Performance Minds · all areas Vision · Sensory · Motor · Focus / Executive
Sensory Minds Learning

Performance Minds Learning

Sensory Minds

Modulation, discrimination, and regulation — seen through real classroom work.

Sensory Minds looks at how a student takes in and responds to touch, movement, body position, sound, and the visual environment while doing schoolwork. We observe participation, not isolated checklists, and we check vision first because visual clutter and glare are often the first sensory load in a classroom.

Open Full SPA™ Free Classroom Screen Free resources

Modulation

Over- or under-responding to sound, touch, movement, and visual busyness.

Discrimination

Using touch and body-position feedback to guide grading of force and movement.

Regulation

Staying in a workable state of alertness across the day and recovering after upsets.

Participation

How sensory demands change engagement in class, lunch, recess, and transitions.

Two tiers

Screen first. Assess when it matters.

FREE · ABOUT 5 MINUTES

Sensory Classroom Screen

Vision-first checks, 15 classroom observations, and green/yellow/red next steps for the team.

Run the free screen

FULL ASSESSMENT · ABOUT 30 MINUTES

SPA™ Sensory Performance Assessment

Print-first materials, timed observations, 0–3 scoring, domain summary, support plan and a printable record.

$9 per student · $20 all three · $199 Caseload Pass (12 months)

Field-test version · not normed or diagnostic · clinical review pending

Open Full SPA™

Free resources

Browse all sensory resources

Teachers

Two-minute heavy-work reset

  1. Carry a stack of books to the office or library
  2. Wall push-ups ×10, chair push-ups ×5
  3. Return to seat and start the first problem with an adult

Teachers & students

Quiet-corner card

  1. Agree on a signal the student can use
  2. Corner has low light, a beanbag, and a 3-minute sand timer
  3. Return with a 'first, then' card — no lost recess

Teachers

Visual-clutter audit

  1. Stand at the student's desk and look at the front wall
  2. Remove or cover half of what is in view
  3. Seat away from windows, doors, and flickering lights

Teams & parents

Cafeteria plan

  1. Sit at an end seat facing a wall
  2. Offer ear defenders for the first 10 minutes
  3. Leave 3 minutes early to beat the hallway rush

Parents

Morning alerting routine

  1. Crunchy breakfast and cold water
  2. Five animal walks down the hallway
  3. Carry the backpack — it is heavy work

Optional premier PDFs & kits

Available now

Learning Lab kit

$7 for one child, or $29 for a 12-month Caseload Pass. Covers all four areas.

Open the Lab

Printable · $5

Sensory Classroom Toolkit

Break cards, a calm-corner kit, a clutter audit, and a two-week data sheet.

Get it for $5

Printable · $3

Tonight at Home: Sensory

Parent routines for mornings, meals, grooming, and bedtime.

Get it for $3

Printable · $15

Sensory Staff In-Service Kit

45-minute presenter script, agenda, staff handout, and sign-in sheet.

Get it for $15

Printable · $5

Sensory Regulation Intervention Pack

Regulation plan, sensory-diet builder, schedule cards, and progress data for OT sessions and classrooms.

Get it for $5

SPA™ Sensory Performance Assessment

Field-test version available · for licensed OTs

Open the SPA™

About 30 minutes, print-first, observation during real tasks with a structured caregiver/teacher interview. Starts with a vision access check.

  1. 1. Materials checklist and vision access check
  2. 2. Seated work observation (copying, cut-and-paste)
  3. 3. Transition and group-noise observation
  4. 4. Movement and body-position tasks (grading force, obstacle path)
  5. 5. Teacher and caregiver interview
  6. 6. 0–3 rubric by domain → support plan

Courses

Course designs are ready to submit for AOTA approval. Contact hours and CEUs will be listed only after approval.

Course 0 · Introductory · 1 hr · $49

Sensory Minds Foundations: Sensory Processing as a Performance Substrate

You will be able to

  • Describe the four sensory performance domains (modulation, discrimination, regulation, participation)
  • Distinguish sensory-driven behaviors from visual-access and attention-driven behaviors in classroom scenarios
  • Identify two environmental supports a teacher can start the same day

Modules

  1. Why sensory belongs inside occupational performance
  2. The four domains with classroom examples
  3. Vision first: glare, clutter, and visual load
  4. Same-day supports and when to screen

Registration not yet open · AOTA approval pending

Course 1 · Intermediate · 3 hr · $79

Sensory Minds in the School: Screening, Reasoning, and Planning

You will be able to

  • Administer and score the 5-minute Sensory Classroom Screen
  • Interpret green/yellow/red results and automatic triggers to select next steps
  • Write sensory-based accommodations linked to educational participation
  • Explain the evidence base and limits of sensory-based interventions to teams

Modules

  1. Scope of school-based sensory practice
  2. The Classroom Screen: items and scoring
  3. Reasoning: sensory vs. vision vs. attention
  4. Accommodations and IEP language
  5. Evidence base and honest limits
  6. Case walkthroughs
  7. Competency check

Registration not yet open · AOTA approval pending

Course 2 · Advanced · 4 hr · $99

Administering the SPA™: Sensory Performance Assessment

You will be able to

  • Set up and administer the SPA™ with fidelity in about 30 minutes
  • Score observations with the 0–3 domain rubric
  • Integrate interview and observation data into a support plan
  • Document results and referral decisions defensibly

Modules

  1. Why performance-based sensory assessment
  2. SPA™ architecture and materials
  3. Administration walkthrough
  4. Scoring and interpretation
  5. Clinical reasoning cases
  6. Documentation and referral

Registration not yet open · AOTA approval pending