Interoception
What is Interoception?
Interoception is our eighth sense.
At Two Wells Primary School, we believe that ALL students will benefit from participating in interoception activities. There are many positives to teaching interoception in schools:
- To help children/students connect to and learn to understand their bodies and emotions
- It is a pre-requisite skill for self-management and self-regulation. It provides children/students with the tools to know when they are developing emotional reactions and the skills to be in control of those reactions
- Without interoception, social skills are just the application of rules and not a meaningful way of interacting - it enables students to develop a sense of belonging
Classrooms, where interoception is being taught, have decreasing behavioural challenges over the school year.
What is an interoception activity?
An interoceptive activity focuses on creating and noticing a change in some aspect of one's internal self, such as one's muscular system, breathing, temperature, pulse or touch. Students/children/adults with poor interoception are not able ton identify the physiological changes that signal mood changes or bodily self-regulation needs. Interoception activities teach us to connect with these.
At Two Wells Primary school, we offer an interoception room, this is a space in which students can come out of class to re-regulate themselves. When they enter the room they will be able to complete an interoception activity and have a timed 5 mins to bring themselves back into the learning zone.
Classroom teachers will also complete interoception activities immediately after recess and lunchtime to help our children return to the learning zone.
