Information for parents and carers:At Ashwood School, students have been participating in an OT Regulation Program. Classes within the school have been completing a 45-minute OT class once per week. The program is designed to support regulation and sensory processing.
The program commenced in term 3, where students learned to identify and notice their body signals and then understand what they need. This skill is called interoception. For example, we may notice a dry throat, and link that to feeling thirsty and needing a glass of water.
In term 4, the program is aiming to develop students' understanding of their level of alertness and how to change their alertness through sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and movement. This empowers students to use tools that work for them to self-regulate.
You may hear language like "I have a high engine" or "my engine is low". This is how the students are learning about their level of alertness. We are using a car analogy to learn that "just like a car, our body has an engine." For example:
The program focuses on using skills from term 3 to notice how our own engine is running. Throughout this program, there is a strong emphasis that it's okay to have a high or low engine, the goal is to learn what tools our engine (body and brain) need.
Toward the end of term 4, we will try out different tools to change our engine speed. If you have some tools which help your child's engine move faster or slower, feel free to write it in their diary. We will do our best to share any tools we find helpful as well.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Steph AllenOccupational Therapist
