children orient themselves with their own bodies, and ultimately increases their ability to focus and decreases anxiety (Riffel, 2014). Proprioceptive “tools” can include therapy banding between desk legs, “bendable toy(s),” or other objects or furniture modifications which allow for fidgeting and increased sensory input (Riffel, 2014, pp. 7).
5. To create appropriate social settings. When considering social support in terms of social design, it is important to assess whether there is a need for sociopetal furniture arrangements to “encourage social interactions,” sociofugal arrangements to discourage social interaction, or a combination of both (Schneider et al., 2012, pp. 316). Many curriculums for children with ASD focus on improving social skills (Wicks-Nelson & Israel, 2015). For this reason, it is important to incorporate certain areas or times where there are sociopetal arrangements. Also to be considered is the unique quality of each child, and the very probable need for a quiet area based on a sociofugal arrangement to minimize sensory input and avoid problematic behavioral reactions.
6. To create an easily navigated environment. This goal of social design is to decrease uncertainty in the occupants of the environment. Occupants should feel the physical design elements of a space are “clearly understandable” (Schneider et al., 2012, pp. 317). This is an incredibly important consideration when designing a room for children with sensory impairments. Transitions “can be a huge event,” and easing the process or reorienting themselves is crucial (Riffel, 2014). Using “visual rugs” with letters or numbers assigned to each student is one example of creating a more “imaginable” space (McCarter, behaviordoctor.org)(Schneider et al., 2012, pp. 317).

Inspired by what appeared to be a simple act of compassion by an elementary school teacher, understanding how much goes into planning an adequate classroom for sensory impaired students is an amazing gift. Though these teachers, therapists and health professionals may not be considered “social designers,” there is no question that they are beyond capable of social design. Their empathy and concern driven efforts to create a balanced learning environment for students with sensory impairments is, frankly, awe-inspiring.

References

McCarter, Judy. (2013). Sensory. Retrieved from http://behaviordoctor.org/sensory/

Raymond Ellis Elementary School. (2017, January 26). Miss Maplethorpe, from our Speech and Language Department created these chairs for our students that have sensory issues. Thank you Miss Maplethorpe. Sensory seating is used for students who may have difficulty processing information from their senses and from the world around them. Tennis balls on the seat and backrest provide an alternative texture to improve sensory regulation. Students with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, sensory processing disorder, etc. may benefit from this seating option. [Facebook Status Update] Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/172071929663038/photos/a.176820609188170.1073741828.172071929663038/663843470485879/?type=3&theater

Riffel Ph.D,  L. A. (2014). Working with Learners Who Struggle in the Classroom: Interventions for ADHD, Learning Disabilities, Autism, and Oppositional or Non-compliant Behavior. Retrieved from http://behaviordoctor.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014strugglinglearnersv.pdf

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.) (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1412976381

Wicks-Nelson, R. & Israel, A. C. (2015). Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology: DSM-5 Update. (8^th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 3rd, 2017 at 4:01 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.