Sensory Groups and Brain Benefits
Do you provide sensory groups during your therapy sessions or as brain breaks in the classroom? Is it ever a struggle for children to participate? Do you find that some children have the motor skills when playing alone but then have difficulties when they start playing in a group game? There are several brain benefits of sensory groups for childhood development.
Why Sensory Groups Help Practice Executive Function Skills
When a child plays a game or complete an activity with others, so many more skills are required than during solo play time. Participating in sensory-motor group games requires additional executive functions than playing alone.
Sensory-motor groups add on another level of cognitive load i.e. impulse control, higher motor planning, self-regulation, etc. during the activities.
Providing group therapy sessions or offering additional opportunities for group motor play (i.e. recess, physical education or in class games) may help with executive functions, coordination skills and higher level motor tasks.
Evidence Based Reasons to Use Sensory Groups
Here are 3 evidence based reasons to support brain benefits of sensory-motor groups:
Participation in group motor skill games and complex motor tasks may possibly induce neurogenesis in the hippocampus and physiological changes in the cerebellum.
Skills acquired during complex motor tasks and cognitively demanding group games may transfer to executive functions.
There is a close interrelationship between motor control and executive functions such as:
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- the co-activation between the prefrontal cortex, the cerebellum, and the basal ganglia during several motor and cognitive tasks
- both having a similar developmental timetable.
- both skills requiring sequencing, monitoring, and planning.
Research indicates that increasing the mental engagement in physical activity by adding coordination and cognitive demands result in superior effects on executive functions when compared to physical activities without increased cognitive loads.
Reference: Aadland, K. N., Moe, V. F., Aadland, E., Anderssen, S. A., Resaland, G. K., & Ommundsen, Y. (2017). Relationships between physical activity, sedentary time, aerobic fitness, motor skills and executive function and academic performance in children. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 12, 10-18.
Read More About Sensory Groups
Tips for Successful Pediatric Group Therapy Sessions.
Frequency of preschool groups here.
Ideas for Sensory Motor Groups
Do you need ideas for creative and fun sensory groups?
If you need a fun gross motor group activity idea that also includes fine motor skills and coordination skills, this balloon bat is perfect. You can use the suggested activity for gross motor skill group session, indoor recess, or physical education class.
Encourage movement with 10 imagination action journeys to read and perform. Imagination Action Journeys are 10 fun-filled stories that encourage literacy, physical activity, imagination, and creativity. Children will enjoy reading and acting out the stories.
The ABC’s of Movement®- Combine Movement with Literacy – The ABC’s of Movement® is a pdf document of educational flash cards that combine movement with literacy development. Kids love these colorful flash cards that merge learning the alphabet with twenty six fun, noncompetitive movement activities. Designed for children of all abilities from preschool through 2nd grade, these flash cards were developed by a physical therapist with learning and physical development in mind. Ideal for home and school use. These bright, bold letters and full color photographs of children make learning easy and fun!
Are you interested in increasing the focus, concentration, working memory, body awareness, executive function, and self-regulation of your students during sensory groups? Would you like a quick and easy, no-plan, grab-and-go gross motor activity? Do you need to lead gross motor groups within a small space? You can use Animal movement posters hung on the wall of a therapy room or sensory room. Hand-held cards can be pulled out for a quick brain break. The Animal Walks Bundle are no-prep calming tools that encourage self-regulation, exercise, and deep breathing to help students succeed in the classroom!
