Meeting Individual Needs: Managing Sensory Processing Disorder in the Art Room

We have all experienced it—we’re in the middle of a clay lesson and notice a student happily exploring the sensation of smearing slip on their hand. We may have also encountered a student who refuses to touch earthen clay or another medium such as papier-mâché. Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a condition that affects how the brain receives and processes information received from the senses.

The art room environment engages the senses, and students with sensory processing disorders can have positive or negative reactions to stimuli they encounter. Too much background noise, smells, clay, and more can create a negative reaction for students who are hypersensitive and generally have a negative reaction to stimuli.

Hyposensitive students are the opposite—they are sensory-seeking and need stimulation to engage the senses. Hyposensitive students may prefer fingerpainting to holding a paintbrush or creating on a sensory surface.

The Hyposensitive Student Artist
For young artists who need to have their senses engaged to create, we need to find ways to amplify the senses and remove the obstacle that prevents them from creating. Students who are “undersensitive” might look like they are painting, but they are looking around the room seeking more stimuli as they paint. I often hear the paraprofessionals saying, “Eyes on your work,” or redirecting these students back to the task at hand. Perhaps sensory-seeking students would be more involved in the process if they painted on paper taped to the wall or on the floor, as it engages the entire body.

Consider how you can adapt a lesson to heighten the sense of touch. Creating on a textured surface such as embossed paper or creating a frottage with a textured surface provides stimulation. Offering scented markers or scenting paints with vanilla or lavender creates a sensory experience. Adapting a lesson to stimulate the senses will captivate the unengaged student.

The scents, textures, and colors of adapted media offer a sensory feast for hyposensitive artists. Textured paint, sand art, textured papers to collage, and creating with the hands and fingers is a delightful experience. Sea sponges, textured rolling pins, funky brushes, and painting with cotton balls and swabs keeps students focused on the task at hand. Incorporating printmaking lessons, three-dimensional projects, and offering alternative paper choices, foam sheets, fabric, or felt entices reluctant learners.

The Hypersensitive Student Artist
To get yourself in the mindset of students with SPD who are hypersensitive, think of them as people who experience sensory overload. Imagine if when you walked into the art room, the noise sounded like a rock concert; when you touch a piece of fabric or yarn, it feels like a cactus to you. Your senses are so amplified that you can smell what the kids at your table had for lunch. Many of my students with SPD wear headphones to quiet the noisy atmosphere the art room generates. Playing soft music can bring the noise level down.

As you adapt your lessons, media, tools, and the artistic process, bear in mind the five senses and consider ways to adapt. If squeezing glue from a bottle is too much, offer a glue stick. If the tempera paint drags and causes a negative reaction, add a little dish soap to it.

Using earthen clay may create a negative reaction. If I notice avoidance issues, I offer the student disposable gloves. If that doesnʼt work, try an alternative soft air-dry clay.
Scenting paints with lavender can offer a calming effect, reducing the anxiety caused by SPD. Offering alternative surfaces may also prove helpful. Vellum and fingerpaint paper offer less resistance when painted on.

Students who have autism often present with SPD and are hypersensitive. When you are reviewing your caseload of IEPs and 504s, make note of your autistic learners. Create an inviting safe spot; it could be as simple as an area in the room with books about artists, headphones, and a bin of foam shapes to create with. A more immersive break spot would be equipped with headphones, music, an easel, and a sensory center that includes items like scented markers, stickers, sequins, fabric, scented glue sticks, and paper to create with. Try to make your art room a space where every student shines.