By Zoey Bros
One of the main things you’ll see when entering the Instagram teacher world is very colorful and stimulating photos of beautiful classroom decor inspiration. If you asked many of my followers they would probably tell you that they would sum up my Instagram feed look as bright and “rainbow everything”. There are many pages that also have classrooms that follow this same theme. While this trend is very impressive and has inspired me in many ways. I got to thinking about how to make my classroom more learner-friendly this past year.
Recently, I have seen a lot of teacher grammers speak to scientific studies that showed many students struggled with a combination of stimulating colors and bright fluorescent lights. One study I read stated that said the combination of bright neon colors and many large fluorescent light fixtures could lead to difficulties focusing and migraines. It also stated that many educators may not notice the symptoms of light sensitivity, but to be wary if noticing students complaining of dizziness, fatigue, irritability, discomfort, and anxiety.
Another small study I read reported similar results stating that fluorescent lighting increased the frequency of stereotypical repetitive behaviors in children with Autism. Having the special education cluster in my general education class I knew I had to start researching ways to offer a more calm learning environment for all my scholars.
When reflecting on how to do so, I started to look into alternative ways to offer light in my classroom. Before reading the studies about light sensitivity, I proactively turned off my classroom’s ceiling fluorescent lights (all 12 of them) during the second half of the day. I was able to do so because my classroom has these beautiful big windows.
After doing so, I noticed an almost drastic change in the energies of my students in my classroom. Many of my seven and eight-year-old students have experienced trauma and are sensitive to sensory, rather that be auditory or visually. While I found this proactive approach worked for many of them. I did find that I was straining my eyes trying to read from my desk area, which is furthest from the windows. Worrying about my students developing eyes, I began looking into other ways to provide light without overloading sensory.
I got these tranquil blue light covers and put them up right away on Monday, even though it was the last week of school. I noticed an almost immediate improvement in my students’ ability to concentrate and found myself without a headache by the end of the day while keeping all 12 lights on.
One of my students who is on the Autism Spectrum stated that “These blue covers have helped me stay in the green zone. They remind me of a playground tunnel. I can see the light through them, but it is muffled. I like it that way.” It was this comment that provided me confidence in my most recent attempt to build accommodations for light sensitivity.
I’d love to explore other possibilities to accommodate my students’ light sensory needs.
Please join the conversation by commenting below what you have tried in your classroom.
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Zoey Bros is a second grade teacher from Minnesota. Follow her on Instagram: @shiningbrightinsecond
To find out more about how she uses her light covers in classroom, click here for her answered FAQ's
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What an awesome teacher you are. My son is 6 and was Dx with adhd and autism at 2. Fluorescent lights were a huge trigger for him. Some stores we avoided altogether. He was not a hat or sunglasses kid either. So I adjusted. Darker clothing and allowing him to turn the lights off whenever he wanted. Not initially though cause I didn’t get it. It was actually someone with experience telling me that that was his way of saying the lights were too bright. It doesn’t bother him as much now but he would still prefer a darker room. Thanks for what you do!
Wow! That’s really crazy to think that the light affected them that much! I had a lot of trouble in college with the fluorescent lighting, despite not being on the spectrum. It made me feel more eye fatigue and overall just really hurt my eyes after long days of being in class.. Wish the professors would put covers over the lights like you did.
This is such a great idea. I always had light sensitivity so I wish they did this in my school when I was still in there!
Very good read. I have an ASD child and his teacher covers the lights this same way. Bright lights really overstimulate my son and some of his classmates with sensory needs.
I am a teacher, and cannot emphasize the importance of a well-lit classroom enough. And by that I mean a perfectly balanced lighting. This is such a great post highlighting just that! Thank you for sharing!