Intellectual Disabilities (ID)
Providing accommodations for students with intellectual disabilities (ID) within mainstream and special education settings is essential to ensure they can properly participate in their education and develop important skills they will need throughout their lives. Children with profound learning difficulties face numerous challenges, from struggling to understand and retain information taught in lessons to delays in developing fundamental skills such as walking, talking, eating and managing personal hygiene.
Without the appropriate support in place, these students can become isolated and insular, disengaging from school and becoming entrenched in their current level of cognitive development. For this reason, designing a sensory room populated with assistive technology for students with ID can be an effective strategy to promote engagement, foster independence and allow them to develop at their own pace.
Examples of Intellectual Disabilities
Intellectual disabilities are neurodevelopmental conditions that limit the development of cognitive abilities, such as learning and reasoning, as well as adaptive behaviors required to form social connections and complete practical aspects of daily life. According to the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, individuals with profound intellectual disabilities typically present symptoms of ID before the age of 22 and have an IQ below 70.
Conditions of this nature can develop before birth or emerge during the first two decades of life, depending on their underlying cause. Some conditions are present from birth, such as Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra chromosome. This condition impacts cognitive development, delaying language and impairing memory, as well as making it more difficult for individuals to remain attentive and process unfamiliar information.
Other intellectual disabilities may result from acquired brain injuries sustained during early childhood or adolescence. These injuries can disrupt normal brain development and can cause issues around retaining information, regulating behavior and making social connections. In educational settings as well as everyday life, this can seriously limit the independence of affected children, resulting in them needing ongoing support in later life.
Assistive Technology for Intellectual Disabilities
Improving the accessibility of your school for people with intellectual disabilities requires patience from their teachers and the understanding that their delayed development can sometimes manifest in challenging or disruptive behaviours. Rather than punish these students with isolation or exclusion, providing opportunities for emotional regulation through multisensory exploration can allow them to calm down then return to the classroom with renewed focus. Many of the calming sensory products in our range employ slowly color-changing sensory lights to shift attention onto controlled and consistent visual outputs, their mesmeric effect acting as an anchor for children to regain their composure.
Rather than passively engage with their sensory surroundings, students with profound learning difficulties may prefer to regulate themselves through tactile or gross motor stimulation. Whether they want to handle one of our IRiS Wireless devices to take control of compatible devices, or to expend some energy charging around a bespoke soft play obstacle course, you can tailor your sensory room to accommodate the needs of specific or multiple users.
To ensure our school partners maximize the developmental potential of their multisensory interactive learning environments, Experia USA offers room design services free of charge alongside every purchase. By outlining the specific needs of your students with intellectual disabilities, our expert sensory advisors can advise you on the ideal equipment and room configurations to support their development and offer them solace after experiencing sensory overload.
Get started on your sensory classroom today by calling us toll-free at 1-800-882-4045 or express your interest in our services via email.
