school supplies for sensory issues

[Mom-ninja.]

We do not use spiral notebooks or composition books because my boys cannot stand to write on paper that is "squishy." They have to have just one piece of paper on the desk or table to write so the surface is hard.

 

My middle ds has to use the white "plastic" type erasers. He can't use the pink ones because the sound and feel of them when erasing puts him over the edge.

 

 

Anyone else who has to avoid certain school supplies?

[Dobela]

My ds wants mechanical pencils so the lead is always sharp.

[Tiramisu]

One dd has to use a special "comfort grip" mechanical pencil. Her trouble is knowing how hard to grip and push down. On bad days, her hand will constantly slide down a regular pencil and it drives her crazy. The "comfort grip" has really helped.

 

My 6 yo will not use a pencil at all, only a pen. :glare:

[placeofgrace]

My son is the same way about "squishy" paper. He uses a clipboard a lot because he doesn't like to sit at the table. He will sit at the coffee table on an exercise ball. :D He sharpens his pencil about every.30.seconds! Drives me nuts! He NEVER wears a shirt when he's in the house. Doesn't matter what time of the year it is. Yep, lots of sensory stuff going on here! :lol:

[Dmmetler]

My DD does best with the "My first ticonderoga" pencils. I think it's a combination of the heavier weight and the thicker, stronger lead. She prefers to take papers out of workbooks (and I never really got into using spirals/composition books because I file everything in notebooks). I'd never thought of that as a sensory thing, but maybe it is.

 

 

She sharpens pencils as a fidget, so a nice, sharp bladed, hand sharpener that fits her hand and feels right is an essential. Unfortunately, the ones that work best for her and that she likes best are the ones that don't have a place to catch the shavings, so a small container to CATCH shavings and for her to sharpen over is also essential (and unfortunately, she does this most when she's already hypersensory and on edge, which is when she's most likely to miss the container and leave the shavings everywhere, which is ALSO the point at which my just bringing the vacuum out is likely to lead to a meltdown because she can't stand the sound. I WISH we could find an alternative for sharpening pencils!)

 

 

It's not a sensory thing, but graph paper is a lifesaver in our house, too so that she can visually organize her work. She can't stand a messy page, but she really struggles with lining things up and making the letters and numbers evenly sized without having the lines going both ways.

Edited July 11, 2012 by dmmetler

[Mom-ninja.]

Yep, I have to pull out all workbooks as well.

 

Have you tried the Staples brand little hand held sharpeners? My boys like them and they work well.

[parkah6]

I am soooo glad I am not alone! Thanks for sharing.

[slackermom]

DD has her own special writing kit that she brings everywhere so she doesn't have to use other supplies that would stress her out.

 

She keeps mini (3"x5") graph-ruled top-bound notebooks in her kit. When I saw Staples had moved them to the clearance bin, I bought the whole bin, so we should have time to find an alternative.

 

DD loves her erasable pens, and uses them almost exclusively now. The erasers on the pens are kind of like the white drafting erasers. She has those too, and won't use the built-in eraser on pencils.

 

Silly putty has been added to the kit recently, just for squeezing while working.

 

DD typically uses single sheets of copy paper. If she wants color, we go with colored copy paper instead of contruction paper.

 

She likes to use her special clipboard. When she doesn't want to use the clip, she turns the clipboard over and uses the back. At least the clip has a uniform thickness, so the clipboard doesn't wobble as she writes on it that way. If she's writing at the kitchen table without the clipboard, she'll flip over her placemat to use the hard smooth side. So even my kitchen table is too squishy! :tongue_smilie:

 

DD likes markers over crayons, but most markers and crayons are too smelly. She will use Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Tip Markers though. Mostly she prefers colored pencils now, but she gets frustrated sharpening them. I recently spent an hour sharpening about a hundred colored pencils by hand, but it was time well spent. We were about to start a big historical maps project. Of course, I had to photocopy all the maps for her rather than just have her use the map coloring book.

 

DD and I agreed to get her a special wiggle seat cushion for her chair. I am feeling optimistic that it will help, but I suspect I may need to make a fabric cover for it.