This excerpt from Chapter 7, written by Lynn A. Balzer-Martin, Ph.D., OTR, & Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A., is from The Educator's Guide to Medical Issues in the Classroom, by Frank M. Kline, Ph.D., Larry B. Silver, M.D., & Steven C. Russell, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2001 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Tactile Processing Problem

The tactile sense provides one with information about surrounding objects and people. The receptors in one's mouth, hands, feet, and other surfaces of the skin take in this information, which is needed to function throughout the day.

A tactile processing problem is the inefficiency of the brain in interpreting touch sensations. This type of processing problem hinders a child from getting accurate information to use in a purposeful way. A child may have trouble analyzing, organizing, and integrating information about how things feel and how it feels to be touched. As the following vignettes illustrate, children with poor tactile discrimination may be unable to answer these important questions: 1) "Am I touching something?" 2) "If so, what is its shape, density, texture, and size?" 3) "Is something touching me?" 4) "If so, where on my body?" and 5) "Is the touch pressure light, or is it deep?"

Classroom Strategies for Tactile Dysfunction

The following suggestions can be used in the classroom to help students with tactile regulatory or processing problems. To help children cope with hypersensitivity (tactile defensiveness), try the following:

• Put individual "servings" of messy materials — such as finger paints, playdough, and clay — into clear plastic bags that can be zipped closed. The children can manipulate the materials without directly touching them.
  
  
• Use the sand table for a variety of other media — such as beans, pasta, or rice — that will not stick to the children's fingers. Water or chunks of ice may attract children who avoid dry ingredients.
  
  
• Help the children find a place at the end of the line, a chair at the head of the table, or a spot on the rug where they will not feel threatened by unexpected contact with others. Assign positions, if necessary. Allow the children to sit or stand slightly removed from the group.
  
  
• Offer disposable gloves for science experiments and other messy activities.
  
  
• Keep paper towels and a bucket of sudsy water handy during messy projects so the children can wash their uncomfortably sticky hands immediately.
  
  
• Offer craft sticks for dipping into bowls of glue so that the children will not have to use their fingers.
  
  
• To provide sensory feedback, allow the children to use pencils that have been gnawed instead of new, smooth, round pencils.
  
  
• Guide older students to participate in sports activities such as track, gymnastics, swimming, or tennis, rather than team sports that require physical contact with others.