The Happy Sensory Corner

In this episode, we delve into strategies for helping children gain control and manage transitions effectively. Petal Harrigain, a special education teacher, emphasizes the importance of visual schedules, timers, and consistent routines to reduce anxiety and help students predict their day. She shares her empathetic approach, always seeking to understand and support students through transitions, e...

In this episode, Claudie Pomares, creator of Sensory Enrichment Therapy, provides a training session targeting behavior regulation through sensory enrichment. Claudie highlights the areas of life this therapy aims to improve, such as emotional stability, social interaction, and academic performance, and explains the brain functions involved, including serotonin regulation and sensory processing. S...

In this episode, Claudie introduces the Mendability Minute, a sensory enrichment protocol designed to create a calming classroom environment and enhance students' ability to focus. [00:13:05] Episode highlights [00:05:48] Shawn Tuffy:  "The number one easiest way to cut back restraint is to ask, 'Is this behavior actually hurting anybody?'" [00:12:02] Shawn Tuffy:  "Thos...

Kim from Mendability is joined for the second time by Justin Bradford, Superintendent at Prescott School District in Washington. Justin shares his extensive experience with positive behavioral support, the importance of consistency, and understanding students' needs. He draws fascinating parallels between classroom consistency and the success of fast food franchises, highlighting the comfort a...

Join Kim and Claudie Pomares, the innovative minds behind Mendability, as they engage with Wayne Hall, a dedicated special education teacher and Registered Behavior Therapist. In this insightful podcast episode, they share invaluable strategies to help special education teachers and leaders support students in regulating their behavior. Claudie’s Sensory Enrichment Training Claudie Pomares, the cr...

[14:47] "Unlocking Calm: The Sensory Secrets to Student Success" In this essential training segment, Claudie Pomares targets the foundational need for students to feel safe and secure, crucial for their success in life and learning. She explains that the protocol engages key brain functions related to stress response and emotional regulation, primarily focusing on lowering cortisol level...

[29:08] "The Claw"  Claudie Pomares' training focuses on using sensory enrichment to support students in regulating their behavior. The key life areas targeted include emotional regulation, focus, and learning engagement. The brain functions involved are the limbic system, responsible for emotional processing, and the sensory integration processes in the cortex. For these areas to su...

Alexis Seidner is a Special Education Teacher at District of Columbia Public Schools. Claudie introduces the Mendability Minute and a meltdown de-escalation protocol. [2:50] Alexis emphasizes the reciprocal learning experience with her students, "I learn more from them than they think they learn from me." [6:20] Discussion on reducing restraints, sharing a novel approach involving a mat...

Today's sensory enrichment training targets emotional regulation in students, particularly useful for managing meltdowns. This protocol, combining a brief cold stimulus with the pleasant scent of strawberry, is designed to instantly engage the brain's emotional center (amygdala) and sensory processing systems, fostering a calming response. By leveraging these sensory experiences, the proto...

Claudie Pomares provided training on a sensory enrichment protocol designed to help manage students' behavior, particularly focusing on students with autism or learning disabilities who struggle with mental imagery and sensory processing. The key area targeted by this training is the ability to visualize or mentally represent objects or scenarios, which is crucial for cognitive development, le...

Today's sensory enrichment protocol employs simple, yet profoundly impactful sensory experiences to naturally elevate serotonin levels, thus promoting a calmer, more receptive state of mind conducive to learning and interaction. This innovative approach utilizes everyday elements like music and tactile stimuli (e.g., varying temperatures) to create a therapeutic effect. For instance, playing c...

In this episode, Claudie Pomares' sensory enrichment protocol targets the enhancement of cognitive functions crucial for learning and comprehension, focusing on the development of mental imagery and the ability to process sensory information efficiently. This method involves tactile exercises, such as feeling a textured object hidden inside a sock and then drawing it, thereby stimulating senso...

Today's Training focuses on harnessing the power of sensory experiences to target the crucial area of life: the brain's emotional and sensory processing. Claudie explains how stimulating the brain through sensory experiences, such as music and aromas, can significantly enhance the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. This, in turn, improves mood, motivation, and memory...

Today's Sensory Enrichment Training: The Power of Scent for Better Learning and Behavior [30:47] Claudie, the creator of sensory enrichment therapy, focuses on the pivotal role of the sense of smell in enhancing brain functions crucial for learning and behavior control. Smelling pleasant scents stimulates dopamine production in the brain, vital for memory, motivation, and movement control. Cla...

Today's training focuses on Learning, Self-awareness [40:51] Claudie Pomares, the creator of Sensory Enrichment Therapy, presents a training segment targeting crucial areas such as learning and self-awareness. She explains the brain functions necessary for these areas and introduces a sensory protocol involving the use of hands to stimulate brain connections.  Our Guest is Charles Bertram, Spe...

Today's training focuses on enhancing brain bommunication: [13:16] Claudie Pomares, an expert in Sensory Enrichment Therapy, introduces a simple yet powerful exercise to improve communication between the brain's hemispheres using different objects. This technique, based on neuroscience, can help students settle down and improve their focus and learning capabilities. Our Guest is Heather O&...

This episode's sensory enrichment training [52:02 - 01:01:26] focuses on creating a calmer, more focused, and more motivated mindset in students, particularly beneficial for those with behavioral issues. Claudie emphasized the vital role of neuromediators like serotonin and dopamine in brain functioning. She described a Her protocol, designed to stimulate these brain functions, combines art ap...

Sensory Enrichment : Target Area & Brain Functions (16:45-17:56): Reducing anxiety and enhancing learning through understanding brain functions like serotonin and dopamine regulation. Protocol Description (19:02-22:07): Using pleasant scents (e.g., orange) to increase dopamine levels and tactile stimulation (gentle back rubs) for serotonin enhancement. Anthony Caporaso on Special Education: An...

Sensory Enrichment Training for this episode focuses on the benefits of art to help the brain regulate its chemistry and speech development with a game called Art and Stickers. In this episode, Lorren, a small district special education department chair, delves into the critical need for consistency to prevent teacher burnout. Lorren shares the success of their nationally recognized Unified Olympi...

Sensory Enrichment Training for this episode focuses on mental image and self-awareness with a game called Mr. Pokey. Shelley Halverson's experience in a youth incarceration system in Salt Lake City led her to a profound realization. Most of the youth in the justice system would be labelled as having special needs in the educational system. What if we could help these youth on the front end of...

Welcome to 'The Happy Sensory Corner in Special Ed' – the podcast where we explore the world of sensory enrichment and environmental enrichment in special education. Join us as we dive into the fascinating realm of creating happy, inclusive, and thriving learning spaces for exceptional students. Through insightful discussions, interviews with experienced special education directors, and in...