Sensory Stories
Sensory Stories are stories that incorporate interactive elements to engage the senses. They can include textures to touch, scents to smell, sounds to hear, flavours to taste and sights to see… as well as opportunities to move, interact, respond, pretend, make and do.
One of the Sensory Stories that I tell takes place on a faraway planet whose surface is soft and squishy - squishy roads, squishy fields, squishy houses, squishy cats, squishy lamp posts… squishy everything. You could leap from a tree to land unscathed on the squishy ground. If you felt frustrated you could pound your fists against a squishy wall. Tired after that? You could pause for a snooze on a pile of squishy rocks.
As you read that description, your mind may have conjured a soft and squishy setting for you to experience in your imagination. During a Sensory Story, you would also have a soft and squishy object, like a big chunk of sponge, to rub, squeeze and touch. When the storyteller suggested that the rocks were comfortable enough to rest on, you could have pressed your head into the sponge in order to feel the hopefully cozy sensation. If you decided that you wanted to experience the squish with the top of your crown… well, by God, you might even have done a headstand!
My Godson, Jamie, doing a headstand in order to experience the squish with the top of his head during a Sensory Storytelling Session at his school. :)
HEY READER… WHY DON’T YOU SEE IF THERE IS SOMETHING SOFT AND SQUISHY THERE NEAR YOU… MAYBE A CUSHION, A PILLOW, OR THE SEAT YOU ARE SITTING ON. IF THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, PERHAPS GIVE YOUR EARLOBE A GENTLE PINCH. 🤏
For some audiences the addition of sensory elements can really bring a story to life. Stories become something more real and substantial that can be experienced and even shared together. I love this photo, taken by Maria J Magee, where a little girl offers the aroma of The Squishy Planet to her Mum.
Spoiler Alert - The Squishy Planet smells of Bay Rum Hair Tonic… at Walkinstown Library.
IF THERE’S BAY RUM HANDY, THEN GIVE IT A SNIFF. IF NOT, FIND SOMETHING ELSE IN YOUR WHEREABOUTS THAT YOU MIGHT ENJOY SMELLING. 👃
Sensory Stories can also include things to make and create, like a squishy-squashy house and a pet Alien Hedgehog.
MAKE AN ALIEN PET FROM SOME THINGS WITHIN REACH. :) 👽
Sensory Stories can be particularly engaging for people on the autistic spectrum. People on the spectrum often have increased sensitivity to sensory input. The sensations derived from experiences, such as listening to the sound of crinkling paper, or watching sand as it pours through an hourglass, can be powerfully pleasant, and harnessed to produce therapeutic benefits.
A few years ago, I had the great good fortune to work on a creative project with an intelligent and articulate young woman named Jasmin. Jasmin has been diagnosed with autism. Jasmin told me that because her brain struggles to filter information, tasks such as sitting with people in a classroom, or having a conversation, can be extremely intense. Her mind is aware of so many details. especially in novel and unfamiliar scenarios, that she can sometimes feel overwhelmed, and then find it difficult to control her emotional response. She explained that when she notices that her brain is becoming too busy to process new data, it helps to shift her focus to sensory experiences. She has to ‘get out of her head and into her body.’ Healthy examples of methods to do this include squeezing stress balls, or listening to sound of a rainmaker instrument. These are precisely the kinds of things that one might do during a sensory story session.
HOPEFULLY IT IS RAINING HARD ENOUGH TO ENJOY THE RHYTHM OF THE DROPS AGAINST YOUR WINDOW. IF NOT, LISTEN OUT FOR OTHER LOVELY SOUNDS. 🌧
This video is kind of tangential, but I cannot resist its inclusion. Jasmin makes a speech to open the exhibition created with her schoolmates from Bray Educate Together at The Mermaid Arts Centre. She also helped to design a Sensory Space for visitors to the show.
HAVE YOU ANYTHING THERE TO TASTE? IF SO, DON’T JUST SCOFF OR QUAFF. EXPLORE THE SENSATIONS IN YOUR MOUTH A BIT MINDFULLY. ☕️
As well as listening, sensing and making, Sensory Stories offer opportunities for pretend, interaction and movement. At a certain point in our adventure on The Planet Squish, audience members were invited to come up with ideas to transform an ordinary coat-hangar into various things of their choosing. Look at us there, doing our best to balance on our rocket-powered hoverboards.
We may be the greatest hoverboarding sensory story-makers that Walkinstown Library has ever seen.
LEAP UP ON A COAT-HANGAR THERE AT YOUR OFFICE, AND ASK ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES IF THEY’D LIKE TO JOIN YOU FOR A TRIP ON YOUR HOVERBOARD. 💃
I’VE INVITED YOU TO EXPLORE EACH SENSE OTHER THAN SIGHT, SO HERE ARE TWO BEAUTIFUL FACIAL EXPRESSIONS TO REST YOUR ATTENTION ON. 👁
Wearing a pet Alien Hedgehog as a fashionable hat, whilst manning a pneumatic drill, is all the rage on The Planet Squish.
Well, that’s about all I have to say about Sensory Stories for now. They are fun, relaxing and inclusive, and can be enjoyed by lots of people. I’m bound to be performing more in the not too distant future, so if you’d like to come along, keep an eye on my social media. Here is some feedback I received from a teacher, about a Sensory Storytelling Session, that really meant the world to me.
Thanks to my great pal Cathy Hammertop for helping me put this blog together. Please feel free to leave a comment or question. It would be tremendous to hear from you. :)
HOW MANY SENSORY EXPERIENCES CAN YOU FIND FOR YOURSELF TODAY???