Sensory Stories - The Sensory Projects

Sensory Stories from The Sensory Projects

A sensory story partners concise text with strong sensory stimuli to convey a narrative. The text is typically less than 10 sentences (although some stories on this page have more). The sensory stories on this page are designed to be easily resourced at home. Sensory stories are fun for everyone, but have particular benefits for individuals with profound and multiple learning disabilities, autism or sensory processing disorder, communication disorders, learning disabilities and dementia.

A free basic guide to sharing a sensory story is available to download at the bottom of this page. Various summary leaflet guides about aspects of sensory story telling and the work of The Sensory Projects are available at the bottom of the guides page.

Find out about the history of The Sensory Story Project here.

Stories come with:

Information about how to facilitate the stimuli.
Guidance on how to source or create the stimuli.
Ideas for activities to generate further engagement with the story.
Old versions come with a matt laminated or 'never tear' copy of the story, for easy reference whilst sharing, new versions are printed as booklets with stiff covers, the back cover of the booklet acts as the story card.
Stories with an asterisk * by the title include a movement sequence as one of their engagement activities.

Stories cost £14 each. Use the PayPal buttons to purchase the stories securely. Stories are normally posted within 3 working days and should arrive within 10 working days for UK purchases, global purchases will take longer. Once you have placed your order you will receive email confirmation from sensorystory@gmail.com (please check spam folders for this message if you do not receive it within 24 hours). Receipts can be printed from PayPal.

There are some free sensory stories available on the Free Educational Resources page.

Homework Packs

Homework packs contain ten laminated or 'never tear' copies of the story, with simple instructions and resource list on the back. These are suitable for schools looking to send work home linked to a story they are sharing in class. Homework packs cost £20 each.

Postage

For UK/EU addresses, postage costs are included in the price of the Stories/Homework Packs. Due to increased demand for global sensory stories I am afraid I am no longer able to cover postage beyond the UK and EU, therefore if you are purchasing stories from further afield you will also need to add the 'international postage' to your cart at £5 by clicking the button below. You need only do this once per order - so postage costs will be the same to you whether you are ordering one sensory story or several.

International Postage:

The Birth of a Star* was written in conjunction with physicists and tells with scientific accuracy how stars are formed in stellar nurseries. It will appeal to anyone who has seen a star. A very popular story The birth of a star has been told in nurseries, universities, adult care settings, special and mainstream schools, literary festivals, around dinner tables and at bedsides.

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Homework pack:

Cocoon* has a wonderful balance of sensory experiences. The story can be understood on two levels: as the life cycle of a butterfly, or as a meditation on the need for rest after decadent living. Cocoon is one of the most popular stories from The Sensory Project.

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Dandelion* tells the remarkable life story of the Dandelion. The sensory experiences accompanying the story relate to scientific and mathematical understanding. The story also offers the reader the opportunity to contemplate how ideas are spread and invites them to listen to their story experiencer with all their senses.

Story:
Homework pack:

Wildlife in the City was originally written by Coralie Oddy to be shared with a group of individuals with dementia. The story reminds us of all the wildlife our cities have to offer if we know where to look (smell and touch). Coralie has worked with The Sensory Project to turn this into a story for everyone. Discover the natural world though the engagement activities accompanying this story. Coralie now runs ReminiSense.

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Boris the Bumble Bee is a children's story about a bee who interrupts a family's picnic. The accompanying activities give readers lots of ways of encouraging emerging communication in story experiencers.

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Princess Esme* was written by the Fantasy Realist author Gwendolen Benjamin. It is a children's story about a Princess looking to escape from the rigours of palace life by spending time in the palace garden strawberry patch.

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The Woods* is told to a beat. Beat is absolutely fundamental to the development of communication and something everyone responds to. The story is about someone walking through a woodland who thinks they hear something behind them and begins to run, imagining what might be behind. Fear not, the story ends happily with a cup of tea.

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Rock hoppers* is a fun tale about the goings on in the lives of Rockhopper penguins, each line of the story ends with a repeating word making it a great option for readers who are looking to get story experiencers involved in telling the story.

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Toys: The Once and Future King* is two sensory stories in one booklet, each told with the same sensory stimuli. One story is about the toys we play with through life, and how, although we may put them away as we grow older, they are always there for us to play with if we want to. The other story is a retelling of the Legend of King Arthur. Telling the two stories together will give readers cause to reflect on the parallels.

Story:
Homework pack:

Like* is not a story, it is a sensory sequence for using to get to know each other better. Through sharing the sequence we find out about each others' sensory likes and dislikes. As the words of Like will change depending on who is sharing it Like does not come with a story card.

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Naali is resourced using a multi sensory room (MSR). Naali follows the journey of an Arctic fox as he runs beneath the Northern lights trying to reach the stars. Once you have finished your adventures in your MSR you are invited to follow your own Naali out into the world for more sensory adventures. The Naali story booklet has insight from the research into the use of MSRs within it.

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Ein Wattspaziergang is a sensory story told in English and German.. A walker crossing marsh land has their walk interrupted by a dense fog and has to rely on senses other than sight to find their way to safety.

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The White Kite is based on the history of Victorian feminism but can be read simply as a story about a girl looking for somewhere to fly her kite. It's themes of struggling, striving and sharing will resonate with everyone.

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Alice in a Sensory Wonderland* is a sensory retelling of the classic tale with lots and lots of scope for exploration of sensory wonders.

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My-craft is a sensory exploration based on the game Minecraft. This is a story to be played rather than read.

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Puddle* can be told in Haiku or in plain text. It tells the story of a boy who dips his toe into a puddle on the pavement, and then dives in to have an adventure at sea. When he returns to the pavement there is a woman waiting for you. Younger story experiencers may view this woman as a mother figure, whilst older story experiencers may consider her a love interest.

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Tattoo is an ideal story for older story experiencer. It is the story of someone waiting for a loved one at a tattoo parlour. Although Tattoo does not come with a movement sequence there is a lot of opportunity for movement within the story; the story experiencer will spin and swing and dance.

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When You Were Gone is a sensory story written to help you share a memory of a loved one who has died, with a person in a sensory way.

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Dream is a very intimate story intended to be read by a parent to their baby (of any age) at bedtime. Dream is accompanied by suggestions for sensory explorations appropriate to individuals at the early stages of development.

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Feedback:

"I teach secondary students with SLD/ PMLD I love your stories and can't wait to use them with my students"

"I work with children with PMLD, one of the biggest challenges is when the extent of the child's learning difficulty is not fully appreciated. Sensory stories are so valuable in allowing a child to experience something that is meaningful and enjoyable."

"I've just received Cocoon, it's great, I'm ordering three more stories."

"My niece arrived 4 weeks early, we saw her for the first time today, took her the sensory story and she loved it. Thank you."

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the most amazing stories I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I was so overwhelmed with the level of detail in the stories. Thank you for allowing me to share your very special stories and stimuli with some very special children."