Tools Or Triggers? Choosing Sensory Supports That Lead Children Toward Jesus

We examine when wiggle seats help, when they harm, and how language can turn a support into a stigma. Our goal is simple: choose tools that reduce barriers so kids can focus, belong, and meet Jesus without shame.

• what a wiggle seat is and how it works
• positives for ADHD and sensory seekers
• evidence for focus, engagement and posture
• common pitfalls and mismatches
• low muscle tone, fatigue and overload
• limits on use and timing
• simple rollout rules and observation
• language that affirms not shames
• linking tools to gospel accessibility

If you want to dive deeper on your own, you can check out the Indispensable-People blog or my books on Amazon called The Indispensable Kid or Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People

Transcript

What A Wiggle Seat Is

Training Day And The “Bad” Label

Evidence And Positives Of Wiggle Seats

When The Tool Becomes A Problem

Overuse, Sensory Overload, And Fit

Practical Tips For Wise Use

Keeping The Gospel Accessible

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hey, hey, my name is Tracy Coral, and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a pastor, a teacher, a missionary, a mom, a wife, and I believe that every person should have access to the gospel so that they can know Christ, grow in him, and serve him with the gifts that he has given. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 15 to 20% of every community. And over 85% of those individuals do not attend church. 90% of pastors believe that they are a disability-friendly church, but only 20% of parents and families agree. Let's dive deep into hard topics, big questions, perceptions, stereotypes, and so much more. Hey, hey, and welcome to this episode of Indispensable People. Today we're talking strategies of wiggle seats. If you're not sure what a wiggle seat or a wobble cushion is, it is kind of like an inflated thick balloon that has tactile things on it that serve different purposes depending upon the user. And so today we're talking about positives, negatives, how we can make more negatives into positives, and if it's even appropriate. So a few weeks ago, I was doing a training at a church and we were talking about different strategies, and I always have multitude of different options that the church can use, things that are easily accessible mostly can be purchased on sites like Amazon and are very affordable because that's what the church needs. Of course, investments can be made, but because the needs of serving individuals with disabilities are so diverse, it's really important to be cost effective if we can, right? And to have the types of strategies and tools that can reach the most people. And so this family uh was in attendance, and that particular day the church provided childcare. And so the kids were there in the beginning, and I actually asked if the kids could stay for a little bit, and I did what I call a band-aid lesson with them, which is just helping them to understand that not every person is the same. And just like a doctor has to treat their patients differently based on their needs, so do I as a missionary. Because sometimes, as a missionary, kids are very confused as to what I do because they hear about people going to other countries and things like that. And so the kids got to see and experience some of the fidget tools that I have along with other things. And at the end of the training, the mom and a dad came up and spoke to me. And they have a son who they're kind of figuring things out and working through diagnoses and you know, discovering what things work best for his their child. And the parents said, Hey, that's what my teacher gives me when I'm bad. And he was referring to the wobble cushion or the wiggle seat. And obviously at that moment, my heart just dropped because a child using a strategy or a tool to help them stay focused or to regulate their emotions and needs shouldn't be referred to as being bad. That's never the case, right? When your body needs something, if it's a medical need, whether it is, you know, Tylenol for pain or heart medicine to make sure your heart's beating at the proper speed, you give it to that. It doesn't mean your heart's being bad. It doesn't mean any of those types of things. And we certainly don't want to give children the understanding that what they're choosing as a strategy is because they're bad. They're choosing that strategy, which is something to celebrate with them because that means they're recognizing what their body needs. Even if you're the one helping them to recognize it, it's definitely not for the purposes of their bad behavior. Their body needs something, and so this is the strategy or the tool that gets used for that. So beyond that, I, you know, explained that very thing to the parents and suggested that maybe they might want to have a conversation with the teacher about the way that she refers to the tools. But since then, I came across a reel on Facebook that referred to wiggle seats and it was all negative. And it was saying to not offer wiggle seats to children because of low muscle tone. And if they have low muscle tone, then they could actually the the wiggle seat could cause overstimulation, which then could cause an emotional dysregulation. And so I since then I was like, okay, so it can't be all that bad. And any tool that's not used properly or for the right individual can be the wrong tool. So let's look into this. Let's dive into what and why and best uses, right? So wobble seats or wiggle seats are effective, budget-friendly tools for children typically, and really it can go beyond children, but typically for ADHD or other sensory needs. And it really impacts the vestibular or proprioceptive input to improve focus, engagement, and behavior. And the movement that the wiggle seat allows requires your body to be able to stabilize itself. And that sometimes just provides enough feedback for the body to remain focused. And so here are the positives. Okay. The small amount of movement allows a high-energy kiddo, potentially someone with ADHD, to release energy while they stay on task. It can provide that sensory regulation, providing vestibular, which is movement, or proprioceptive, which is pressure input, helping sensory-seeking children to stay calm and regulated. I want you to focus on the sensory-seeking. These are kids who are looking for that sensory input. The increased engagement that comes, so the focus that comes, it actually, there are actually studies that show that kids using wiggle seats tend to be more engaged in group activities and they're less disruptive compared to kids who are not using them. Outside of that, their core strength and posture is increased because they're utilizing this tool, which then helps them to utilize muscles in their body. And so they can have better posture and long-standing endurance from it. The tactile feedback that comes from the wiggle seat, which I had mentioned earlier, you know, sometimes they'll have like little nubs or ridges on them, different things like that. That's that spiky tactile input can be soothing or alerting, which can provide that sensory input, that pressure proprioceptive that we mentioned a little bit earlier. And the great thing is they're low cost, they fit easily on chairs, they can be cool colors, they can be all different kinds of things. They don't have to be bad things, they can be good things and they're easily accessible. So, how do we flip the script and talk about the potential of the negatives and what that looks like? And so the reel that I hadn't seen on Facebook was talking about overstimulating children and if they had poor muscle tone and how that impacts them. So again, I will say the the wrong tool for the wrong person doesn't equal helpfulness. And so we want to consider that not every tool works for every single person that you'll come across. And we've said that across the board, right? That's why you have tools in your tool belt so that you, if one doesn't work, you pull out the next one. But being aware of why that tool doesn't work is really helpful in and choosing the next tool. So here's here's where we're gonna move into those negatives. Let's talk about what they could possibly be. And this goes, this particular first start that I'm gonna share of the negatives really applies for anything, right? It could be a potential for further distraction. And how you ask simply because we didn't give them instructions on how to use it properly, right? If you didn't establish clear instructions with routines, the excitement or the fun of having something new and different to use can actually become disruptive. So that is, I mean, that's with every single thing. That's a fidget tool that is any kind of device or strategy that can be used with an individual of any age, understanding that if if the proper instructions and boundaries aren't set, it could just go wrong. So with that, you want to understand that it's not, this goes back to what I said before I started with the negatives, it's not a universal solution, right? Not not every tool works for every person. And so this is where that low muscle tone has to be considered. A child who has low muscle tone is going to struggle to utilize the wiggle seat, and it is going to take more out of them than they can give, which then goes to exhaustion and overtired, which equals overstimulation and dysregulated emotions. So just like this is gonna seem silly, but if you were to, I am a middle-aged woman who chooses not to go to the gym on a regular basis. And so if you told me to do a plank on the floor right now and I had to hold it for five minutes, I'm gonna struggle and I'm gonna become overwhelmed and tired and defeated. And that is because that's my body's not set for that. I haven't had practice, I haven't set up to do that type of thing. So the wiggle seat for a child who has low muscle tone and struggles to have strength in their body for those kinds of things, that won't be a beneficial thing for them. It will become a struggle, and then you will end up with an upset child who doesn't know what to do with those feelings because they may not even understand. To understand that, okay, I need core body strength to sit on this wiggle seat, they may not be able to say, like, I can't sit, I'm not strong enough to sit on this chair because that sounds, it sounds kind of silly, and they may not even understand that that could be a possible issue. Another potential negative, not as huge of a deal, especially we're most of us are going to be in church settings, so this is really a low incidence type of thing, is like slouching, right? If they're not sitting on it properly, they might have a negative posture. So just take that into consideration. Going to sensory overload, there are tactile spikes and ridges on the wiggle seat, and that may lead to an overload for a child who is not a sensory seeker. So we want to take that into consideration and understand that, right, it might not be the right tool for that particular child. Also, we need to take into consideration that wiggle seats are not for an all-day use. And thankfully in the church, we don't have all of that extensive sitting, especially if you're considering children, they should be up and moving throughout the time that they're with you. And so, really, the recommendation is to use a wiggle seat from 10 to 15 minutes at most, or at different intervals, right? So if they're standing for worship, sitting for the message, having an opportunity to have an altar response, and then back in their seat for something else, doing a game, you're not going to have that long of intervals. For an adult, maybe the sitting in service may be a little bit longer. So that would have to be monitored and how that would impact the individual. But just know that it's not a long-term use. And if you kind of regulate some of that, that might help some of that overstimulation and overusage of muscles that could really to that could lead to dysregulation. So, a couple tips to be successful in using a wiggle seat if it's something that you want to try. Again, most beneficial for individuals with ADHD or sensory seekers. You want to introduce it, you want to build up to it, you want to give instructions for it, and you want to make sure that it's actually providing for the needs that it's being used for. Don't pull out a wiggle seat if a child is not in need of something to engage themselves in focus and learning and sensory needs. And monitor the impact as you go along, simply understanding, okay, is it working? Is it not working? Is it helping? Is it hurting? So you can make informed decisions and using that tool and that strategy and deciding whether or not you need to use something else, right? If you're not getting the desired result, then it's not the desired strategy. And why do we do all of this? Why are we having a whole podcast over a wiggle seat? Simply because we want to make sure that the tools that we use are making the gospel accessible. Are they leading people to Jesus or are they leading to frustration? Are they solving dysregulation and allowing for focus? Then there's strategies that we want to use because we want to make sure that every person has the opportunity to know God, to grow in him, and to serve him with the gifts that he has given. I can't claim to have all the answers. I can't claim to know all the things, but here's what we are gonna do we're gonna keep this conversation going. We're gonna make the accessible gospel available to individuals with disabilities in our churches and in our communities so that every person has the opportunity to know Christ, to grow in him, and to serve him with the gifts that he has given. If you want to dive deeper on your own, you can check out the Indispensable People blog or my books on Amazon called The Indispensable Kid or Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People.