Educational Support Program
The Gulmohar Educational Support Program is a revolutionary approach to supporting learning and behavioural difficulties in the classroom. Based on Audrey Mc Allen’s Extra Lesson and Jean Ayers’ Sensory Integration (ASI), our program meets the developmental needs of the child by integrating the basic senses
What is Sensory Integration
Sensory integration is how the brain receives, organises and interprets sensory information from the body and the environment. It is an automatic neurological process that supports everyday activities such as dressing, eating, moving, socialising, learning and working. When this process works well, it helps us stay regulated, coordinate our bodies, focus and participate in daily life. When we observe sensory integration and sensory processing difficulties in children, we can see how their brains are having trouble in detecting, interpreting and regulating sensory information. This is observed as behaviours such as constant spinning or whirling, aggression, eating difficulties, being overwhelmed or distressed in busy environments and being too sensitive to touch. This happens if sensory signals feel too weak or too strong and the brain over reacts or under-reacts to them. Thus children may show signs of sensory integration difficulties in everyday functioning or behaviour by under-reacting or over-reacting to sensory stimuli. Children may be labelled as hyperactive or dyspraxic or dysregulated
Program Details
Our Educational Support Program is a parent-funded program that is delivered as a one-on-one special individualised lesson outside of the classroom. Each lesson can be for up to 45 minutes long and can take place before school begins or after school. After assessments and observations to get to know the child’s developmental status, the Educational Support teacher composes lessons with a variety of age-appropriate activities that may comprise of developmental movements and supportive exercises using beanbags, jumping ropes, lifting and stretching, rhythm and breathing, speech and proprioception. Regular checks every 8 to 10 weeks are carried out to track progress and to help direct next steps.
This individualised approach to child development is a compassionate and holistic approach designed to have a profound impact on their lives as the children transition from play-based learning to sitting at a desk and taking in academic instruction in the future.
