Supporting Highly Sensitive children at school

What do Responsive children need to thrive in their school environment?

What's different about their needs from Unresponsive (most) children, and how can teachers and school leaders help?

Let's have a look at school from a young sensitive child's perspective. Most of the children I see tell me that school is 'very loud', 'children hurt each other', 'teachers shout' and they are not allowed to 'be quiet'. They also complain that school clothing can be itchy, the floor is hard, the classroom smells funny and people expect them to say things before they are ready. They also dislike people looking at them or making them the centre of attention (even the extravert HSCs) and get very concerned if another child is upset. The walls are full of overstimulating colours and people talk through all the lessons.

This is a quotation from Barbara Allen's site, Growing Unlimited. Barbara is a British psychologist who works particularly with Highly Sensitive people, including children.

It illustrates some of the problems that arise for Highly Sensitive children at school; things which might not be much of a problem for non-Sensitive children, or which affect the HS children much more.

They are not problem children. They're not fussy, they're not trying to be difficult, and they won't be okay if they just stop worrying about whatever it is.

Highly Sensitive children are insightful, courageous, compassionate and empathetic, intelligent, self-motivated, creative, and thoughtful. As they spend so much of their childhood at school, this environment has a huge, constant effect on them. It's at least partially up to teachers and school leaders whether that effect is positive or negative.

Don’t be overwhelmed here, or anything, but it really is extra-important to help these children get the right messages and the right sort of support. And do you know why it’s extra-important for these children particularly?

Because Highly Sensitive people, children and adults, are more responsive to everything – that is what the temperament means: we’re highly responsive. So Highly Sensitive – Responsive – children respond more intensely to all the input they receive – positive and negative.

This doesn’t mean that teachers or school leaders need to always be on alert and making sure the student is only receiving positive input from their environment. That’s impossible and unneccessary. Highly Sensitive children can be very resilient and are naturally self-regulating. What they need from others – those who have some level of power over their environment – is the conditions which allow them to do this. They will take care of the rest.

So how can teachers and schools help their Highly Sensitive students to thrive? Below, I’ll explain a bit about what these children need, why you might see certain behaviours from them, and how to support them so they can have a positive school experience. There’s a lot to consider, so I’ll just explain a few of each in this post.

Needs of Highly Sensitive children at school

Sensory Aspects

Lighting
Highly Sensitive children need lower and more gentle lighting, and respond positively to natural light (all children do, but HS children do even more – like I said, this is due to their higher responsivity to everything)

Noise
Schools are generally pretty noisy places. Classrooms can be very noisy, if there’s a critical mass of children who are loud, or who don’t listen well to instructions, or are deliberately rebellious to rules and inconsiderate of others. Then there's the noise (and other stress) that comes from having children with developmental disabilities in regular classrooms. (On one hand, it's a kind and generous mission, potentially helpful to those with these disabilities; on the other, it's extremely disruptive to the learning and wellbeing of other children, including those with a Sensitive/Responsive temperament. A balance really needs to be found, so that all gain benefits as far as possible).

High noise levels also result from  group work , if the teacher encourages or allows it, doesn’t regulate it well, or children don’t understand how to do it effectively (which is probably often the case – group work is hard to get right, even for adults. But it’s popular and encouraged as an educational strategy).

Some teachers – and principals/vice-principals – have loud voices, or use a loud voice in the classroom. Whether constant or intermittent, this can affect HS children negatively.

Being highly responsive to all stimuli, loud noises are especially startling, and a class teacher with a loud voice (constant loud level) is wearing on their nervous system. Without going into further detail about it, these contribute more to the negative stimuli a HS child is absorbing than you might think. A principal doing this and then joking about it, or being calm afterwards, for example, doesn’t change the negative effect it has. A teacher using a loud voice to do the same thing – towards other students – is also unhelpful, no matter that it wasn’t directed towards the HS child. Directing it at them, of course, is even worse.

Break times are, of course, noisy. This can be really difficult for HS children, who are already experiencing heightened stimulation from previous classes – academic and social. Whether positive or negative, this stimulation is already having its effect. Break times can raise this to a level they’re then unable to manage.

Behaviours and results you might see in Highly Sensitive children who are over-stimulated or overwhelmed:

• Resistance to change
• Lack of social engagement
• Not completing work
• Reluctance to participate in class discussions or answer a teacher’s direct questions, or questions asked them in private
• Low grades, when their potential is obviously higher
• Some children might ‘act out’, while others will withdraw (this might depend upon personality and home environment/learnt behaviours)
• Learned helplessness
• Lowered immunity, resulting in regular colds, often catching whatever else is going around, sallow-looking skin, etc.
• Low emotional states
• Inability to cope with poor behaviour from other students, constant classroom noise, or surprises.

These are not regular behaviours from Highly Sensitive children. They are a result of unhelpful conditions at school. With more helpful environmental factors, these children will be among the best and most committed students, conscientious, engaged, curious, involved, kind and helpful towards other students, intelligent and mature, and highly resilient. They are internally-motivated, able to think creatively, insightful, wise seemingly beyond their years, and just really pleasant and inspiring to be around – if they can get the conditions they need.

It is such a shame – perhaps a tragedy – that so many children do not experience this side of their wonderful Highly Sensitive nature, and that the world misses out on it, too. As I keep saying, all they really need is a few adjustments that those with power over the environments they live in can effect, and some on-going attention in specific ways from the adults who are most influential in their lives, such as school teachers.

So what can you do to reach this point? I share a few tips below, relating to the needs I've explained above (there are more of both, which I'll make available in a guide to download at a later point).

Supporting Highly Sensitive children at school: what school leaders and teachers can do.

Sensory aspects

Lighting

• Let HS children sit near outside windows, or place them there (as they might not be aware that’s helpful to them).
• Don’t turn on all the overhead lights in the classroom. They’re often very bright, and aren’t always needed at full strength. Try turning on half only. And sit any HS children (or those you suspect are HS) where the lights are turned off, if you do this.
• If you're a high school teacher, and students choose their own seats each class period, you might encourage (quietly - without making it obvious to others) children who you suspect are Highly Sensitive to sit in these spots, or reserve them (again, unobtrusively) so it's easy for them to choose them. 

* Managing lighting, whether the light itself or the positioning of the children, will have more of a helpful effect than you can probably imagine. This is one of the easiest things to do, and should have rewarding results.

Noise

• School leaders: If it’s at all possible to have HS children in classes with lower noise levels – perhaps with teachers who prefer this type of environment in their classrooms, and teach in this way (and might use less group work, for example), or smaller classes, or classes with a lower percentage of ‘trouble’ students; or in locations away from highly-used paths or other external noise – then do that.
• School leaders: Try to provide break areas for children that are quiet. Near trees or bushes – natural elements – is especially helpful. Cultivate a respect and normality within the school culture for children who need or seek these environments during break times, and don’t let them be used or overtaken by noisy students or teachers having conversations. Keep them quiet and peaceful, as far as possible. Even 10 minutes in an area like this will be beneficial; as long as they need is ideal.
• Teachers: If there has to be noise in your classroom, make sure it alternates enough between this and quiet periods. Try to make the quiet periods longer and more frequent than the noiser ones. During noisier times (where work is being done), still maintain boundaries around levels and type of noise allowed.
  

I'm creating a more comprehensive guide for schools and teachers about these topics, which will cover more aspects (beyond the sensory, and more about that as well), share ideas for responding to the needs of Highly Sensitive children at school, and also help you determine who might have this temperament within your school or classes.

If you want to be notified when this comes out, send me a message here, and I'll put you on my list and send you an e-mail with the download link.

Also send me a message with questions or thoughts you might have about these topics. I'm very interested in discussing them and offering any insights I have for you (as well as hearing yours).

In the meantime, have a look at my FAQ page for answers to questions that I've already provided.

---