Sensory Regulation Spinner

The solution

The first solution was a turntable with a central pivot and roller ball casters on the outer diameter. Although this was cheap to make and very stable it was too noisy, which was not good for calming children and did not spin freely enough. Further research found that Lazy Susan bearings could be purchased with a large diameter. These worked with ball bearings held between two vertical machined aluminium rings. They looked to be the solution as the 600mm diameter provided support near the outer diameter to stop tipping. Although expensive, one was bought and the first spinner was built. It did work reasonably well and did not tip but it did not spin freely and it proved to be hard work on the carers. Extra lubrication helped to speed up the spin, but it was also a little noisy.

More research found that Lazy Susan bearings that worked in a pressed steel mechanism with the ball bearings running between two horizontal layers of steel, spun much more freely and quietly. They were also less expensive. The problem was that the largest diameter they were made in was only 300mm. This meant that any pressure on the outer diameter of even an 800mm spinning turntable would really strain the bearing and its fixings to the plywood disks. The solution was, first to strengthen the fittings by using M6 insert nuts and secondly to use the roller ball casters from the Mark 1 design to support the outer rim of the spinner. Experiments found that the Lazy Susan bearing would cope with a 4mm gap between the roller balls and the base. The freely spinning bearing was protected from strain if the 4mm gap was taken up, but allowed free spinning if the child was positioned centrally.

This final solution was very successful. The base was 10mm larger than the vinyl upholstered top which allowed it to be moved around by rolling. The surface was comfortable and easily cleaned, it spun freely and quietly and did not tip when the child moved to the edge. The previous version was then altered to use the free spinning bearing. This meant that Purple Class finally had two spinners to help with their sensory regulation.

The benefit

After taking delivery of the Spinners Sam reported back on the benefits gained by the teachers and his pupils in Purple Class.

Every child is unique.  Every child has their own individual motivation and interests.  For many of our children, these interests present in a form that many adults would label as ‘stimming’ – repetitive actions, movements or sounds.

For us, we see these interests as an opportunity to engage with the children, deepening our interactions.  Identifying a child’s interests and motivations; the different things they seek or the ‘urges’ they follow, is key to finding that ‘way in’ to develop rich developmental relationships .

We know many of our children seek vestibular feedback, both as a form of stimulation, but also as a calming strategy, a way to regulate, when they feel overwhelmed or anxious.  Backwards and forward movements, and also spinning movements, are ideal ways to achieve this form of sensory input.  Having these spinners that REMAP have developed allows us to provide a stimulating experience, as well as better support overwhelmed children through co-regulation.  In either case, as we support the child to spin and experience the vestibular feedback they seek, we have the perfect opportunity to tailor our interactions to share attention with them, making eye contact and building anticipation before we “Go!”, or enhance two-way, purposeful interactions as we pause after “ready…STEADY….”, allowing the child to reach out to us, or smile, or make a sound to influence us to “Go!” once again!

The benefits of these spinning boards cannot be overstated.  They support children to calm when their world is too busy or loud.  They enable children to capitalise on their interest in the sensation of movement and share in this joy with others through shared attention.  They allow children to engage in purposeful interactions with adults and develop their awareness of their ability to influence others.  With these spinning boards, we can deliver all this, and more, to enhance the children’s development of inter-personal relationships, and a readiness to learn, that form the foundations that all future learning and development will be built upon.