Are you a teacher or caregiver looking for guidance on how to best support Highly Sensitive Children in the classroom environment?

Sensory Processing Sensitivity (Highly Sensitive) is a personality trait found in 20% of the population. It was first discovered by Dr. Elaine Aron, who is a clinical research psychologist. You most likely have at least one Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) in your classroom and it’s important to know how to best support them.

Many of my clients are going back to in person schooling and it’s important to note that all children will need support with this transition. Give yourself and your students grace and gentleness as a teacher, parent, or caregiver as you all navigate through this big change. There’s going to be an increase of back to school anxiety as children will have all sorts of different worries. The unknown is scary so helping your children/students feel as prepared as possible with new school procedures is going to be very helpful.

Children are sharing their worries with me of returning to in person school. They are worried they may get sick and then get someone else sick. They are worried about their families. It’s important to give them reassurance that there will be school rules and protocols in place to keep everyone as safe as possible. Listen to children’s worries of returning to in-person school. If they aren’t talking about it, ask them how they are feeling. Let them know they can share their worries with you. Normalize their worries and let them know other kids are worrying about those things too. Normalizing a child’s feelings helps them to not feel alone. For example, if your child or student shares that they are worried about their new school schedule then you could say, “thank you so much for telling me, I bet other kids are also worried about the new schedule, can you tell me more about what worries you?” Once they have shared with you and you’ve listened, then ask what could support them with these worries. If they don’t have an ideas then you can brainstorm together.

Every child is unique therefore every highly sensitive child (HSC) is unique. Please keep that in mind when reading this blog post. Not everything is going to work for every child. These are just some options of what could be helpful for HSC’s. Creating a web of support around a child that includes caregivers, parents, teachers, and any other adults that are an important part of their life is going to be paramount in their development.

Here are some signs you may have Highly Sensitive Children in your classroom:

• Experience sensory overstimulation: sight (bright lights), hearing (loud classroom or recess), smell (intense fragrances), taste (picky eater), feeling (hate being in wet clothes or particular about the feel and fit of their clothing).

• Very intuitive and empathetic

• Tend to hang back and observe to assess the situation before acting.

• Prefer quiet play

• Worry about getting into trouble with their teachers.

• Feel things deeply meaning all feelings such as excitement and anger.

• Transitions are difficult.

• Sensitive to feedback and correction from adults.

• Very creative

• Expresses big feelings

• Tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to their work.

Are you curious to learn if you have a highly sensitive child? Take the HSC test here.

Now that we have identified some of the characteristics of highly sensitive children, how do we help them in the classroom?

• Give positive praise and reinforcement.

  This will give them the courage to try even when they make mistakes and it will lead to more cooperation and confidence. They need a lot of reassurance from all the adults in their life.

• Create a safe and calming area in your classroom where they can regulate their nervous system.

  Provide a menu of options they can use to calm themselves and a feelings chart to identify how they are feeling. You can give a few options to choose from such as: take deep breaths, squeeze stress ball, read calming books, stretch their body, drink water, count to 10 very slowly, color, etc. Set the tone for the calming corner by brainstorming with your class when to use and when not to use it. It’s not to escape from doing your work and only 1 student at a time can use it to calm their mind and body to feel ready to rejoin the class. It’s important that all children understand it’s not a punishment but an option for them when they really need it. You may need to help them know when they need a break. For HSC’s it’s important to help them gain awareness of when they are getting overwhelmed. Noise cancelling headphones can be really helpful for HSC’s to reduce sensory overload.

• Allow for flexibility and offer alternatives to assignments that feel overwhelming.

  Example: Make a video rather than give an oral presentation in front of class. Allow them to turn in a draft of their assignment before it’s due, letting them know you can provide feedback so they can make changes before the deadline.

• If they are quiet during class and don’t raise their hand, don’t draw attention to them by saying you want to hear from someone who hasn’t spoken up yet.

  This can cause extreme anxiety and overwhelm that is unnecessary. If you feel they aren’t paying attention then speak with them after class to address it. Don’t force them to speak in front of the whole class. You can still encourage them to speak up when they want to share their thoughts about a subject or answer a question or take a guess as to what the answer is. You want them to speak at a natural point when they feel they have something to say or offer, not feel they need to speak to please the teacher. As a teacher you can have high expectations for your students and you also need to have the same level of warmth towards them. You can have an expectation that you want every student to share their ideas during class time. If you have this expectation then after class make some time to discuss with your HSC student and brainstorm ideas of how you can support them in doing so.

• If you are providing feedback to a HSC try your best to be warm and compassionate because they can feel easily judged by teachers and peers.

• HSC’s need time to process before acting so putting them in high pressure situations can feel stressful.

  Speaking in front of the whole class or timed tests could lead to overwhelm. They may need extra time away from the class to finish their tests because they are picking up on so much around them.

• Support and encourage your HSC to express themselves and their needs.

  Ask student what they need to feel supported in the classroom environment; it can be difficult for HSC’s to advocate for themselves so it’s always helpful to ask and listen.

• A quiet learning environment.

• Give them extra time to transition from one activity to the next.

• Allow them to carry around a creature comfort or calming object.

• Make time for them to ask you questions in private about classwork instead of insisting they ask in front of the whole class.

• Sit close to the teacher to limit distractions.

• Recommend tutoring

  Being able to work on school work with an adult will build confidence and decrease perfectionism.

• Be friendly and open to their questions.

Not understanding the HSC’s in your classroom and adapting the learning environment to fit their needs could lead to many problems. A child spends so much of their life in a school setting so you have the opportunity to shape a child’s life and make a huge difference in their development. Some problems that HSC’s could have are nightmares, difficulty sleeping, peer conflicts, school refusal, anxiety, depression, and so on if teachers and caregivers don’t understand their trait. Not understanding their high sensitivity means you don’t understand a huge part of who they are in the world. When adults understand a Highly Sensitive Child they feel seen, accepted, and are more willing to cooperate with you.

I want to honor all of the care, support, skills, and guidance that you as a teacher provide for your students each and everyday. I know you go above and beyond to make their learning experience as enriching as possible. Being a teacher is a hard job. I have so much respect for each and every one of you. I know this pandemic has been so tough for teachers and students. I hope this blog post gives you some ideas and guidance on what can help your highly sensitive students thrive in the classroom. Please reach out if you have any questions or want support with your students. I am here to help. It’s my life’s work to spread awareness about the trait and help children and adults thrive living in a world that wasn’t designed for them.