Blog #512: Having Sensory Friendly School Buses

…

As the summer vacation season begins, students are most likely doing one of two activities: going to day camp so parents/guardians can make a living and encourage being around peers or going on vacations to the beaches, mountains or valleys. Then, of course, there is the aforementioned summer work such as summer reading, math packets, etc.

…

However, there is one aspect to the student that is essential whether it’d be going to summer camp in the summer or school in the fall and that is the school bus. It’s important to remember that riding school buses are a privilege and not a right. A couple of months ago, I was watching on YouTube a series of videos of school bus drivers going off on students for a variety of reasons whether it would be noise, not sitting down while the bus is in motion or just having a bad idea.

Keep in mind that these school bus drivers have one thing going through their minds when encountered with these situations. They each have a desire or wish to transport students that would not be causing any trouble and be on the same mental health level as the driver.

…

To this end, if there is one thing that I would like to see happen at schools across the country is having buses being specifically chosen to be sensory friendly where there is stimulation controls, stimming toys at the seats and students have the option to listen to music that they love. Regular school buses are often a challenge for sensory friendly transformations, so if there is a choice to choose from, it would have to be mini buses.

Yes, there are mini buses for special education students, but what if the student doesn’t want to move to or cannot handle being on a mini bus? Being on a regular school bus is often sensory challenging, ranging from the loud voices of the students on board to the bus drivers trying to maintain order and use authority when needed.

A sensory friendly school bus is like the Quiet Car that Amtrak uses on it’s Acela Express trains. There are rules that people have to follow if they are to be in the quiet car (keeping voices low, cell phones off, etc.). Not to say that a sensory friendly school bus is like the Acela Express Quiet Car. Students will need to decompress or unwind after a long day at school or summer camp and the only way they can achieve it is by being in a quiet environment.

…

One possible idea is that having a sensory friendly school bus can be added to a student’s Individual Education Plan throughout their education. At the IEP meeting, the team can sit down with the student and come to consensus on whether riding a sensory friendly school bus is warranted of the student. In addition, if the student attends summer camp during the summer vacation period, they can still have access to the sensory friendly school bus.

Another idea is having school bus drivers that have a type of training around supporting developmentally different students. These types of bus drivers are trained to understand the student and be prepared for any types of incidents like regular bus drivers. However, in this case, the drivers know the student on a personal level. School Buses are essentially teachers outside the classroom and a sensory friendly school bus is like the student’s safe haven during the school day.

…

As the diagnosis ratio for an autism diagnosis grows to 1 in 31, schools everywhere have to go into their bus yards and select the buses that could be perfect for a sensory friendly student. Mostly catered to special education students, general education students are also welcome if they are willing to follow the rules of the sensory friendly school bus. The buses that are selected are put through a process where they treated like a sensory friendly room on wheels. It may seem odd, but the importance of anything in society is acceptance and inclusion.

The students want to be accepted for who they are and the bus drivers want to be in a position where they can drive the bus without having to deal with most troublesome students. If schools everywhere can pull this off come next school year and beyond, you can be sure that having buses exclusively for sensory friendly students will bring more benefits than non-benefits.

…

Catch you all later!!