Strategies for Sensory Challenges

My child has multiple diagnoses including ADHD, PDD NOS, and OCD. He has many self-calming behaviors and vocal tics in school. He may clear his throat and ‘zone out.’ He may keep his fingers crossed. These behaviors are concerning me. What can I do to decrease them?

My son is non-verbal.  Recently he has begun screaming.  This is not out of anger, but to hear his own voice.  It is quite loud and can be very distracting at home to his siblings and out in public.  I don’t want to discourage his trying to communicate, so am not sure how to handle it.

My student chews anything he can.  He will chew anything that is on his desk like his pencil or eraser.  He chews on his shirt sometimes and often his fingernails.  What can I do to stop this behavior?

I often hear about children having a limited number of foods they will eat. My son is starting to have some problems during meals. Are there some things I can do before I start having eating issues?

How can I prevent a student from being non-compliant during groups or activities?

I have a student in my Multi-Disability Classroom who insists on flapping pieces of paper – he won’t go anywhere without the paper – if he doesn’t have a piece he will search in the trash cans or use his work papers. He is integrated into some classrooms and just uses the class papers to flap. What can I do to extinguish this behavior?

My 5 year old takes off her socks and shoes every 10 minutes when on her bus.  There is an aide on the bus, but the shoes aren’t always put back on. What can I do about it?

As an educational consultant in schools, I often see young children at desks with their feet dangling, the chairs are too high.  Could this be a factor affecting behavior and if so what can I tell teachers to do?

My son will not try any new foods. When I even ask him to just take a bite of something different he starts yelling. How can I get him to try something new?