Module: Sensory, Emotional and Behavioral Regulation for Middle and High School Students - Micro Lesson: Sensory Anchors (4 min)

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08/22/2025 Added

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Micro Lesson: Sensory Anchors

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[00:00:00.000]I think this is kind of a nice
[00:00:03.150]concept and something I heard a
[00:00:05.960]couple years ago at a
[00:00:08.120]training in Denver. And it's
[00:00:09.940]really this idea of sensory
[00:00:11.990]anchors. We all have them.
[00:00:14.220]And so I think it's kind of a
[00:00:16.110]nice frame when looking at our,
[00:00:18.460]particularly the learners at
[00:00:20.740]the ages that you're working
[00:00:22.420]with, they already have things
[00:00:24.310]that they know are tried and
[00:00:25.920]true
[00:00:26.280]and work for them. Whether,
[00:00:28.290]like Ari was saying, they
[00:00:29.990]appear socially appropriate or
[00:00:32.110]not, we still
[00:00:33.200]have to look at what is that
[00:00:34.410]doing for that child? What is
[00:00:36.060]that doing for that individual?
[00:00:37.540]Because they're those anchors
[00:00:39.510]that make them feel kind of in
[00:00:41.410]their safe place, comfortable.
[00:00:43.700]And we do this regularly. We
[00:00:46.660]regularly cultivate and
[00:00:48.330]deliberately use our anchors to
[00:00:51.010]create this
[00:00:52.080]sense of well-being or this
[00:00:53.600]kind of just right. And
[00:00:55.230]everyone has different ones.
[00:00:56.870]Everyone has
[00:00:57.620]different anchors and we use
[00:00:59.330]them in different contexts.
[00:01:01.200]Relationships impact that. Our
[00:01:03.360]learning
[00:01:03.940]history, test demands, and our
[00:01:06.900]sensory vulnerabilities all
[00:01:08.980]impact that. So I'll just
[00:01:11.220]take myself as an example when
[00:01:12.730]I'm talking about this concept
[00:01:14.370]of anchors. So if I had to
[00:01:15.630]think
[00:01:16.020]about my tactile or my touch
[00:01:17.800]anchors, they're for sure soft
[00:01:19.890]clothing, deep touch pressure
[00:01:21.990]massage.
[00:01:22.900]But if the demands of my day
[00:01:24.880]don't allow for that, right? So
[00:01:27.530]today when I knew I had to be
[00:01:29.500]really attentive and trying to
[00:01:31.320]teach in a really good way, I
[00:01:33.010]did not put on my comfy sweats,
[00:01:34.860]right? I have on my tight pants.
[00:01:37.130]I have on a zipper and a button
[00:01:38.940]today.
[00:01:40.140]My demands, the context don't
[00:01:42.050]allow for that anchor for me
[00:01:43.820]today.
[00:01:44.420]But what I am able to do is I
[00:01:46.190]love the feel of a hot cup of
[00:01:48.100]coffee in my hands.
[00:01:49.700]Very appropriate for the day.
[00:01:51.320]I know that about myself as a
[00:01:53.390]way to stay regulated.
[00:01:55.320]So then if I think about my
[00:01:56.820]sound anchors, it's for sure
[00:01:58.620]kind of this quiet instrumental
[00:02:00.700]music.
[00:02:01.260]But maybe at the end of a long
[00:02:03.490]day when all of the demands of
[00:02:05.890]the day have been on me.
[00:02:08.020]But during the day, I may not
[00:02:10.250]be able to access that.
[00:02:12.260]If it's two in the afternoon, I
[00:02:13.910]may play a little bit of pink,
[00:02:15.480]for example, in my office
[00:02:17.000]as I'm trying to work and stay
[00:02:18.070]alert.
[00:02:18.460]So visual anchors for me are a
[00:02:20.860]lot of like lamp lighting, no
[00:02:23.360]overhead lighting.
[00:02:25.280]It's taken my husband.
[00:02:26.340]We've been married 22 years.
[00:02:27.660]He's finally figured that out.
[00:02:28.780]No overhead lights at night,
[00:02:29.850]right?
[00:02:30.240]I can't hang with that.
[00:02:31.040]But during the day, I don't
[00:02:32.100]have lamps on in my office.
[00:02:33.280]I wouldn't be productive.
[00:02:34.940]So I think what I'm trying to
[00:02:36.780]communicate here is that we all
[00:02:38.860]really have these and so do our
[00:02:40.920]students. It's just they may
[00:02:42.520]not have learned a variety,
[00:02:44.120]number one, and they may not
[00:02:45.720]have learned kind of the
[00:02:47.150]context in which it's
[00:02:48.260]appropriate to use.
[00:02:49.720]So our job is not only to be
[00:02:51.530]good observers about what is
[00:02:53.630]that that makes them feel
[00:02:55.470]regulated, if it's pacing, if
[00:02:57.800]it's flapping, what is it about
[00:02:59.760]that that is regulating to them,
[00:03:01.930]right? That's their vestibular
[00:03:03.840]system. That's their proprioceptive
[00:03:05.880]system. So then how do we use
[00:03:07.380]that and encourage maybe they
[00:03:08.890]have to learn some additional
[00:03:10.400]ways to do that or different
[00:03:11.790]context in which to do that.
[00:03:14.460]But the reason I want to draw
[00:03:15.970]your awareness to this is that
[00:03:17.610]I think we have a job to be
[00:03:19.090]good observers about that, and
[00:03:20.800]then also good partners and
[00:03:22.310]being sensory informed about
[00:03:23.960]what it is that they've already
[00:03:25.650]found that work for them.

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Module: Sensory, Emotional and Behavioral Regulation for Middle and High School Students - Micro Lesson: Sensory Anchors (4 min)

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