Oct 2, 2018, Limerick Post: Spirit of the 80′s to fund sensory fun for kids at St Gabriel’s school and Therapy Centre https://www.limerickpost.ie/2018/10/02/spirit-of-the-80%E2%80%B2s-to-fund-sensory-fun-for-kids/ FOR the young charges at St Gabriel’s school and Therapy Centre in Dooradoyle, their new sensory room and garden are a stress buster, an anxiety remedy and a developmental aid all wrapped into one. Sensory experiences help children with special needs to cope with the demands placed on them in dealing with a world that is often strange, frightening and just too much. So while the school and the parents’ association feel the room and garden are worth every penny of the €46,000 [$67584.42 US dollars] that they cost, they still have to be paid for so they are planning fundraisers, the first of which it’s hoped will bring in €6,000 to help tackle the overdraft. “Sensory input is hugely important for the children to ground and de-stress,” explained Linda O’Leary of St Gabriel’s PTA….
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.