Articles

The definition of gustatory processing is further defined in this article. We often relate taste to flavor, and smell as well. However, the gustation process also involves information processing about food quantity, quality, and whether it should even be swallowed (among other things as well). What teachers obtain from this article is not only the dynamic nature of this sensory mode, but the concept that all sensory modes are similarly complex.

This article discusses the impact of smell on emotional processing - an interesting take that is much different from the typical smell and taste relationships. Amidst all the scientific terms, smells impact different parts of the brain, inducing different types of emotions. Teachers could, hypothetically, take this a step further and study whether the odor of their classroom environment positively or negatively impacts the attitudes and feelings of their ED students.

This article is about the commonalities between taste and smell senses; the two senses rely on common neurological processes. What this tells us about sensory interation is that taste and smell are so intricately intertwined that determining whether one has an impairment with one versus the other is difficult. More importantly, this makes addressing student needs (related to taste and smell) all the more complex.

Summary:
Basically, when a child is exposed to more in their environment then they are more likely to incorporate that exposure into their behaviors. So if a student has a eating problem, then perhaps they need to be exposed to more foods (i.e. have them use foods as manipulatives or have them read stories that involve eating foods, etc). Teachers may need to help educate parents who think their child is limited yet their child's food choice is really a reflection of what they eat and buy themselves.

The researchers looked at six olfactory stimuli; high, medium, and low preference. Then saw if they could be used as reinforcers.

This finding is important because the effect it can have on behavior interventions and reinforcers in the class room. The study did find that the preferences for the olfactory stimuli when linked with response. The participants responded more to the task associated with the high preference olfactory stimuli.

This author highlights the benefits of cognition through the physical senses. External senses, such as taste, can be useful for secondary learners to reinforce conventional learning with a focus on outdoor contexts.

This article outlines a study of 3 children with digestive disorders, and the interventions/treatment used to incorporate foods with varying tastes and textures into their diets. Emphasis is on oral consumption. Treatment is dependent on behavioral modification.

Summary:
This article points out that some children are not just picky eaters, yet have a severe eating disorder. That means that parent's and educators need to monitor the intake of their children because they may not be getting the proper nutrition needed. This article does not give specifics of a study, yet a case study of a 15 y/o male. It also points out that nuero processing problems could be the cause for eating difficulties; and that the problem needs to be assessed by a feeding/eating unit and not experimented by a teacher or parent.

Summary:
The techniques used in this study (escape extinction and exposure to variety of tastes) increased the later consumption of food varieties eaten by the participants. For teachers with students who have eating problems and requesting parents that want the teachers to help with eating during lunch and snack times, the teachers can implement a similar methods to this study. The study proved that there was reduced problem behavior with the function of escape eating as well as generalization to the home environment. This may be a little difficult without aids or other teachers helping because putting escape on extinction can be very physical. Teacher/School-Parent contract may need to be created too.

The researchers found that children with autism and fragile x syndrome had significantly more sensory symptoms when compared to their peers.

This article is important for special education teachers because it enlightens them on the differences of students with autism when they were toddlers. The children may be just getting use to the senses and teachers need to be sensitive of the students difference. And the study was great because it used correlational analyses to find that neither overall development nor IQ was related to abnormal sensory reactivity.