A favorite strategy I use with individuals children and small groups and especially show physical education teachers is the energy check. Adapted from the ARC program for children with an early childhood history of trauma I find it also helpful for children with sensory processing challenges. You know the kid who when the PE class is rowdy goes back to class after PE and trashes the room partly because he is hyperresponsive and can’t self-regulate. So before and after all OT groups (and PE groups) have children rate their energy and whether or not it feels alright. Low energy is sleepy, medium is average, and high energy is hyper climbing the walls and can’t be still. You explore how the activity affected each child at the end of the group. If I or the PE teacher have a child say they are uncomfortably hyper after a group they come to my OT room and are given heavy work with linear vestibular input until they are in the average range before returning to class. Some kids do better with pictures than words alone, so below is the chart I have students make using the thermometer from Dinosaur the dinosaur curriculum.
