Sensory Stories

A child’s cognitive development depends on sensory stimulation. It might seem that we are playing with our babies when we wave toys in front of them, or coo at them, but actually we are giving them vital sensory stimulation that allows for neural pathways to be laid down in the brain. With repetition these pathways grow stronger and link up with one another. We know how much follows on from the establishment of hand-eye co-ordination. Thinking about it in a sensory way, we can see that hand-eye co-ordination is the linking of the sense of touch with the sense of sight.

Sensory stories are one way of providing sensory stimulation. Sensory stimulation is a wonderful thing for all children but these stories hold particular benefits for children with profound disabilities and for children who struggle with processing information from their senses.

We all find some sensory stimulus too much to take. I myself have just reached the age where music in a night club is just too loud. Children who struggle with processing sensory stimulation can find everyday experiences to be too much. This often happens with children who have autism or ADHD. For children who struggle with sensory processing the world can be a very overwhelming place and ‘melt-downs’ are common. For these children having the chance to practice being exposed to stimuli in a safe environment can be a very beneficial experience. The story telling space is a great place for this to happen.

I write sensory stories that I hope everyone will enjoy. I aim to create a story in less than ten sentences. This might not seem like much but we all know from great children’s books that you can get a lot of story into not very many words. Each sentence is accompanied by a smell, or a sight, or a taste, or a touch, or a sound. When you share the story with a child you read the sentence and then share the experience. In this way the story is told through all the senses. You’ve heard about a picture speaking a thousand words? Think how many more multi sensory experiences can convey!

To find out more please get in contact: http://jo.element42.org