Unlocking the Power of Agriculture:
A Journey Through Sensory Learning for Children with Autism and Sensory Disorders
Through the past few decades there have been increasing cases of younger children being diagnosed with Autism, ADD, ADHD, and other sensory disorders. Whether that is the increase in occurrence or increase in awareness is always up for debate. However, one thing is known is that alternative measures are needed in their everyday lives. As a mother of a child with Autism it has opened my eyes to an entirely different outlook on agriculture. The sensory in agriculture. Not only does agriculture provide food for our tables, sustainability of life, and leaving land better than we found it, it also provides a new way of learning. A local school I became aware of in Lake Wales, Victory Ridge Academy, really intrigued my thinking of how much it can make a difference.
Let’s think about a simple basil plant. To us, that is just a plant that grows and can be applied to our foods to add flavor. To others, it’s a beautiful array of textures, colors, and smells that create an outcome. Soil is not always the same combination of organic matter, sand, silt, or clay. Adding into that equation using potting soils with perlite, peat moss, etc. brings even more textures into the mix. Anyone who knows a person with one of the disorders mentioned above knows that it takes work to understand the inconsistency of a soil, the result, the outcome. Learning doesn’t just stop at the concept but rather what each aspect of those combinations does to help bring a plant full maturity. Once you have reached that full maturity there is the texture of the leaves, how they feel, how the smell, and how that changes from being on the plant to harvesting them. Again, what seems so simple to most can be looked at through the eyes of someone else in such a much more in depth manner. Really bringing out the inner beauty of the process and what it produces.
Taking that one step further, they are able to independently learn to care for these plants from start to finish. That feeling of accomplishment alone is so meaningful. Learning doesn’t stop at plants but also thinking about a learning program with farm animals, aquaculture, etc. all are huge areas that can bring these kids into a new area of learning to help them grow.
I came across about a year or so ago a facility out of Wyoming called vertical harvest that employs special needs individuals in a vertical greenhouse operation. The amount of success stories I continued to hear as well as the local involvement to support them was overwhelming!
Ashley Cox – Ag Consultant, Mom, and Educator