Book Review: 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Sensory Processing Differences by Kim Griffin
By Gina Daly, 15 March 2022
Book Reviewed: 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Sensory Processing Differences
Author: Kim Griffin
Publisher: Bloomsbury, 2021; ISBN 9781472986948
Reviewed by: Gina Daly
We here at SensorNet HQ love to review books for you, our readers, so that we can keep you up-to-date on new releases. This book was published by Bloomsbury in 2021 and we felt that now would be a good time to share with you all and bring your awareness to this new resource. This book is suitable for therapists, teachers and parents of children with sensory processing differences. The focus of the book is on the primary school environment and as a therapist myself, supporting children within the school environment, I was very interested to read more about what this book had to offer.
Occupational therapist Kim Griffin shares her expertise with 100 informative, easy-to-use ideas to help improve learning experiences for both pupils and teachers. As an occupational therapist working in paediatric services, I reviewed this book with a practical hat on. I am constantly asked about ideas for the classroom to support children with sensory processing differences in my day-to-day clinical work. I work with a wide ranging paediatric population including those with ASD, ADHD, DCD, intellectual disability and physical disabilities. Teachers and education staff are always looking for resources, information and strategies which they can employ within their schools to best support their students' learning and functioning, and so I was immediately drawn to this book.
Kim Griffin, OT
Firstly, it is a very convenient size and can be easily popped into a bag for when you are on the go. It is lightweight and not at all overwhelming when scanning through it initially. It is clearly laid out with a title on each page and divided into relevant parts. I think it is really important for a text to be accessible and user-friendly, especially when sharing this with busy school staff. The contents are broken down as follows:
- Part 1: Sensory foundations
- Part 2: How differences present
- Part 3: Foundations for helping
- Part 4: Special considerations
- Part 5: Supporting the touch sense
- Part 6: Supporting movement
- Part 7: Sensory strategies
- Part 8: Sensory equipment
- Part 9: Functional skills
- Part 10: Helping parents
The sections have a natural flow and lead one into the other. It is, however, a book where you can easily jump between sections depending on what you are looking for.
There were a few stand out sections that I found particularly useful to my work – Part 2 on how differences present was very insightful, as it translates many complex topics into readable and digestible information. This section covers topics such as flight, fight and freeze; hearing, touch, and movement sensitivity; movement seeking; and why an individual may be chewing on everything. There are teaching tips provided on each page as well as bonus ideas and places to look for further information. These all provided supplementary information and really added to the content.
Another section which jumped out for me as a therapist was Part 6: Supporting movement. I am regularly asked for movement break ideas both for individuals and, also, for whole classrooms. This section provides information and strategies on lunch breaks, dyspraxia (helping ideation), bilateral integration, low arousal, posture and core strength, body awareness and personal space and much more. While it is concise and to the point, it also provides a wealth of information that is easy to follow and interpret. It touches on many of the concepts which we, as therapists, educate school staff on and this provides excellent supplementary information.
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Part 7 on sensory strategies and Part 8 on sensory equipment are of huge importance within this text and are presented clearly. The teaching tips within these sections really resonated with me and I know many therapists will feel the same. Examples of tips include: too much swinging can cause overload; if a student with dyspraxia hasn’t started their work after an instruction, check that they know how to get started; if a student is worried about being on a swing, make sure their feet can touch the ground; etc. These provide useful insights and information and provide another perspective on why students may be presenting with difficulties.
Part 9 on functional skills is one section I was immediately tuned in to, as an Occupational Therapist. Occupational participation challenges are what we are trained to address - and practical advice on functional skills is always a useful starting point. This section covers lots of basics in relation to school functioning, such as difficulties holding a pencil, cutlery use, difficulty on playground equipment, poor attention and handwashing. This section is tailored towards real life experiences with personal statements opening each heading, for example: “She won’t let me cut her nails; we usually do it when she is sleeping”.
It is clear that this book has been written and designed by a therapist who has worked in the field for many years. That experience and knowledge is obvious through the way the information is presented and explained. It is a suitable text for all people on their journey to learning more about sensory processing, how these difficulties may present and strategies that can be used within a school and home setting. The selling point of this book is that it is quick and easy to read and includes comprehensive and useful information on a complex topic that is becoming more recognised within the school system.
I will certainly be keeping this reference to hand as one of my key recommendation texts.
