Running

head: SENSORY INTERVENTIONS

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Research Proposal

Dylan Doggett

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Sensory Interventions for Autistic Students in a Self-Contained Elementary Classroom

Introduction:

Education is the foundation of life. Teachers play a vital role in the lives of students.

Special education teachers play a vital role in the lives of students with special needs.

Attributes of an exceptional special education teacher are as a supporter, encourager, and

role model. An exceptional special education teacher recognizes the uniqueness in each

student. Every student diagnosed with a disability is unique and needs varied resources to

be successful.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a disability characterized by having difficulty in social

situations along with communication issues and repetitive patterns of behaviors. The

severity of these behaviors and characteristics vary, which is why it falls on a spectrum.

Every individual diagnosed with Autism is unique. Individuals with a diagnosis of Autism,

typically also struggle with sensory processing. Sensory processing is when the brain has

problems responding to information that is delivered through the senses (Boroson, 2016;

Robinson, 2008). Some are oversensitive to items in their environment and become

overwhelmed. A simple sound may become painful.

A diagnosis of Autism comes with unusual ways of learning, attending, and

responding to sensory experiences (Brown & Dunn, 2010). Students struggle with being

able to sit for the whole 30-minute lesson. Students are constantly moving and fidgeting,

along with having behavioral outbursts. Behaviors can create a chaotic classroom

environment. Behaviors must be regulated before learning can happen. To regulate

behaviors the problem must be identified. Students sensory needs are not being met

therefore students are having outbursts and off task behaviors. Behavior is communication.
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Students with sensory processing difficulties is common, research studies have been

conducted to find helpful tools and interventions to meet students unique sensory needs.

Winnie Dunn is a leading expert in the area of Autism and is a well-known

researcher on the topic of sensory. She is recognized for her work in occupational therapy

and the many research studies she has completed and been a part of. Researching Winnie

led directly towards informational research articles and journals with information on

sensory and sensory interventions.

Literature Review:

Multiple research studies reviewed the effects of a sensory intervention. Parker and

O’Brien found that sensory interventions leave a calming effect on students for up to 20

minutes after having received the intervention (2011). There are multiple types of sensory

interventions; Dawson and Walting performed an intervention consisting of playing music.

Results showed that listening to music helps put autistic students and students with

abnormal sensory processing at a peaceful state of mind (2000). Three other researchers

also completed a research study involving music. Multi-sensory approach involving

technology, specific piano music during math lessons in distinct musical patterns and loops.

Results indicated students being calmer and more focused throughout math lessons (Katai,

Toth & Adrojani, 2014). Researchers also studied the use of sensory rooms. Kalimullin,

Kuvaldina, & Koinova-Zoellner studied sensory rooms. The sensory room they created for

students consisted of a dark room with peaceful music, various therapeutic balls, different

styles of chairs, and sensory touch items (fidgets: small sensory toys ex. chewies, telephone

cords, jigglers, and stress balls). In this study students were first taught how to

appropriately use the sensory room and then students were allowed to go into the room,
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gaining a sensory experience for 10 minutes throughout the day. This sensory experience

taught students how to self-regulate and left students feeling relaxed (2016). In addition,

Stephenson completed a research study involving the use of a sensory room. This sensory

room was a very small room painted black. Inside the room were various sensory

stimulatory objects: foil, mirrors, music, projector, bubbles, and light/sound effects.

Students were allowed to go into the room for 20-minutes a day and results showed the

students were less agitated, more soothed, increased vocalization, and an understanding of

cause and effect (2002).

Three women (Mills, Chapparo & Hinitt, 2016) completed a different type of sensory

intervention; who wrote an article in the Journal of Occupational Therapy. This

intervention consisted of individualized sensory activities based on the student’s specific

sensory needs. The sensory activities were: bouncing on a therapy ball, deep touch

pressure, body socks, jumping on a mini trampoline and wearing a weighted vest. These

students received the 10-minute sensory activity before being asked to complete tasks

throughout the day. Results showed a strong correlation and significant improvements in

task mastery proving the intervention to be successful. The Journal of Special Education, a

study focusing on the use of therapeutic sand to help students with Autism express their

emotions rather than using words. Results showed that after students received this play

therapy intervention they were able to self-regulate and calm themselves through the use

of therapeutic sand (Parker & O’Brien, 2011). Sensory interventions exists with findings to

ultimately be inconsistent with each student involved in the intervention due to the

uniqueness of each individual diagnosed with Autism or Sensory Processing Disorder. After

Schaaf, Benevides, Kelly & Maillouz-Maggio, completed a research study involving sensory
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interventions for students diagnosed with Autism, the conclusion showed that sensory

interventions are much more effective if they are child-centered and tailored to each

individuals unique needs (2012). After a comprehensive review of literature including

various sensory interventions, sensory experiences and Autism, the research question

posed in this study is: Does a sensory intervention lessen the number of behavioral

outbursts throughout the day?

Methods:

Participants in this research study in the alternate curriculum program, a self-

contained classroom of a Title I school in Omaha, Nebraska. The total enrollment in the

class is seven students ranging from grade levels 3rd through 5th grade. The students have

all been previously diagnosed with Autism using Special Education Rule 51 and based on a

medical diagnosis (Regulations/Policies, 2017). Three students are females and four

students are males. The seven students identify race/ethnicity as: White (4), Black or

African American (2), and Hispanic (1). Five of the seven students are considered to be

completely non-verbal, one student speaks in echolalia, and one student is completely

verbal. All seven of the students will be invited to participate in the study. Only students

who have returned a parental consent form (see Appendix A) will be allowed to participate

in the study. It is anticipated that all seven students will participate in the study.

The classroom is a rectangular shape with dimensions being approximately 40x30

feet. There is a kitchen area, two small group work areas, an individual workspace and a

whole group area for group lessons where each individual student has a work area. In the

classroom one can typically find a teacher and two paraprofessionals at all times. Since it is

a self-contained classroom other professionals come into the room often a school nurse, an
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occupational therapist, and a physical therapist. These individuals frequently are in and out

of the classroom on a weekly to daily basis.

To complete this research study there are some tools that are needed. A parental

consent form (Appendix A) must be signed before the students are able to participate.

Other forms included in this study are two data recording forms where, the first measures

the length and frequency of behavioral outbursts. Data will be collected in two time frames,

9:15 am to 11:45 am and from 1:15 pm to 3:45 pm (See Appendix B). The second data

recording form contains data on the student’s individual sensory choice. Students will be

choosing one of the following sensory intervention tools: therapy sand, weighted vest, or

theraputty, which will be recorded each time the students receive the intervention (See

Appendix C).

Week 1 day 1-5:

Baseline data will be taken daily from 9:15 am to 11:45 am and from 1:15 pm to 3:45 pm

using Appendix B form. The data collection sheet will be on a clipboard and the data

collector will fill out the form using tally marks.

Week 2 day 1:

Students will begin being taught how to properly use the sensory tools. This day will

consist of teaching students how to properly use theraputty. This will be a 30-minute

lesson involving modeling and then allowing the students to use the theraputty with

calming music in the background for 15 minutes of the 30-minute lesson. This will happen

once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Week 2 day 2:
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Students will be taught how to properly use therapy sand. This again will be a 30-minute

lesson with modeling and then allowing the students to use the therapy sand while

listening to calming minutes for 15 minutes of the 30-minute lesson. This will also happen

once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Week 2 day 3:

First students will be fitted properly for a weighted vest. This depends upon the student’s

size. After fitting the students, they will wear the weighted vest for 15 minutes while

listening to calming minutes. This will happen in the morning and again in the afternoon,

allowing for me to make sure the vest is fitting properly.

Week 2 day 4-5:

Students will practice interacting with the sensory tool of their choice for 15 minutes while

listening to calming music. This will happen from 9:00-9:15 am and again from 1:00-1:15

pm. Students will be taught to transition from the sensory activity back to their desks with

the use of a visual timer as a transition signal. Data will not be collected during this time.

Week 3 day 1-Week 5 day5:

The intervention officially begins along with data collection. After students arrive at school

in the morning they put away their personal items in their individual lockers and eat

breakfast in the classroom. Following breakfast and cleanup at 9:00-9:15 am students will

receive the sensory intervention. They will be allowed to pick one sensory item of their

choice. The students will use this item for 15 minutes while listening to calming music until

the transition signal goes off. While the students are in the intervention the data collector

will record on the data sheet (Appendix C) the individuals sensory choice. Once the

transition signal begins students will go back to their desks. At this time data collection
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begins. The data collector will carry a clipboard with the data collection sheet (Appendix B)

collecting data by using tally marks. Data will be collected from 9:15-11:45 am. This will be

repeated exactly in the afternoon starting at 1:00 pm. At this time the students will receive

the second intervention. Data collection will happen again from 1:15-3:45pm. At the end of

the day the data collection sheet will be taken off the clipboard and stored in a locked filing

cabinet, only the researcher has access to this cabinet. Data will be taken daily with data

recording sheets being placed on a clipboard and recorded in 10-minute increments. Data

will keep track of the number of outbursts students have and how long the outbursts last.

The intervention will take place from week two day one ending on week six day five. The

intervention will last for approximately six weeks with five days in each week.

Results: Projected results

At the conclusion of the intervention, data examination will begin. The projected

hypotheses would be the number of daily outbursts will lessen by the conclusion of the

intervention. It is projected to be a gradual decline in number of outbursts from the

beginning of the intervention to the end of the intervention. It is projected students will

find a sensory item of their liking and that will be the item they choose more consistently.

The data collected in this intervention could possibly be misinterpreted due to the

small population size. With such a small population size the researcher has a very close

relationship with all of the students, because of this relationship a bias could exist skewing

the data. Results could also leave room for error due to only one person collecting the data,

ideally there would be more than one person collecting data. Other possible ramifications

could be related to limitations in attendance/no school days, medication changes, and any

changes in the daily routine.

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Discussion:

Future research in this area could be the use of sensory rooms and the effects that a

sensory room experience has on a student when the student is having a behavior issue.

Other possible research could be the use of giving a student a sensory tool for example a

fidget during a lesson to help with students staying seated and calm during a lesson. There

is limited research and data in the area of sensory considering it is such a popular topic in

the world of special education.

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Works Cited

Boroson, B. (2016). Autism spectrum disorder today: Life, literacy, and the pursuit of

content. Language and Literacy Spectrum, 26, 53-59. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

Brown, N. B., & Dunn, W. (2010). Relationship between context and sensory processing in

children with autism. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, 474-483.

Retrieved April 2, 2018.

Dawson, G., & Watling, R. (2000). Interventions to facilitate auditory, visual, and motor

integrations in autism: A review of the evidence. Journal of Autism and

Developmental Disorders, 30(5), 415-421. Retrieved January 31, 2018.

Kalimullin, A. M., Kuvaldina, E. A., & Koinova-Zoellner, J. (2016). Adolescents' self-

regulation development via the sensory room system. International Journal of

Environmental & Science Education, 11(5), 663-671. Retrieved January 30, 2018.

Katai, Z., Toth, L., & Adorjani, A. (2014). Multi-Sensory informatics education. Informatics in

Education, 13(2), 225-238. Retrieved February 12, 2018.

Mills, C., Chapparo, C., & Hinitt, J. (2016). The impact of an in-class sensory activity schedule

on task performance of children with autism and intellectual disability: A pilot

study. Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75(9), 530-539. Retrieved March 20, 2018.

Parker, N., & O'Brien, P. (2011). Play therapy-reaching the child with autism. International

Journal of Special Education, 26(1), 80-87. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

Regulations/Policies. (2017, October 27). Retrieved March 31, 2019, from

https://www.education.ne.gov/sped/regulationspolicies/

Robinson, J.E. (2008). Look me in the eye: my life with Aspergers. Sydney: Bantam.
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Schaaf, R. C., Benevides, T. W., Kelly, D., & Mailloux-Maggio, Z. (2012). Occupational therapy

and sensory integration for children with autism: A feasibility, safety, acceptability

and fidelity study. Autism, 16(3), 321-327. Retrieved April 4, 2018.

Stephenson, J. (2002). Characterization of multisensory environments: Why do teachers

use them? Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 15, 73-90. Retrieved

March 17, 2018.

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Appendix A
Parental Consent Form
Nebraska Wesleyan University

Parental/Guardian Informed Consent for a Minor to Participate in a Research Study

Sensory Interventions to Create a Calm Classroom Learning Environment

Your child is being invited to participate in a research study conducted by Dylan Doggett.
Your child’s teacher is a graduate student at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Since she/he is
under the age of 19, their parent/guardian must give the researcher permission to invite
them to be in this study. Your child is being asked to participate in the study because
he/she fits in the criteria of this study, that he/she is a student in a self-contained
classroom, diagnosed with Autism and in grades 3rd through 5th. You should read the
information below and ask questions about anything you do not understand before
deciding whether or not to allow your child to participate.

Purpose of the Study:

The purpose of this research study is to identify if a sensory intervention lessens the
number of outbursts throughout the school day and if it shortens the length of outbursts. I
hope that a result of the study is to create a calmer classroom atmosphere by having less
outbursts and shorter outbursts from students. I want to know this in order to help
teachers and to justify the use of sensory activities along with creating more positive calm
behaviors.

What Will Occur In This Study:

Sensory activities are becoming more and more popular in the world of special education
and I would like to start incorporating them more into our learning day. Regardless of
whether or not students join the study, they will still participate in the regular classroom
practices. I am asking for your permission to invite your son/daughter to be in the study so
I can look more closely at results of the classroom practices. What this will look like is:

Students will be receive a lesson on how to use sensory activities and taught about the
transition signals. Students will then receive a 15 minute sensory break from 9:00-9:15
a.m. Students will pick which sensory activity they would like to play with and then data
will be recorded on your child’s behaviors throughout the day. Data will be taken using
tally marks on a form recording the number of outbursts and the length of the outburst.
Students will receive another sensory break again in the afternoon from 1:00-1:15 p.m.
Data will be again recorded using the exact same style. This will last for a total of six weeks.
Following the intervention I will be analyzing the data.

If you agree to let you child participate, data from the following will be included in the
study:
• Number of outbursts and length of outburst
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• Sensory activity choice: Therapy Sand, Therapy Putty, or Weighted Vest

If you do not agree to let you child participate their data will not be included in the study.
You as the parent/guardian can stop their participation at any time, by asking that their
data not be included in the research study. No student name will be reported in this study.

Potential Risks & Discomforts:

You child will face no more than the minimal risks associated with daily classroom
participation if they decide to participate in this study. You as a parent can stop their
participation at any time, by asking that their data not be used in this study. No student
names will be reported in this study.

Anticipated Benefits:

Participants may benefit from having less outbursts, shortened length of outbursts and
feeling more calm. This could positively affect their learning experience, their behaviors,
and other students learning experience.

Confidentiality & Privacy

To protect their confidentiality and privacy I will take the following steps:
• Participant’s privacy will be protected by not using names or other identifying
information in any published reports or presentations.
• Signed consent forms and paper copies of data forms will be kept in a locked
location and any electronic data will be kept on a password-protected computer.
Only the researcher and the research advisor will have access to the data.
• All data and signed informed consent forms will be kept for three years after the
completion of the study and then destroyed.

Participation and Withdrawal:

You are free to decline to allow your child to participate in this research study, or you may
withdraw your permission at any point, without penalty. Your decision on whether or not
to participate in this research study will have no influence on your or their present or
future status at Oak Valley Elementary, Omaha Public Schools, or Nebraska Wesleyan
University.



Questions:

If you have questions about this study, please contact:

Researcher: Dylan Doggett (402-670-2103) Dylan.Doggett@ops.org
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Advisor: Tanya Martin tmartin@nebrwesleyan.edu

This research has been reviewed and approved by the Nebraska Wesleyan University
Institutional Review Board (IRB). To ask questions about your child’s rights as a research
participant, you may contact the NWU-IRB by contacting Nancy Wehrbein, IRB
Coordinator, at (402)-465-2488 or at nwehrbei@nebrwesleyan.edu.

Agreement:

By signing this form you are indicating that you are the parent/guardian of an individual
who is under the age of 19 and who, with your permission, will be asked to participate in
this research project; that you are giving your permission for your child to participate in
this research; and that the purpose and nature of this research have been sufficiently
explained to you in order for you to decide whether to allow your child to participate in this
study.


Name of Child Invited to be in the Study (Please Print): _________________________________


Please mark one of the statements below; then sign and date.

□ I give consent for my student to be in the study.

□ I do not give consent for my student to be in the study.
Name and Signature of Parent/Legal Guardian:

Printed Name: ___________________________________________________________

Signature: ________________________________________________ Date: ________________

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Appendix B

Data Recording Sheet: Measuring Length and Number of Outbursts

A.M. 9:15 9:25 9:35 9:45 9:55 10:0 10:1 10:2 10:3 10:4 10:5 11:0 11:1 11:2 11:3
- - - - - 5- 5- 5- 5- 5- 5- 5- 5- 5- 5-
9:25 9:35 9:45 9:55 10:0 10:1 10:2 10:3 10:4 10:5 11:0 11:1 11:2 11:3 11:4
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Stude
nt 1
Stude
nt 2
Stude
nt 3
Stude
nt 4
Stude
nt 5
Stude
nt 6
Stude
nt
7



P.M. 1:15 1:25 1:35 1:45 1:55 2:05 2:15 2:25 2:35 2:45 2:55 3:05 3:15 3:25 3:35
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1:25 1:35 1:45 1:55 2:05 2:15 2:25 2:35 2:45 2:55 3:05 3:15 3:25 3:35 3:45
Studen
t 1
Studen
t 2
Studen
t 3
Studen
t 4
Studen
t 5
Studen
t
6
Studen
t
7


Key: 1 tally mark = 1 minute

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Appendix C

Data Recording Sheet: Student’s Sensory Choice

A.M. Therapy Sand Weighted Vest Theraputty
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Student 6
Student 7

P.M.
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Student 6
Student 7