Sensory and physical difficulties is one of the four broad areas of special educational needs outlined in the 2001 SEN Code of Practice.
Some children may have a single sensory or physical disability such as partial hearing or motor control difficulties. Others might experience multiple disabilities such as deaf- blindness or cerebral palsy and partial sight. Often the child will already be involved with other professionals who are specialists, and you should liaise with these agencies.
Here are some general tips to make sure your setting is user-friendly for those children who have a sensory or physical disability.
For children who have partial sight or are blind:
* Use textured materials to make lettering on important labels and captions and the child's name cards and display them at 'feely height'.
* Make games and activities using textured materials, sounds, shapes and smells. Scent the different colour paint pots with different perfumes.
* Give the child musical instruments that will need little (if any) vision to play, such as drums, shakers and squeakers.
* Have matt surfaces in the room since shiny, reflective ones can affect the child's visual perception.
* Ask the Visual Impairment Support Service for advice about controlling light in the setting, for example with adjustable blinds, portable lights and lamps, or dimmer switches.
* Keep the spaces between tables and apparatus clear and keep furniture, the layout of apparatus and working areas in set positions as far as possible.
* Cover sharp corners on furniture with foam or other soft materials. Mark edges of furniture or steps with white or reflective paint.
* During physical play sessions, use mattresses, big soft mats and, if possible, soft play apparatus.
* Have sense displays, such as a 'scent table', a 'hearing table', a 'feely table' and so on, leaving on each a variety of things that the child can explore freely.
* Provide books and equipment with clear images and bold pictures. Check whether the child can see line drawings better than photographs or vice versa.
* Position yourself with light falling on your face when communicating with the child.
For children who are deaf or have partial hearing:
* Learn how the child's hearing aids work. If you have a loop system installed, learn how to use it and make sure you wear the microphone whenever you're working with the child.
* Try to reduce excessive background noise in the room. Have plenty of soft furnishings such as curtains, cushions and carpets which help to absorb noise. Encourage everybody to speak in moderate voices and to avoid scraping chairs and tables on hard floors.
* Always have light falling on your face and speak before turning your face away. Make sure the child's line of vision to you is not blocked by the other children's bobbing heads.
* When working with a group including a child with a hearing impairment, always catch their attention before starting. Say the child's name, and if they don't mind, gently touch them at the same time.
* Use props and visual aids to support stories and poems. For example, puppets, story boards, dolls and actions done by the children themselves.
* Use musical instruments that create vibrations, so the child can feel them. Use wooden floors too - they are especially good conductors of vibration and the child will enjoy feeling any vibrations through their feet, hands and body.
* Find out about and use the child's communication system. They may be using a signing system only, a combination of signing and speech, or speech only.
For children who have a physical disability:
* If the child needs special or adapted furniture or equipment, see whether you can borrow the items from the local physiotherapy or occupational therapy service.
* If the child is following a special programme such as conductive education, find out how you might be involved in implementing it and whether your staff could get training for this.
* Be patient with the child and allow them time to complete a task that involves physical actions.
* If a child has difficulty in completing a task, use a 'back chaining'
approach. Begin by doing most of it yourself and encouraging them to finish it. Next time, do a bit less, encouraging them to do a little more. The child should eventually be able to do the whole task alone.
* Give the child lots of activities that help to develop and refine both gross and fine motor skills - running, jumping, catching, throwing, climbing, going up and down stairs, threading, painting, drawing, mark-making, jigsaws etc.
* Provide sturdy and secure furniture that will withstand a child bumping into it. Cover sharp corners with foam or padding to avoid injuring or bruising the child.
* Secure pots of pens, paint pots and table toys to the surface or table either by using magnetic tape and a metal board or putting the equipment on non-slip rubbery material.
* Let the child use chunky brushes, pens and crayons. Alternatively, wrap standard size handles in foam to give an easier grip.
* If the child prefers to work at floor level, let them play with water and sand, paintings and table top activities by putting the trays and equipment on the floor. Support the child with big cushions or beanbags. The floor surfaces should be clean, warm, smooth and safe.
* If the child works from a standing frame, give them appropriate activities on a tray attached at the correct height and distance. Use non-slip material to anchor toys or equipment to the tray.
* Include the child in group or class games by for example, letting the whole group play at floor level.
* Use big bats, balls and games equipment to practise catching, throwing and hitting. Attach Velcro hooks to bats for the children to practise catching and remove the Velcro to practise hitting - use a fluffy ball for both of these activities. If holding the bat is difficult for the child, wrap a strip of Velcro around both the handle and the child's hand.
* Check whether outdoor equipment is accessible and suitable for the child.
Fix grips on tricycle handlebars.
* Use persona dolls and wheelchairs, callipers or other appropriate equipment to discuss physical disability and encourage all the children to see and accept it in a positive light. Leave the dolls out for the children to play with and encourage them to invent their own stories around them. NW Further reading
* 'Check it out' by Collette Drifte, Nursery World, 8 April 2004
* 'Step by step' by Collette Drifte, Nursery World, 13 May 2004
Good practice
Careful planning
Lucy is seven and uses a wheelchair, although she spends 30 minutes each day supported in a standing frame which has a tray attached.
For painting, Lucy's practitioner lowers an easel to her chair height, and Lucy does table activities using a table with adjustable legs for raising and lowering. Her computer is also on the adjustable table.
During circle time, Lucy sits on the floor with everybody else, and is supported by a beanbag. At story time, all the children sit on chairs in a circle, including Lucy in her wheelchair. Sometimes the sand and water trays are put on the floor for everybody to experience working at that level, and at other times Lucy plays with the trays from her wheelchair.
The children have invented games using hands, so that Lucy is included.
Through adapting and careful planning, Lucy's practitioner makes sure she's included in every activity on offer in the setting.
Joining in
Ahmed is five and has partial sight. He can see line drawings better than photographs, so his practitioner has borrowed some books for Ahmed from the Visual Impairment Support Service, and she has made others herself.
She used commercially produced line drawings or traced the outlines of images in photographs and transferred them to Ahmed's books. He has also helped her to make some of his books.
He has a lamp with the correct wattage bulb, positioned over his work area and he also has a high magnification sheet for enlarging images.
Ahmed plays on the computer with software borrowed from the Support Service, and the sighted children can join his computer activities too. He sits directly in front of his practitioner during class and group sessions, and she always sits towards the window, with the light falling on her face.
Ahmed's favourite activity is music and he has helped to make some instruments from junk that are banged, squeezed or shaken when they're played. When he does need some support, the other children are always the first to offer it.
