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The
TACPAC approach encourages children to explore the feel of different
textures against the body, to the accompaniment of changing musical
pieces. Anna Panter regularly uses TACPAC sessions with children who
have profound and multiple disabilities in her nursery and has found
it's enabled her to build a greater understanding of the children she
works with.
The scene is set, Jennifer is lying on the nursery floor in her nappy,
covered in a yellow aertex blanket. Poised beside her is her learning
support assistant surrounded by a variety of objects that can be found
in most households such as spatulas, pan scourers, washing mops and a
fan. All is quiet in anticipation. Then the music begins, the assistant
raises her hand and flicks open the Spanish looking fan. As wafted air
floats over Jennifer's body she becomes animated, begins to vocalise
with delight, and a huge smile lights up her face. For Jennifer, who is
totally blind and has learning disabilities, the enjoyment has only
just begun!
What is TACPAC?
The TAC stands for Tactile Approach to Communication. The TACPAC
collection is made up of three packs, each consisting of a music tape,
a booklet about setting up sessions, and a list of items with very
varying textures (about six in total) commonly found in the
household/store cupboard etc.
TACPAC was developed over ten years ago by three teachers working with
a range of children with special educational needs (particularly with
children who had profound and multiple learning difficulties), in
special schools in London. The teachers found that some of the children
they were working with weren't able to move to the music in the
existing music sessions. They devised a method of touching different
textures to the children's bodies to the rhythm of improvised music.
And the children loved it!
Using TACPAC at Mabel Prichard School
Mabel Prichard is a school for children aged from 2-16 who, have a
variety of special and complex educational needs. We use TACPAC in our
school with children across all ages who hove profound and multiple
learning difficulties, including those who also have sensory
disabilities.
The aim of TACPAC is to heighten levels of awareness and arousal and to
promote responses to stimuli. For many of the children we work with,
touch and responding to touch may be a primary means of connecting and
communicating with others. The TACPAC method really helps to create a
bond with these children - it helps us to build on awareness of each
other, and of likes and dislikes etc. Each session in fact becomes a
journey of discovery.
The music is an important element of TACPAC. It varies from being
exhilarating, vibrant and pulsating to being serene and tranquil; and
the changing pace and mood reflects what we are doing with the children
and how we use the textures as a stimuli. The music entwines this whole
tactile approach, and without it I feel, the tactile stimulation would
not have the same impact.
Sessions, like the one with Jennifer mentioned earlier, take place in a
fun and relaxed manner within our assessment nursery with children
ranging from 2 to 5 years of age. But TACPAC is also used with older
children within the school, either on an individual basis tailored to
meet the specific needs of a child ie as a way of working with James
who has autism to help decrease his tactile defensiveness, or as part
of a structured curriculum as with our teenage students on our
secondary site.
Generally in the nursery a session takes about 30-45 minutes although
sessions can be as long or as short as you want (the tape itself is
only 20 minutes long). It will depend on the individual child and with
some children you may want to start slowly introducing the textures and
build up to longer sessions over time. The most important element is
that the whole tactile experience is enjoyable and fun.
Sessions take place on a regular weekly basis as part of our sensory
curriculum, which means both the staff and the children begin to
anticipate the sessions. We also keep to the some pack list of objects
for a number of weeks: the repetition gives each child time to learn to
anticipate and enjoy what is coming next.
Example session with TACPAC (pack 3)
Once we have set the scene by laying out our objects and textures, and
prepared the children by gently undressing them, and covering them up
with a blanket, we begin our session in the nursery by singing our
hello song. We also use an object of reference (soft material on card)
to show each child that it is time for TACPAC and we're ready to begin.
- The first piece of music starts off with the piano
playing slowly whilst the child is brushed with chamois leather; then
we also hear the guitar as the child is draped lightly with c silk
fabric. we return to the chamois when the music reverts to the piano.
This sets a mood of tranquillity as the chamois and silk fabric floats
over their bodies.
- During the pauses between each piece of music we
cover the child with the blanket and keep very close contact with them.
It is a time for the child to reflect and note that the music has
finished.
- The next music we hear has more definite tapping
sounds with short brisk notes enabling us to make specific dabbing
movements with a pastry brush with care taken as we dab more gently
around the head and face.
- The third section of music is "tinglier" with a
Middle Eastern feel to it and the sound of sitars. To this we roll
pouches of marbles up and down the children's bodies moving every which
way.
- Next three different instruments accompany our
rhythm with hands. We massage the child with our palms to the bass drum
beat, as the rhythm changes to the Gato drum we use a different level
of pressure with our knuckles, and then as the chimes come in we skip
lightly with our fingertips. The idea here is that using different
parts of our hands at varying pressures reaches different receptors
under the skin.
- Next the chains! The first refrain has strong,
military beats where we lower the chain on to the child's body, remove
it and then repeat the process. There is a change of pace as we move to
a light softer piece of music with the piano, when we drape and trail
the chains softly across the body.
- Finally relaxation with the feather dusters to a
calm gentle piece of music, sounding like water drops dripping from a
leaf after the rain. Quite serene and tranquil.
Recording
responses
The responses of the children I work with can range from laughter,
giggling, vocalisation, eye contact, calmness, to a sense of
puzzlement, a look of discord or rejection. Many children's responses
are at a pre-intentional level, but staff work very closely in one to
one sessions with the children in order to get to understand and
interpret these responses. It is important to take the time to
understand that a reaction is to a texture and not just to c new
experience. Staff are able to build up a pattern of knowledge of likes
and dislikes in order to assign "meaning".
By observing and recording children's responses to the texture stimuli
on a regular basis, I can build up a picture of reactions and note any
patterns of change over a period of time. For a child, who is tactile
defensive, finding a texture, which may not be so objectionable, may
well be the beginning of pleasurable tactile experience that could be
built upon.
Body awareness
TACPAC sessions help pupils to develop self-perception and
body-awareness and gain a greater understanding of how their body fits
into an environment that has objects and other people in it. Edward who
is 3.5 years old and has profound and multiple learning difficulties
and a visual impairment had a marked reaction to having chains lightly
draped over his body, down and across one side to the other. His body
stilled, and his good right eye tracked the movement as he felt the
chain on its journey all over his body.
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Recording
of responses after a session with TACPAC: Example chart
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Chamois/Silk |
Pastry brush |
Marbles
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| Hadi
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Likes the chamois, but not silk. Pushed it away. |
Enjoyed this. Very smiley. |
Didn't like them, could not tolerate on lower limbs.
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| Edward
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Likes both. But noticed difference. Preferred silk, more relaxed. |
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Likes dabbing movement. |
Enjoyed, became very vocal.
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| Jennifer
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Sitting up gently rocking as both textures moved over body. |
Much more responsive and animated. Liked dabbing. |
Arms flapping to music. Quite liked the marbles.
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| Josh
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Not keen on chamois /silk. Pushed chamois away tolerated silk. |
Loved it on his feet laughing/ giggling. |
Concentrated on where they were being put and then pushed away.
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Hands/fingers |
Chains |
Dusters
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| Hadi
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Preferred fingertips all
over body.
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Serious look, couldn't quite make out what was happening. |
Serious not keen on soles of feet. Pulled away.
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| Edward
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Not sure of kneeding with knuckles but liked the fingertips. |
Quieter, very still but was it due to music or unsure of chains? |
Sat up and enjoyed it on his back - ticklish.
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| Jennifer
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Stilled with palms and knuckles but more responsive to fingertips
tapping over her. |
Not sure, pushed them away. |
Very responsive laughing and giggling arms flapping.
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| Josh
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Liked all the hand movements but preferred fingertips. |
Puzzled at first. Liked the chain being draped over body. |
Completely relaxed and enjoyed it.
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Recently a new teacher to our team, Steve Pussey, made these
observations after using TACPAC with his class of teenagers on our
secondary site. "Being new in the field I feel it fits in with the idea
of the power of music and touch as an instrument for positive
engagement, a key to unlocking communicative responses. It's like
trying to find the right buttons and then the adult interprets these
communicative and enjoyment responses as having meaning."
Well here I go again, off on another home visit to explain to parents
why we enjoy dropping chains, rolling marbles, flickering washing up
mops, squashing scouring pads, and rolling paint rollers over their
children oil in the name of learning and FUN!
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TACPAC is often used in schools, but it would be
great to see it being utilised by the wider community ie Occupational
Therapists, Speech and Language therapists, and more specifically by
parents and siblings of children with special needs as a "fun" and
enjoyable way of developing awareness and building communicative
relationships within the family.
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www.tacpac.co.uk
email: info@tacpac.co.uk
tel: +44 (0)1865-772213
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