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Sometimes, when you’re on a diet you might need a friend to help talk you down when you just need a cream cake! It can be a bit like that when your sensory needs are a bit off kilter. When your sensory needs mean that you can’t quite focus so you can’t manage them alone you might need a friend to act as a sensory coach. In a busy classroom it isn’t always possible for an adult or peer to be this coach and some pupils don’t want that either.
This is where KITT can help. Although designed to be a versatile, cross-curricular companion robot for the classroom that enables learners to work independently. He can also be used as a sensory coach that supports self-monitoring and regulation.
Here are five top tips for how Kitt’s photo, video and audio capture aspects could be used to support sensory needs:
- As a co-regulation tool. Adults could film or record the audio for specific breathing techniques. In times of need, the pupil can play them back privately and independently and join in. This could also work for a specific sequence of yoga poses, a guided meditation or visualisation activity.
- Create a menu of sensory strategies. With images captured as an aide memoire for the pupil to select from according to their needs.
- Kitt could be used a sensory object itself. It feels smooth so could be calming to hold and touch.
- Kitt could ask the pupil to complete a grounding activity that uses their senses such as looking for five things that they can see, four things that they can touch, three that they can hear, two that they can smell and one they can smell in their immediate environment.
- Kitt can be used to photograph or film the pupil completing self-regulation activities. The pupil could collect these images themselves and feedback what does and does not work. This would provide great evidence of sensory progress towards sensory based targets.
A huge thank you to Beccie Hawes for writing this blog for us.
Beccie has worked in all aspects of Special Educational Needs including mainstream, additionally resourced provision and specialist settings. She has extensive experience as a SENCo, Inclusion Manager, Lead Local Authority SEND Advisory Teacher and has set up and led an inclusion advisory service.
Beccie is currently proud to be the Head of Service with Cadmus Inclusive, part of Cadmus Services, which is based in Walsall. This service has a national reach and actively supports schools with all aspects of providing a high quality education for vulnerable learners. Beccie is the author of ‘The Complete Dyslexia Toolkit’ and co-author of ‘Getting it Right for SEND’ and ‘How to Create the Perfect Partnership with Parents’. Beccie also writes the national Ebriefing: SEND Bitesize. She has developed a number of educational resources to support learners which schools across the UK have purchased and use. Beccie remains very ‘hands on’ in the classroom and is passionate about being at the chalk face to support teachers and children to think differently for a brighter tomorrow. She is also the mum to four boys and a dog.