The PBIS World Book

Seating Disk

Why should I do it:

  • Some students require the need for outside stimulus to help them maintain focus
  • Helps students attend to tasks better
  • Focuses students
  • Decreases distractibility
  • Helps students calm down
  • Helps students maintain attention and focus for longer periods
  • Increases work production, comprehension, and problem solving
  • Improves effort, motivation, and productivity
  • Can have a calming effect on students

When should I do it:

  • When a student has difficulty staying in seat or is overly fidgety
  • When a student is hyperactive
  • When a student is on the Autism Spectrum
  • When a student has trouble sustaining attention and focus due to high activity levels
  • When a student is one who “bounces off the walls”
  • After lunch with students who have too much energy to focu

How do I do it:

  • Ask if you have any in your school or facility, if not, look at the links below for ideas as to where to get them
  • Explain to the student that the disk is a tool, designed to help them stay focused in class
  • Allow the student to share it with the class if that is needed but refrain from giving it too much attention
  • Keep seating discs in a specific spot and teach students to retrieve and return them to this spot when they need them
  • Consider having a check in/out sheet by the seating discs to keep track of them
  • If the student wiggles around on the seating disc, this is okay as the student is likely still working better and more focused

Resources & Support for technique: