Case study: Savannah

Collaborative curriculum planning for Savannah

Savannah is in Year 3. She has sensory processing disorder. She is in a mainstream classroom in a primary school. Savannah’s teacher is programming across all Key Learning Areas (KLAs). Her teacher is recording the strategies and adjustments she will use to meet the needs of all students in her Year 2/3 class.

Savannah has sensory aversions and sensory sensitivities. She has good gross motor skills but has difficulties with her fine motor skills. A teacher’s aide helps Savannah at school. This support helps her:

• manage sensory sensitivities
• regulate her emotions
• build social skills.

Savannah sees an occupational therapist every week. These sessions help her:

• strengthen her fine motor skills
• learn ways to manage her sensory needs.

Savannah takes more time to learn new concepts and skills but then works hard to improve them. She has great hearing, so background and environmental noise can seem loud. She can find it hard to:

• focus on listening
• understand instructions
• process what she hears.

She also finds it hard to:

• control emotions
• stay organised
• start tasks by herself.

Savannah is sensitive to certain textures, fidgets often, and taps or rocks her body throughout the day.

Savannah is working on Stage 2 outcomes in all KLAs.

Outside of school, Savannah does judo and Little Athletics.

Her support team includes her therapists and teachers. Through the collaborative curriculum planning process, Savannah’s support team identify that she requires supplementary adjustments in all her subjects. In particular, she requires opportunities to meet her sensory needs throughout her day.

Learning goals for Savannah

Savannah’s support team collaborate with Savannah to set the following learning goals. She will work towards:

• building her fine motor skills
• learning ways to self-regulate
• becoming independent in using sensory tools and taking breaks
• improving her ability to move between tasks and places
• starting tasks without help
• improving her understanding of what she hears or reads.

Adjustments for Savannah

Savannah’s teacher uses the information and decisions from the collaborative curriculum planning process in her programming. She considers appropriate adjustments for Savannah to complete class work.

Increasing fine motor skills

Adjustments include using adaptive tools to help develop her fine motor skills. Her allied health team will provide input into the types of tools that will help her. For example, modified scissors.

Developing self-regulation strategies

Adjustments include:

• sitting on an exercise ball in the classroom
• providing Savannah with skills to communicate to staff that she needs a break
• providing resources or equipment to minimise Savannah’s need to move around the classroom
• explicitly teaching Savannah strategies to communicate her emotions and select appropriate sensory tools and activities to self-regulate.

Increasing independence in using sensory tools or breaks

Adjustments include:

• the use of visual supports to request sensory tools or breaks
• having an exercise ball to sit on and fidget toys readily available
• a class timetable that includes breaks and allows time to use sensory tools
• a classroom that has appropriate furniture and layout to minimise distractions.

Improving transitions between tasks or environments

Adjustments include:

• Building movement or sensory breaks into the class timetable.
• Allowing Savannah time to meet her proprioceptive needs. For example, time to set up equipment or throw a ball against a wall before starting a physical activity.
• Providing a visual schedule to help her prepare for upcoming activities and transitions.

Increasing independence in initiating tasks

Adjustments include:

• Breaking instructions into short, manageable steps supported with visual cues and/or schedules.
• Minimising verbal instructions, where possible.
• Providing one-to-one help for new and unfamiliar routines. For example, school excursions and whole school activities.

Improving comprehension

Adjustments include:

• Using a scaffold such as a 3-level guide to support text comprehension.
• Increasing wait time to allow Savannah to process auditory information.
• Coding tasks with familiar and known visual cues.