My Student Throws Himself Down....

by Sara
(Mass.)

I have a student in my class who is going through some evaluations - he crashes about, crashes into friends, walls and throws himself on the ground.

He is much bigger than the other students and I would like to keep everyone safe...do you have any ideas on how to meet his needs in the meantime?

Also, years ago i had heard that alternating feet down the stairs is a marker for ... or shows a new awareness of something but have never been able to find that information again. do you know? (vs. leading with the same foot every step.)

I love your links, handouts and information! Thank you so much for making this information accessible to us all.

Comments for My Student Throws Himself Down....

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Your student
by: OT Mom

Hi Sara,
I am glad you have sent your student for evaluations and I hope they soon get to the bottom of his challenges!

It is hard to say why he is doing it, it could be a few different things. My suggestions until you get the results back would be to give him lots of opportunity to get proprioceptive and vestibular stimulation, in case he is a sensory seeking child or trying to calm himself with deep pressure input.

Vestibular stimulation is lots of movement - spinning, jumping, rolling, swinging, rocking. Proprioceptive stimulation would include heavy muscle work - pushing, pulling, carrying. He would be the child to whom I give the job of sweeping the floor, carrying the books, moving the furniture! I would also make sure that he gets lots of climbing, jumping and swinging at playtime. Of course, this is assuming he has no medical condition that would prevent him from doing so.

See my page on sensory integration activities if you want more information about these sorts of activities.

Hope this helps!

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