Curious About Sensory Processing Differences

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Welcome to the Curious About Nature podcast.

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This is a podcast for folks who want to connect with nature and

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rewild childhood. Hosted by Rachel Mills, Buttercup

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Learning's founder, an educator with 20 plus years of experience

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with a passion for animation, the natural world, and conservation.

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Rachel focuses on getting digital kids outdoors and having fun in

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nature, promoting wellbeing and a can do attitude to local wildlife

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conservation and sustainable living. Join her and her guests for their

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stories, experiences and tips to support outdoor learning and nature.

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Connection. Welcome to the Curious About

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Nature podcast. This month I'm joined by Nicole

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Bateman as sound consultant, passionate about advocate for

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children's emotional and sensory needs to be met so they can thrive.

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Nicole offers training packages, courses, digital resources and a

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fantastic podcast. Hi there Nicole. Hello. Thanks for having me.

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Oh, it's a real pleasure. I'm really looking forward to

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our conversation this morning. Before we get into it, I'd love to

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know a little bit about you for our audience who are listening.

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Tell us a little bit about your background.

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So I am a teacher by background. I left three years ago after my

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autistic son was diagnosed with epilepsy.

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I really love supporting kids and especially looking at the

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whole child. So when I left, I started

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creating resources to help my son express his emotions because he

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found that a little bit tricky. So I started my first business,

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a box full of joy, creating resources and then also

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helping people through exam stress because I saw a lot of the time,

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the amount of pressure that was put on children to make them think that

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exams would be all and end all. And I just wanted to help kids

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understand that they are important. However, they're not everything

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and that their worth is not tied to their exams. So I did that.

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Helping my son and also creating resources for other children,

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did some mentoring and And then I partnered up with an

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occupational therapist to start the Super sensory squad.

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We've got eight penguins that help kids understand their sensory

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systems, help with regulation strategies, and also helping

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parents advocate to a school. Because I've been on my own

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personal journey over the last few years trying to advocate to get

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my son his GP, get the support, get the different diagnoses.

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And yeah, it's been a journey. So it's combining personal lived

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experience as well as different professional viewpoints to try

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and help parents. And which is why I started my podcast

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conversations with Cindy mum, to just help people feel like they're

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less alone in that journey because it is a struggle sometimes to get the

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support that your child needs. Yeah. And I know from personal

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experience my daughter has sensory processing differences.

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And so it's really struggle to express what what she needs.

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Um, but that's actually been changing.

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And that's because of doing Super Sensory Squad actually.

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And it's really great to see her sort of developing confidence to

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talk about those differences and how specific needs as well.

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Makes me so happy to hear that, because that's the point.

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If the kids can understand themselves, their brains understand

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their sensory preferences and what triggers them, then they can

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advocate to be like, actually, yeah, I like touching the fluffy things.

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That helps me regulate. Or I like smelling this or this

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is and they can advocate. So I love hearing that about

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your daughter. Thank you. I love the impetus for how you

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got started with Box Full of Joy, because obviously you've got two

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businesses with box Full of Joy and Super Sensory Squad.

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I'm curious about how you developing the two side by side really, or are

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you at a point now where you've got such a great range of products that

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supporting children's wellbeing and mental health through the the

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stuff that you've done through Box Full of Joy? Yeah, definitely.

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I think as you evolve, like when you leave teaching, you think, oh,

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I'm a teacher, what else can I do? But actually the amount of skills

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that you just learn being a business owner, you'll know too.

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You learn things. You're like, actually the I said,

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let's start a podcast. And then three weeks later it

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was launched. And yesterday I just finished in

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July, I finished the season two of the podcast.

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So it's also something that I want to instill in children, actually,

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when you put your mind to it, you may not know the things,

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but you can learn so much and you can actually do whatever you want to do,

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especially if you're fueled by that passion and that mission.

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So I think we evolve and we adapt things to suit.

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At the start, it was the kind of emotional needs trying to get him

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to express how he was feeling. My son was the initial thing and

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everything is for my children. Basically,

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it all stems from trying to help them and then trying to help others.

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So at the moment, my big focus is with the super sensory squad and

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then conversations with an C and D mum and that advocacy part.

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But having those resources like my book, my child has exams now what?

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That's always there. There's courses and there's

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support there through a box full of joy that people can do.

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But the main focus is trying to put those kind of sensory regulation

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needs first, because actually looking at the pyramid of learning sensory

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needs and that sensory safety is even before that emotional needs.

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So actually the super sensory squad is that basis, which then will help

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with that emotional regulation, which will then be able to help

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kids actually engage in those cognitive things and learning.

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Because if kids aren't sensitive, if they are not regulated,

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sensory wise and emotionally wise, they're not going to be able to

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actually access learning in the classroom or anything else.

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I'm curious, because I know in your blog that you write a lot about

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improving children's resilience and that kind of awareness, as well

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of their specific kind of needs. Have you got any tips around

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that or any thoughts on that you'd like to share?

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I think for kids it's ensuring they feel safe and secure in an

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environment because if they don't feel the sense of safety,

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then they're not going to be able to build up that resilience, etc. I

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definitely do not agree with trying to put them in situations that are

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uncomfortable for them to build that. I think it's more about ensuring

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that their needs are met so that they can then access and they

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can live their daily life, etc.. So I think we start at the bottom.

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It's like a bottom up approach with building that resilience.

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First of all, meeting sensory needs, meeting emotional needs,

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and then they'll be able to access daily tasks.

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How could, as a parent, might I start to understand if my child experiences

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sensory processing differences? Different people have very

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different sensory profiles. And there are some things,

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for example, that are more apparent. Children who struggle with hair

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washing, hair brushing if they don't want to be hugged,

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all of those things may indicate that they are tactile sensitive.

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Others, like my son, he seeks that tactile and the proprioceptive,

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which is that like really push, pull and carry.

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Muscle feedback, tight hugs, weighted blankets,

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all of those things is what he loves. You may see a child that's quite

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rough with their play. They may not be able to.

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If they're seeking that proprioceptive input,

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you may see them do lots of wrestling or pushing around or

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just trying to jump into things. All of those things,

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they're seeking that input. Kids who find it tricky to sit still,

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for example, at dinner time, they may be seeking that movement,

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that vestibular input we've got rolling our penguin that has

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like a little hula hoop. So it's thinking about, okay,

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how can you help them to get that movement input, that vestibular

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input that they're seeking, but also be able to access daily tasks?

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There's some like wobble cushions that are helpful

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because then they get that movement while sitting there.

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For us, we have exercise bands on the bottom of chairs to get

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that proprioceptive and vestibular movement from that.

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So some might be seeking a lot of sensory input,

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some might be avoiding it. For example,

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if they come in when you're cooking, if they come into the room, they're

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like, oh, this stinks like a lot. Obviously people will say that,

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but it's if it's overly sensitive to smell noise in classrooms.

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A lot of background noise that may be too overwhelming for some kids.

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Everyone has sensory needs, but we don't all have the

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sensory processing differences. There's different ways our brains

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work and physical differences in how we interpret sensory input

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from the environment. If it impacts daily tasks and

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daily life, that's when it should be investigating how to

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best support them. Yeah, my family found that the

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super sensory squad is helpful in lots of ways.

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It's opened up discussion about our own unique preferences,

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and it's helped us relate better to one another.

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Actually, um, and it's helped my daughter understand her particular

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preferences and what overwhelms her when that tends to happen.

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It's really helped to discuss that with her school teachers,

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actually, which is great. And she's finally able to explain to

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them and us her sensory challenges and work with the teachers and us

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to find ways to help her put in place things that can support her,

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but help her to regulate as well. Could you tell us a little bit more

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about your super sensory squad and the the the materials that parents

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can access in in the course. Yeah, absolutely.

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So we really wanted that to part of helping parents understand.

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But also like with your daughter helping children understand for

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themselves because obviously depending on the age range,

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it's mainly for primary school and then lower secondary school age

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parents have watched it or people have watched it and be like, this

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is so helpful for me as an adult. So to be fair, the sensory Squad,

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I think is for everyone. And who doesn't love penguins?

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The people watching it, like you said, we listen and understand about

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ourselves and our own preferences. It's like a family thing.

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We have videos for parents about each of the eight sensory systems,

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and then we also have stories about each of the penguins going around

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sensory island and exploring the sensory school, or the joyful jungle,

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or different places. The stories generally about kind

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of them doing their daily life, then getting a bit dysregulated,

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then thinking, okay, what strategies can help to regulate again?

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And the squad, the rest of the Penguins help them.

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So that's the kind of the way that the stories go.

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And then there's also videos and workbooks for kids to understand.

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Each penguin has a key question so that we don't have to say to

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the kids, oh, you're seeking proprioceptive input

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because they'll be like, what? Flex is our penguin that links

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to the proprioception? And and her question, she's holding

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weights and her question is what can you push, pull and carry?

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So my son, for example, he's always ah, I'm carrying things like flex

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or I want to be like flex mummy. And so therefore we do those kind

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of push pull and carry exercises and or have those big deep pressure

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hugs and all of those things. So it helps equip kids.

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My kids are younger than your daughters,

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and my kids are five and eight. And even from when my daughter

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was four when we first started, she very quickly says, oh,

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I'm a bit like buzz or because she seeks that tactile input.

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But Solly, he's, um, around me because he always leads, even with

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food. He smells it first. Right? So he's got a really strong

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sense of smell. So sometimes smells do overwhelm him.

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They can pick and they can be like, oh, I'm like this penguin,

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or I'm a bit like this penguin, or I want to do this.

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So it's just a fun way to engage them in understanding about themselves.

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It's a big win, actually, when my son was really ill and which

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is not win, but he has epilepsy meds that he has to have twice he

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was able to tell me because we're learning about yum yum, which is

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talking about what can you taste. He was saying and I was saying,

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you've got taste buds and things like that in your mouth.

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He told me he wouldn't take his meds and he was like,

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my taste buds have changed. And I was like, that's amazing.

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He's telling me that it tastes different.

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His medicine tastes different because he's unwell.

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Then he would not have been able to even advocate for that.

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We had to give him his meds and unfortunately it was not.

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Not the best time, but it was really good to open that conversation up

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about his taste buds changing, so it was really useful.

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We also have be a strong sensory advocate.

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So that talks about what we've just finished that course and we've got

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another one starting in September, which is a live work through of

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sensory understanding regulation, but then also the advocacy piece

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to school. So thinking about how what are the

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rights that you have with send code of practice, the equalities

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laws and all of those things, and then creating a document to

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actually fill out to be like, this is my sensory needs.

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This is what regulates this is a classroom adjustment that you

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can make. And this is a success indicator

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of actually does that work. Does the classroom adjustment

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actually work. It may be about movement break,

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let's say. And then the success indicator is

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that actually you come back in the classroom, you're more regulated

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because actually if you're not more regulated after it,

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then it's not working to support those sensory needs.

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So it's using my teacher background as well as Kate's occupational

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therapy background combining. And also as a parent who's been

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fighting the system to get the support for my child, putting

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all of these things into place. So we have that as well as a digital

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membership where there's different strategies and resources to use.

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I think one of the things I love, the that's come out of doing the

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course, my daughter is, is that her school have recognised that she

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needed breaks sometimes and they, you know, she didn't want to draw

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attention to herself in class. So they've created break cards and

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she's designed them very much, I think, influenced by the super

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sensory penguins. Emily loves pandas a lot,

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so they now have what called panda cards at school.

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And they said that next year they're going to use them with the

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kids who need similar support. So that's amazing.

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So she's created these lovely designs.

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I really want to see the raising. Them yet myself.

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They're panda cards, apparently. And if a kid needs a break, they just

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pop one of the panda cards up in the air and the teacher excuses them.

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It's really nice to see the impact that that's having on a

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local school as well. I'm I'm curious about whether or

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not you have any sort of tips for maybe like using outdoor

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time to support children, to maybe express their feelings,

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or maybe begin to understand any sort of specific sensory preferences

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or needs? Yeah, definitely. Being out in nature is great.

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There's a lot of sensory exploration that you can do.

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My kids love being outside in the summer holidays when there's

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a lack of routine. Sometimes I always try and make

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sure that we get up and dressed and out to a park or the woods

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or somewhere, because then the day just starts really well.

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They're less bickering when they're outside and it's all, yeah, just

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runs a lot smoother for some kids. Obviously being outside won't

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necessarily be as regulating, but for my own ones it is very much.

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And there's a lot you can do just through a walk through a woods.

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You can be like, what can you feel? What can you smell,

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what can you hear? We do actually have a little

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scavenger hunt, like a nature scavenger hunt thing

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in the Learning Lounge membership that people can print off and just

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explore using all of your senses? Or can you push, pull and carry

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as you're going through? And often it's logs.

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I'm going to pull the log. I'm being like flex.

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Also, often, especially in some internal environments like the

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classroom, there's a lot of background noise is very intense.

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You're more if you're tactile, sensitive, being stuck in a

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smaller room with lots of people. It's tricky.

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So getting outside then is better because you have got that

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freedom to move. You've got less chance of being

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bumped into by lots of people. It's less crowded.

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So getting out into nature, into your routine in the summer

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holidays is going to be key. We've got a field nearby, so I'm

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just like, let them go like dogs just to run and just throw a ball.

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All of those things will get that input if they seek that.

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And also by exploring sounds, sights, smells in nature is so good.

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Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the things I love

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when my daughter is feeling like she just needs a little bit

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extra time before bed. Other families might think we're

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absolutely nuts, but we'll go out for a walk and we've done it

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live out in the countryside, so it's slightly different.

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We don't live in the inner city or anything like that, so So there's a

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little walk around the village and we look for bats or birds roosting in

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the trees and that kind of thing, and then we come back and

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usually it's only ten minutes. It's not a long walk,

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and it helps to just send to her and help her to relax and get

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into that headspace for bed, because that's one of her things,

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is that she just finds it really difficult to switch off.

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So getting to sleep is a real difficulty. Yeah.

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And for a lot of kids actually, who have sensory processing

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differences or autistic or sleep, getting that sleep and getting

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to sleep is really tricky. Often it's counterintuitive to

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get them to. So they say going for a walk is

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perfect. Um, and also, even if you've got

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cushions or jumping around on cushions getting any vestibular or

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proprioceptive input before bed, it sounds like, oh no,

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we should be doing breathing things. We should be doing all that.

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But actually for some kids, they need that rough and tumble just before you

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head up to do the bedtime routine, because that's regulating for them.

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So it depends on your own child, your child, and best as a parent

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because you see them and you know, you can understand.

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So actually, if they're not getting to sleep,

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rather than being like, let's do some deep breaths for some kids that is

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perfect and that works for them. But if it doesn't work for your

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child, actually go down the stairs, get the cushions off the sofa and

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pile cushions on top of them. Get them to jump off the sofa

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and jump onto the cushions. See if that works.

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Yeah, yeah, we've had pillow fights in the past.

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I've noticed that what she needs changes sometimes.

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And also she's got older. Her preferences have evolved as well.

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Do you have any further tips? Maybe calming helping support

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children's sensory needs at home? Yeah.

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So one good thing that I think the Super Central record feeds into is

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trying to get the kids to go with things and build their intrinsic

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motivation, because a lot of kids, if we put extra demands on them

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to be like, you must do this exercise to regulate yourself,

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they're not going to do it. They don't want that demand.

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So it's thinking, my kid loves doing puzzles.

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Let's say like my kids don't. But say your kid likes puzzles.

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And that's an activity that they intrinsically want to do.

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Think about how can you layer some extra sensory input into

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that activity? So build it around what they

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want to do. So for example, if you've got an

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exercise ball, an exercise balls or gym balls are really good,

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especially for rhythmic movement. Rhythmic movement back and forth

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is really regulating. There's some movement that can

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be more alerting, which you need at certain times of the day.

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But yeah, the rocking back and forth or even just lying on it,

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doing a puzzle. So lying on the floor over the ball,

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doing the puzzle that gives that proprioceptive input, that muscle

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feedback and a bit of vestibular. So it just builds extra sensory

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input for regulation into what they're already doing.

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So think about what does my child enjoy doing?

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And likewise if they like coloring and they're sitting a table,

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but they find it tricky to set the table, get them to even just

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lie on their front and do it. Because again, more of their body

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is touching the floor, so they're getting more of that muscle feedback.

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Or use the muscle bands on the chairs, just whatever they like to

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do, add in some extra sensory input and lead with them because you don't

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want to add extra demands, especially if they're dysregulated already.

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I'm curious to know about your Send conference that you've got

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on later this year, isn't it? Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

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I'm super passionate about everyone creating environments that enable

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our kids to be able to thrive and support and feel supported and safe.

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And that includes in children's activities.

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So after school clubs, sports clubs, craft clubs, team clubs, ensuring

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that we all get that understanding of how neurodivergent brains work and

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how sensory input impacts certain people and all of those things.

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So I'm running a conference for children's activity providers and

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tutors, the Adapt and Include Sand conference. It's going to be great.

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We've got so many experts, um, that are running workshops to talk

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about things like low demands, because we've got PDA expert,

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we've got creating understanding the neurodivergent Brain and how

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that then impacts your planning for your activity.

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We've also got Lou who is visually impaired herself.

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So we've got an interactive workshop with different glasses and different

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things, like doing different tasks and just getting your head around,

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how is this actually going to be this experience of my club going to be for

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certain kids who maybe have certain disabilities or neurodivergent?

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And it's just really thinking, how can I be more inclusive,

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thinking about how you present that in your marketing to parents?

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Because as a parent of a child who's autistic has epilepsy, I do not

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trust many people with my child. Um, if people don't understand why

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Solomon is responding in certain ways or understand his seizures, then

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I can't trust them with my child. So it's coming from that parent

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perspective as well as the teaching perspective.

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How can I help children's activities and tutors to just think about it?

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Just think, how can I make these little adaptations?

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It doesn't need to be big, but how can I build that trust

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with parents of kids with special educational needs disabilities?

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And how can I actually support these kids to feel safe and

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secure in my activity? Curious, what's next for you and

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the Super Sensory Squad and all your other businesses,

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and all the other ideas you have? Where will you go next?

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Yeah, the conference in November is a focus.

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And then from there thinking about training for children's

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activity Fridays for tutors. I would love to get into teacher

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training as well to do that, to really make sure from the start

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that all teachers fully understand how the neurodivergent brain

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works and how to make adaptations in the classroom as well.

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I'd love to change the education system there. So that's a dream.

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But yeah, season three of the podcast is starting again in September.

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We've got the conference in November, and then we are in talks with some

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kind of corporate organizations to try and just ensure that

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sensory needs are understood, and making the experience for

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families the best that it can be. Yeah, that sounds wonderful, I think.

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What I love about what you're trying to do is that if you look

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through your business websites, you're covering everything really.

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You're covering parents, home educators, teachers, thinking

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about the wider community with all of the different resources you have.

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Is there any particular freebies that you think people should go

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and look at? Yeah, we have one. From the understanding sensory

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Processing through stories. We have one of the parent videos

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on buzz our tactile touch penguin. So we've got like that,

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just a ten 15 minute video there, which is so useful.

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People have watched that and been like, oh yeah, I want to know

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more about the other senses. A lot of kids may have that tactile

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sensitivity, like with clothes, with brushing hair, etc. so go

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and have a watch that's free. We've also got some posters with

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the different penguin questions. So therefore you can introduce

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echo says what sounds can you hear just the basics of that as well

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on our website which is the super sensory squad. Com. Brilliant.

Speaker: 00:24:26

Thank you so much for joining me Nicole.

Speaker: 00:24:28

It's been a pleasure and good luck with Super Sensory Squad.

Speaker: 00:24:33

Thank you. So much. Thanks for tuning in to this

Speaker: 00:24:37

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