If you are looking for OT activities for the month, then you are in luck with this April occupational therapy calendar! April is occupational therapy month and here, you’ll find an Occupational Therapy calendar for your therapy planning.
April Occupational Therapy Calendar
Not only will you find a great calendar of activities for OT sessions, but we’ve included other therapy ideas and activities for OT month, and all of Spring!
I have a HUGE resource for you that will carry you throughout the rest of Spring with treatment ideas and activities that are designed to meet the needs of many common goal areas. This resource is perfect for planning a month or a season of therapeutic activities for kids.
If you’ve seen the last few months’ calendars (Check them out, if you missed them: January, February, & March), then you will see that this month’s calendar is just a bit different.
Other Spring-related activities that will go well with this activities calendar include:
Spring Sensory Stations- add movement and mindfulness with a Spring theme.
I’ve found that I completely love coming up with themed activities that are designed to address many needs of children receiving (or who need to receive) Occupational Therapy services. I’m enjoying this monthly calendar so much that I decided to take it a bit further.
For April’s calendar, I decided to provide MORE ideas, more ways to develop necessary skills, and more ways to cover many more systems of development.
This month’s calendar is essentially going to rock your OT kiddo’s socks!
Activities based on the Pyramid of Learning
This month, I’ve decided to create a huge resource for your OT treatment activity ideas.
Each month’s calendar is such a valuable resource of OT ideas, and this month is no different, except that it has a TON more ideas to address many areas of deficits that typically present in kids receiving OT services. I’ve got Spring themed activities that can be modified to meet the needs of your child.
Each activity in this month’s OT calendar takes into account, the Williams and Shellenberger Pyramid of Learning.
The activities are designed so that they allow for proper sensory experiences in order to adjust for the child’s needs and presenting areas of difficulty.
Based on the Pyramid of Learning, the activities are designed to meet the foundations of sensory needs in order to work on higher tasks that present as difficulties in functional skills.
The pyramid uses a triangle illustration to depict the central nervous system at the base of sensory systems as a support and underlying tier to sensory motor skills, perceptual motor skills, and cognition.
Using the visual of the pyramid of learning in activity development, we can see how integration of the sensory systems as a part of the CNS impact development, functioning, and intellect.
Let’s take a closer look at the pyramid of learning before exploring how the activities in our April calendar cover these areas.
Base of the Pyramid of Learning
The base of the pyramid is the Central Nervous System. Above that is the second tier, which identifies the body’s sensory systems. These systems include:
Tactile (touch)
Vestibular (balance)
Proprioception (knowing where their bodies are in space)
Note that these three are at the base of they other sensory systems. This is an important concept covered in our book, Sensory Lifestyle Handbook.
Then comes the other sensory systems:
Olfactory (smell)
Visual (vision)
Auditory (hearing)
Gustatory (taste)
Sensory Motor Development Tier of the Pyramid of Learning
Next is the sensory motor development level. This area includes body awareness, reflex maturity, sensory screening abilities, postural stability, bilateral integration, motor planning.
These areas of development are closely related to the sensory systems. They are also essential to functional participation in essentially every functional task we perform throughout the day.
Note that there are three areas of sensory motor development on the base of this tier:
Postural security (confidence in maintaining certain postures to prevent falling)
Awareness of two sides of the body (bilateral integration)
Motor planning (ability to plan their movement)
Then, above those three areas are three more areas of sensory motor development. This relationship is also discussed in our book, The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook.
Body scheme (body awareness through movement)
Reflex maturity (having developed reflexes, for safety purposes)
Ability to screen input (knowing what sensory experiences are important to pay more attention to)
Perceptual Motor Development Tier of the Pyramid of Learning
Above the sensory motor level is the perceptual motor development tier. Perceptual motor skills rely and build on sensory motor abilities. These skill areas are smaller and more distally presented in relation to the internal systems. While built heavily on the sensory systems and motor abilities, these areas allow us to take in information about the world around us. It allows us to use that information to move and perceive what is happening in our world.
This connection is essential to function and occupational performance.
This is easy to conceptualize when you think about the areas that make up this level:
Eye-hand coordination (when they use what they see to guide the movement of their hands)
Ocular motor control (locating and fixating on something in their environment)
Postural adjustment (adjusting their posture to maintain balance)
Then above those three areas of motor control areas are three additional perceptual motor skill areas of development:
Auditory language skills (hearing and speaking appropriately)
Visual-spatial perception (identifying what is seen in space)
Attention center functions (maintaining attention to tasks)
Cognition Intellect Tier on the Pyramid of Learning
At the top of the pyramid of learning stands the cognition or intellect tier. This area begins with daily living skills and behaviour at the base of the top tier, followed by academic learning.
Daily living activities (such as eating, toileting, bathing)
Behavior
Academic learning
What does the pyramid of learning tell us?
The very clear visual graphic of a pyramid shows us exactly how cognitive and learning abilities are based on sensory, motor, and perceptual development. These underlying areas are essential to functioning, behaviors, or the way we act and behave in any given situation, and learning.
In order to move and participate in functional tasks, development in bilateral coordination, motor planning, and vision, proprioception, and tactile systems is necessary. In order to learn, auditory language development, oculomotor skills, the ability to screen input, and vestibular, visual, auditory, and proprioceptive input is necessary.
Every functional task could be filtered down to identify underlying areas that impact one’s ability to perform specific tasks. And the entire pyramid builds upon itself, so that each task includes all of the skills and developmental areas under it as a whole pyramid.
April Activities Based on Underlying Skill Areas
And what I like best about this month’s calendar, is that the activities can be adapted in several different ways so that the resource calendar can be used over and over again in coming months.
When you combine the calendar with the Spring Occupational Therapy Activities booklet, you’ll discover many ways to add movement, sensory movement, perceptual movement, and learning to Spring-themed activities.
In fact, there are 109 activities in this book using all of the combinations of activities.
This month’s calendar is a little different that the last few calendars. I’m including a schedule of sensory activities but it does not include specifics to perform each day’s task.
You’ll need the Spring Occupational Therapy Activities ebook in order to complete each day’s activity. You will be guided through sensory activities that meet many different goal areas.
This ebook will carry you through the next few months as you work on each task and it’s breakdown of variant activities. It’s all included in the ebook:
Play your way through the next few months with Spring-y activities that are broken down into several different goal areas.
April Occupational Therapy Activities for Home Carryover
The month of April is a meaningful time to highlight the occupational therapy profession and the impact it has on helping individuals participate in everyday life. Recognized by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), this month celebrates how occupational therapy practitioners support people in building skills for independent lives through engagement in meaningful daily activities.
For parents and caregivers, April is the perfect opportunity to bring occupational therapy activities into the home. Simple, intentional activities can reinforce skills children are working on in therapy sessions and help support carryover in real-life situations.
Why Home Carryover Matters in Occupational Therapy
One of the most important parts of occupational therapy is helping children apply skills outside of therapy sessions. Practicing activities at home allows children to build consistency, confidence, and independence in natural environments.
Occupational therapy activities at home can support:
Fine motor skills (writing, cutting, dressing)
Sensory processing and regulation
Coordination and motor planning
Executive functioning and routines
When families are involved, children are more likely to generalize skills into their daily routines.
Easy Occupational Therapy Activities to Try at Home
Here are simple, effective activities families can use to support development at home:
Fine Motor Activities
Use tongs or clothespins during snack time
Practice buttoning, zipping, and dressing skills
Build with small blocks or beads
Sensory Activities
Create sensory bins with rice, beans, or sand
Use movement breaks like jumping or animal walks
Try calming strategies like deep breathing or heavy work
Daily Living Skills
Help set the table
Practice pouring drinks or preparing snacks
Organize toys or personal items
These types of activities naturally support the goals addressed in occupational therapy sessions.
Celebrating Occupational Therapy in April
Throughout April, the occupational therapy community celebrates the work of therapists, assistants, and families who support participation and independence. Events such as the AOTA annual conference and professional gatherings like an expo highlight new ideas, research, and strategies that support best practices in the field.
The work of occupational therapy extends far beyond the clinic. It impacts homes, schools, and communities every day.
Sharing Occupational Therapy Ideas on Social Media
April is also a great time to share ideas and inspiration on social media. Parents, teachers, and therapists can highlight meaningful activities, success stories, and simple strategies that support development.
Using hashtags like:
#occupationaltherapy
#OTmonth
#OTactivities
#pediatricOT
can help connect with others and spread awareness about the value of occupational therapy.
Supporting Caregivers and Families
Occupational therapy is most effective when it includes collaboration with caregivers. By sharing simple activities and strategies, therapists empower families to support their child’s development in everyday routines.
Even small changes, like adding a fine motor task during play or incorporating movement into transitions, can have a big impact over time.
Bringing OT Into Everyday Life
The goal of occupational therapy is to help children participate fully in their daily lives. By incorporating simple activities at home, families can support skill development in a natural, meaningful way.
April is the perfect time to reflect on how occupational therapy supports growth, independence, and participation, and to take small steps toward building those skills every day.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
Our sensory system is very complicated. A lot of times when we hear about sensory, we think about our 5 senses (taste, touch, sight, smell and hearing.) This blog will take us into a deep dive of early intervention for sensory differences and the definition of different sensory processing areas. Early Intervention services provide supports for children birth through age three who demonstrate developmental delays.
These delays could be caused by a variety of reasons, from autism, chromosome abnormalities, drug exposure, prematurity, motor impairments, language delays and more.
Early Intervention for Sensory Differences
One of the areas that is always assessed when determining if a child is eligible for Early Intervention services is the area of sensory processing. These areas include Low Registration, Sensation Seeking, Sensation Sensitivity, and Sensation Avoidance. Also addressed are the areas of Sensory and behavioral including general, auditory, visual, touch, movement, oral and behavioral differences.
We will explore these areas in more detail throughout this blog post. Sensory diets are one of the most common and impactful ways to support children with sensory differences.
This article describes sensory diets as “A sensory diet is a set of activities that make up a sensory strategy and are appropriate for an individual’s needs. These are specific and individualized activities that are scheduled into a child’s day and are used to assist with regulation of activity levels, attention, and adaptive responses. Sensory diet activities are prescribed based on the individual’s specific sensory needs.”
There are four quadrants in a sensory profile. This visual clearly defines the similarities and differences between seeking, sensitivity, registration and avoidance.
The infant/toddler sensory profile is a common assessment used to determine the needs of a child in the following areas If a child is over-responsive to sensory input, they would fall in the sensory seek or slow to register sensory input sections. If a child is under responsive to sensory input, they would fall in the sensory sensitive or sensory avoider sections.
What are sensory differences?
These areas of sensory diversity make up the term sensory differences. Beyond the four quadrants, however, there are other sensory differences to consider. These are described below.
All of these sensory differences described are part of the neurodiversity of human life. We all are different when it comes to sensory, and we are all sensory. Just like the diversity of physical attributes, personal preferences, characteristics, sensory differences are just one more difference that makes us who we are.
Sensory Seeking
This area determines if a child seeks out sensory input. If a child is scored higher than most in this area, you may see them move around more, look at items that spin (such as fans or toys with wheels) be attracted to fast paced and brightly colored television shows.
Sensory Seeking Patterns
Children with sensory seeking patterns often appear highly active, impulsive, or constantly in motion. These children are not simply “busy.” Their nervous systems may require stronger or more frequent sensory input to feel regulated and organized. As the quote reminds us, “Some children need more input to feel organized.” When sensory input is insufficient, children may increase their movement or intensity to meet that internal need. In early intervention, the goal is not to suppress movement but to structure it in ways that promote regulation and participation.
A child who seeks sensory input may:
Move constantly or have difficulty sitting still
Jump, crash, spin, or climb frequently
Touch objects and people often
Use excessive force during play or writing
Early intervention may include:
Planned heavy work activities (carrying, pushing, pulling)
This area determines a child’s ability to notice different senses. If a child scores higher than most in this area, you may see a child always needing a routine to stay calm, startle to certain sounds, become upset during routine hygiene activities (such as getting hair brushed or nails trimmed) and significant preferences on types and textures of foods.
Here are some ways to support children in a controlled way, who show needs in the sensitivity area.
Sensory Registration
This area determines how a child responds to sensory input from others or their environment. This article by the pediatric development center explains how important registration is for a child’s functioning and learning.
It describes registration as: “Sensory registration is the process by which children respond or attend to sensory input in their environments. The nervous system must first notice the sensory information, once registered the memory compares it to things they have heard or seen, and thus gives new information meaning. Children who fail to respond or have delayed responses to sensory information have diminished sensory registration. Diminished sensory registration is often associated with one or two weaker sensory systems, such as the auditory or vestibular system. Without sensory registration, no other learning can take place.”
If a child scores higher than most in this area, you may see a child miss sensory input more than others do. A child in this section may miss eye contact, pay attention to only specific tones, and ignore most sounds. These children are harder to engage or seem uninterested in activities. They may need tactile, auditory and visual cues to initiate engagement in conversation or an activity.
Low Sensory Registration
Children with low sensory registration may not consistently notice or respond to sensory input in their environment. They are not ignoring directions; they may not be fully perceiving them. As the quote states, “Sometimes the world needs to be turned up.” These children often benefit from clearer, stronger, or repeated input to support engagement and responsiveness. Early intervention focuses on increasing the salience of sensory information to improve participation.
A child with low registration may:
Not respond when their name is called
Seem unaware of food or dirt on hands and face
Appear slow to respond to instructions
Seem lethargic or difficult to engage
Here are some ways to support children with low registration:
Early intervention may include:
Gaining eye contact before giving directions
Pairing verbal cues with visual supports
Increasing movement before seated learning
Using clear contrast and structured materials
Sensory Avoidance
This area determines how a child’s need to control the amount and type of sensations at any given time. If a child scores higher than most in this area, you may see a child resist playing with other children due to overwhelm, resist being cuddled when it’s not on their terms, frequently become upset if their hands are messy, have a hard time calming down in new settings and isn’t interested in trying new foods.
Sensory Avoiding Patterns
Children with sensory avoiding patterns may experience ordinary sensory input as overwhelming or unpredictable. Avoidance behaviors are protective responses, not oppositional behaviors. As reflected in the quote, “What feels small to us can feel overwhelming to them.” Their nervous systems may quickly shift into fight, flight, or freeze in response to certain sounds, textures, or busy environments. Early intervention focuses on creating safety and predictability while gradually increasing tolerance.
A child who avoids sensory input may:
Cover ears in noisy environments
Refuse messy play or certain foods
Resist specific clothing textures
Withdraw in crowded or stimulating settings
Early intervention may include:
Environmental modifications to reduce sensory load
Predictable routines and visual schedules
Gradual, supported exposure to new sensory experiences
General Processing items measure the child’s responses related to routines and schedules. This could include daily schedules, routine schedules or task related routines including how children respond to questions, others actions, busy situations, sleeping routines, eating patterns and hygiene needs, daily transitions and other schedule related activities.
Tactile and auditory sensitivities are common in early childhood and can significantly impact emotional regulation and participation. The nervous system may interpret certain textures or sounds as threatening rather than neutral. As emphasized in the quote, “Regulation begins with feeling safe.” When a child feels safe, learning and social engagement become more accessible. Early intervention prioritizes environmental adjustments, gradual desensitization, and parent education to support comfort and resilience.
A child with tactile or auditory sensitivities may:
Refuse specific clothing fabrics
Gag or refuse foods due to texture
Cover ears in loud environments
Cry or startle easily with sudden sounds
Early intervention may include:
Providing softer clothing options
Using noise-reducing headphones when appropriate
Gradual introduction to new textures
Teaching calming and coping strategies
Auditory Sensitivity
This area addresses how children respond to things they hear. Auditory input includes responding to their name, how easily it is for someone to get their attention and how distracted they become in noisy settings. The brain processes the sounds in our environment and according to this article, sensitivity to sound could be a reaction to a part of our brain that pays more attention to sounds then it needs to. One article explains it this way:
When there is no medical reason to explain the auditory sensitivity, researchers think that the brain is not processing sounds adequately. Researchers suggest that the part of the brain that receives and filters noise and sound, the amygdala, is working differently. The amygdala decides on how important noises are. It decides and which sounds we should attend to and which ones to ignore. When someone experiences sensitivity to sounds, it is thought the amygdala pays more attention to sounds than it needs to.
Visual Sensitivity
This area addresses how children respond to things they see, including bright objects, such as lights and toys. It describes how they respond to reflections in mirrors and their responses to objects that spin or move suddenly. According to this article our brains interpret the light we see through our eyes, and:
“The visual system uses light to detect information through our eyes and then interprets or makes sense of that information in the brain. It works closely with our vestibular and auditory systems to help us safely navigate our environment by orienting us to where we are in relation to other objects. The ability to cognitively process information we take in through our eyes can be broken down into several categories, called visual perceptual skills. Those with trouble in one area of visual perception may present with strong skills in another area, meaning that deficits in processing of visual information can take on many forms.”
Tactile/Touch Sensitivity
This area addresses how children respond items that touch their skin. This includes bath/water play, getting their nails trimmed and hair brushed, touching different sensory rich objects, being messy and receiving hugs. When children have a tactile sensitivity, their skin reactors are feeling the object more intensely. According to this article:
The tactile system, or sense of touch, refers to the information we receive though the receptors in our skin. It alerts us to pain and temperature and helps us discriminate the properties of things we come in contact with, i.e. texture, shape, size, and weight. From very early on in development this sense plays a crucial role in helping us gain awareness of our own bodies and understand everything we come in contact with. And how frustrating it must be to learn new skills when you can’t adequately feel the objects you’re using!”
Movement Seeker
This area describes how children move within their environment, including if they enjoy movement activities, seem accident prone or clumsy, seek out spinning and/or preferring to walking on their tip toes. Movement is how our bodies know where we are in space and how we respond to a variety of movement activities. This article explains movement seekers as “someone who has a high threshold for vestibular input. The vestibular system is housed in our inner ear, and is responsible for sending messages to our brain about the position and movement of our head. The vestibular system is activated anytime our head is tilted, upside-down, inverted, if we spin, if we run fast or run slow, when we’re on a swing or going down a slide.
We need vestibular activation and an efficient vestibular processing system in order to maintain an upright position, feel balanced, have a full sense of our body in space and focus. Some people have low thresholds, in which they perceive vestibular activation at much higher rates (e.g. hypersensitive to movement). Others have high thresholds, which means that they need more intense, more frequent and longer duration of movement in order to register it and activate their vestibular system.”
Oral
This are addresses how children respond to new foods and different textures, if they tend to overstuff their mouths, how they control chewing/swallowing foods and liquids and if they tolerate their teeth being brushed. Our oral system is based on how our sensory receptors in our mouth recognize what is in our mouth. Some people have increased sensitivities for foods while others have decreased sensitivities to food. There are differences and optional interventions explained in this article:
“We have sensory receptors in our mouths that allow us to recognize information about temperature, texture (e.g. smooth like yogurt, hard like chips/pretzels, or a mixture of textures like cereal with milk), and taste (e.g. sweet, salty, bitter, sour). They may be over responsive or have increased sensitivity to oral input, causing them to be resistant to oral sensory experiences like trying new foods or brushing their teeth.
Other children may have decreased sensitivity to oral sensory input and therefore seek more oral input in order to help them organize their behavior and pay attention. Our brains receive further proprioceptive input from the joint of the jaw as we bite and chew on foods with different types of resistance (e.g. a crunchy carrot or a chewy sweet/gum). Oral sensory processing also contributes to the way we move our mouths, control our saliva, and produce sounds for clear speech.”
Behavioral Differences
This area describes children’s behaviors such as how frequently they have meltdowns, if they are clingy, how hard it is to redirect them, if they are upset in new surrounds and how hard it is to help them calm down. Teaching children how to calm down using a variety of sensory input, will benefit every child. Soothing Sammy provides opportunity for a child to create their own behavior support tool that is tailored to their specific needs. Weather they respond better to auditory, visual, tactile or others, Sammy the Golden Dog can make redirection to a calm down corner a positive experience for the child and the adult.
Creating a sensory diet is one of the most important ways to support children with any type of sensory difference. These sensory diet cards is a must have resource if you are working with or have a child with a sensory need.
If you are concerned about your child, you can contact an Early Intervention provider to complete an evaluation from the day they are born all the way until they turn three years old.
Early intervention occupational therapy services support children in all areas of sensory needs, and can help caregivers create sensory diets that will help children in a variety of situations. Visual, tactile, auditory, oral and movement interventions that are supported in a controlled environment, can help every child learn how to adapt and respond to different situations and environments.
Jeana Kinne is a veteran preschool teacher and director. She has over 20 years of experience in the Early Childhood Education field. Her Bachelors Degree is in Child Development and her Masters Degree is in Early Childhood Education. She has spent over 10 years as a coach, working with Parents and Preschool Teachers, and another 10 years working with infants and toddlers with special needs. She is also the author of the “Sammy the Golden Dog” series, teaching children important skills through play.
A term you may have heard when it comes to sensory processing is sensory dysregulation. What does this mean? Are there clues for dysregulation? We all have differing sensory needs, and dysregulation can look like different things for everyone. Have you ever wondered about specific sensory strategies for regulation to support a dysregulated sensory system? We’ll cover all of this in this post.
Sensory Dysregulation
Remember your last temper tantrum? Do you remember what it felt like to be suddenly so sad, mad, and completely out of control? Most of us probably had our last true temper tantrum more recently than we care to admit.
A majority of those emotional outbursts were probably exacerbated due to a number of reasons; lack of sleep, poor diet, undesirable environment, discomfort, or pain. Deciphering the difference between a tantrum and sensory meltdown is a must.
One ongoing debate in the pediatric therapy world is discussing what behaviors are due to sensory-related reactions, and what behaviors are due to something else. How many toddlers (or teenagers!) temper tantrums may actually be related to their sensory experience? If it really is sensory-based, then what are the solutions?
The OT Toolbox is here to do our best to answer your sensory-related questions. A great first step in determining whether unwanted behaviors are based on sensory experiences, is to learn about what sensory dysregulation is. To get started, here is an article about sensory processing red flags.
Sensory dysregulation refers to a mind or body state which occurs when the body is out of balance due to experiences in the sensory environment. Think about how sounds, textures, exercise, movement, smells, light, and other input can affect your mood. Sensory dysregulation is the result of either too much or too little stimulation for best functioning or self-regulation.
For example, overstimulation anxiety can be a result of too much sensory stimulation that results in overwhelming worries or anxiety. This is just one way that the overload of sensory input can impact us.
Read more about mood and affect and how these terms are connected to sensory dysregulation.
It’s more than sensory touch and the input we receive through our skin. It’s the inability to regulate sensory input from ALL the sensory systems.
A key component outcome of sensory dysregulation is self-regulation. There are many ways to define self-regulation, but generally, it is one’s ability to remain at an acceptable level of emotion, energy, behavior, and attention – given the demands of their environment.
In order to achieve self-regulation, one must also have good sensory regulation.
Sensory dysregulation is something that anyone can experience, and most people probably have experienced a level of sensory dysregulation to some degree.
Everyone has sensory preferences, like how loud they listen to music, or if they enjoy lots of hugs. If your preference is to have less, your systems would become out of balance with the music too loud or people getting too touchy.
Each of us has our own limits given any situation – but once you are in tune with your body’s needs, you know when it has become too much. When the system is unbalanced, maladaptive behaviors (tantrums) occur, if no coping strategies are implemented. We covered this individualized preferences and nuances of neurodiversity in greater detail in our post on Sensory Diets for Adults.
People with sensory processing disorder, which is an issue on a larger scale that affects a much smaller portion of the population, feel dysregulated more often and have far less ability to self-regulate. While sensory processing disorders can exist in isolation, they may be most prevalent in those with Autism or ADHD.
One example of dysregulation is the individual with sensory needs dealing with a fire drill. There are a lot of sensory inputs all at once, and navigating that stressor is distressing!
Check out our resources at the end of this article for great coping tools!
WHAT DOES DYSREGULATION LOOK LIKE?
Sensory dysregulation, much like emotional dysregulation, feels uncontrollable. Something is “wrong” and a person may not know what is causing them to feel “off”, or how to solve the problem. Sensory dysregulation may look and feel similar to emotional or behavioral dysregulation, that can cause temper tantrums.
The main difference is that sensory experiences are the root cause of the behavioral responses – not social disagreements or the like. It is complicated to tease out whether the issue is behavior or sensory. Look first at the triggers.
A simpler way to understand of sensory dysregulation, is by breaking it down into two categories: over-responsiveness or under-responsiveness to the environmental stimuli.
Over-responsiveness may look like: sensory avoidant behaviors such as excessive covering of the ears, hiding, avoiding touch, or extreme picky eating. The body may be responding too muchto the incoming information. One reaction is to avoided it to, remain at baseline.
Under-responsiveness may look like: sensory seekingbehaviors such as excessive or repetitive body movements, touching everything, making sounds, or licking/chewing on non-food items. Pushing other students while waiting in line. The body may be responding too little to typical input, to the point that the seeker looks for more of it to remain at baseline.
It is important to begin to recognize sensory over-and-under responsiveness and the role it plays in sensory regulation. Understanding what kind of behaviors a child has, will allow you to choose the right remedy.
Over-responsive → Sensory Avoider → Need for less
Solution – calming activities, breathing exercises, variety of activities to slowly increase comfort level
Under-responsive → Sensory Seeker → Need for more
Solution: heavy work, brain breaks, fidget tools, variety of sensory experiences
Sensory dysregulation is NOT the same as behavioral or emotional dysregulation, which may look like:
Not sensory dysregulation:
Crying at the store after they were told “no”
Pushing their brother after he took their toy
Eating all foods but never what the family is eating
Dumping/throwing toys after being told it’s time to clean up
Covering their ears during a fire alarm
Screaming after a sibling teased them
You may be thinking, wait a minute…some of those actions are sensory-based behaviors!
You are correct! However, just because something is related to the sensory experience, does not always mean that sensory dysregulation is occurring.
As an example; the sound of a fire alarm is loud auditory input, however, covering your ears during a loud sound is a normal response. If there is more of a reaction than that, for instance, if a child is inconsolable or unable to move on after the fire alarm, that may be considered sensory dysregulation.
Sensory Dysregulation Symptoms
When symptoms of sensory dysregulation is in question, you should be asking:
What does the environment look like? Feel like?
What is the child communicating with their actions?
When and where does this behavior typically occur? In what similar situations does it not occur?
Some behaviors, like pushing, can be tricky to determine if it is sensory or behavior; Look at the trigger. The proprioceptive system can be dysregulated. Is the child pushing for sensory reasons?
Bumping into things during play, crashing often, seemingly unaware of their body? Then they may have some sensory dysregulation going on that is increasing their need for input. Pushing people who get too close, hugging too hard, or bumping into people, may also be signs of sensory dysregulation.
If a child pushes a friend after they did something mean, that is just poor social skills.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF DYSREGULATION
Usually we notice the symptoms of dysregulation first. It manifests in behavioral reactions, health consequences, stress, and cognitive difficulty.
You are constantly on edge – you feel nervous, stressed out, overwhelmed, and have the sense that you can not keep up
Frequently irritable, snappy, and disagreeable. You might overreact, feel tense, get frustrated easily, and have mood swings like going from happy to sad quickly
Chronic pain and illness – aches and pains that do not go away, easily getting colds and other illnesses, see several specialists without relief
Highly sensitive to stimuli. You might identify as a highly sensitive person. Things that people may not even notice bother you. Smells, the sound of people snapping gum, fabrics, clutter, or being in crowds may feel overwhelming. You might be anxious, depressed, or stressed by the amount of information coming in.
Sleep problems and daytime fatigue – your nervous system has a hard time relaxing to go to sleep, or is hypervigilant during the night. You wake with your gas tank half full, so by mid morning you are fatigued. It may be difficult for you to regulate your temperature and heart rate during the night, leading to additional fatigue.
Chronic attention and concentration problems – because your system is on high alert, signaling danger, it might be hard to concentrate and pay attention to important information. You may find it difficult to tune out non important stimuli.
Cravings and extreme appetite changes
Immune and hormonal symptoms
Gut and skin conditions like rosacea and IBS. These can be aggravated by stress and dysregulation
You are highly sensitive to other people’s emotional states – you might be considered an empath. This may seem like a great trait, except it is draining. You take on the emotions of those around you and are constantly trying to help people. No matter how much you do, it never seems enough.
You do not have to have all of these symptoms to be considered dysregulated. Even if you have a couple of these symptoms, it can feel overwhelming and draining.
HOW CAN YOU support Sensory Dysregulation?
If a child’s sensory system is dysregulated, there is good news: there are many ways to help! There is a catch though – there is no “one size fits all”. Trial and error is the name of the game with sensory interventions.
Once you and your child find out what works for them and their changing environments, they will have a deeper understanding of themselves, and display improved behaviors in no time!
Check out these resources for sensory integration, calming exercises, self-regulation activities, and more! Also be sure to read our blog post on Ayres Sensory Integration for information on the theory behind this process, and how it all works together. It’s fascinating!
If you have tried everything, and are feeling a bit lost, you are not alone! Sensory dysregulation is tricky. It should be considered alongside many other aspects of why a child reacts a certain way. In addition to behavior, emotions, and self-regulation; history, habits, trauma, and mental status can have a powerful influence on actions, too.
Keep trying – some things may feel like a roadblocks but there are specific action strategies you can use!
The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook walks you through sensory processing information, each step of creating a meaningful and motivating sensory diet, that is guided by the individual’s personal interests and preferences.
The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is not just about creating a sensory diet to meet sensory processing needs. This handbook is your key to creating an active and thriving lifestyle based on a deep understanding of sensory processing.
dysregulated nervous system
After reading all of the above about dysregulation, and what a dysregulated nervous system looks like, let’s take a step back. In order to understand the symptoms and signs of dysregulation, we need to understand the basics of the nervous system. That’s a really important piece of the puzzle to help parents that we are supporting as the pediatric occupational therapy provider on a child’s team.
The dysregulated nervous system impacts practically everything that we do and what we see in the form of behaviors, sensory needs, emotions…it’s at the base of it all.
But when we hear from our clients’ families or the parent, the school counselor, the teacher of a child with issues impacting day to day life and learning, the nervous system isn’t’ the first thing to come to mind.
NERVOUS SYSTEM BASICS
The nervous system is made up of two parts; the central and peripheral systems. Together these systems regulate our consciousness, movement, response to the environment, and bodily functions such as digestion, heart rate, and breathing.
The central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord. It interprets incoming signals, formulates responses, and plays a big role in memory and cognition.
The peripheral nervous system extends out from the central nervous system out to the limbs. It communicates with the CNS to respond to information coming from the environment and inside our bodies.
Under the peripheral nervous system is the autonomic nervous system. This can be thought of as the “automatic” nervous system. This system works without conscious thought, controlling the heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, and fight or flight response.
The stress we feel impacts social emotional skills, behaviors, functioning, learning, and more.
Understanding the stress response
The fight or flight response is important to our survival. It alerts us to dangerous situations to protect us from harm. This is a great system, until it over-responds.
A chronically over-reacted fight or flight response leads to dysregulation. There are times when our nervous system, including the fight or flight response, becomes dysregulated.
This can be caused by stress, genetic predisposition, or trauma. When the system is dysregulated, it can cause more stress, burnout, anxiety, and various types of chronic pain and illness.
Dysregulation and Trauma
Understanding the impact on a dysregulated nervous system trauma has is important because we as pediatric occupational therapy providers see a huge variety of trauma responses in our therapy clients. There can be so many levels to this but one thing is for certain: there will be some level of a dysregulated nervous system when trauma exists.
One thing that comes up from parents or educators who see the results of regulation troubles is the “why”. We need to explain, as occupational therapy providers, the causes of dysregulation so that the child’s team can better understand why they are seeing the resulting behaviors, social emotional challenges, learning struggles and functional task issues.
An over-response of the fight or flight system is often the cause of dysregulation. Where does this come from?
Chronic stress – when the nervous system suffers from chronic stress, it remains in a state of high alert. Over time, this state of high alert can lead to hypervigilance and overwhelm.
Trauma can lead to dysregulation. This might come from witnessing traumatic events, abuse, accidents, or surgeries.
Adverse childhood experiences – negative childhood experiences such as emotional or physical abuse, neglect, living with caregivers who abuse substances, or have mental health issues.
Genetic factors – certain gene variations make people prone to anxiety and stress.
Lifestyle factors – poor diet, lack of exercise, and inadequate sleep can contribute to nervous system dysregulation. Stimulants like caffeine, alcohol, and certain medications can lead to dysregulation
Underlying health conditions – fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalance, and some autoimmune disorders can lead to dysregulation of the nervous system. Deficiencies in certain vitamins such as magnesium, B, and omega fatty acids can also lead to dysregulation.
Environmental factors – heavy metals, pesticides, chemicals, mold, noise pollution.
When you think about the people in your life, especially the young ones, can you see some of these factors in their life? Children chronically have lack of exercise, poor diet, not enough sleep, exposure to chemicals, additives in their food, and often some sort of trauma.
With this type of lifestyle becoming the norm, it is no wonder so many littles are dysregulated.
EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL DYSREGULATION CHANGES
We often notice behavior before other symptoms of dysregulation. This is a classic sign in regulation disorders such as ADHD, ADD, Autism, and bipolar disorder. The behaviors are caused by dysregulation, that usually has an underlying factor. You might feel overly intense emotions, impulsive behavior, lack of emotional awareness, trouble making decisions, inability to manage behavior, and avoiding difficult decisions.
People with emotional/behavioral changes struggle to make and keep friends, difficulty with compliance, can be defiant, and have difficulty completing tasks.
TREATMENT FOR DYSREGULATION
If your dysregulation is part of a larger disorder such as ADD, medication can help with the symptoms.
Therapy – both talk, play, and occupational therapy to help with regulation and identifying triggers. Dialectical behavioral therapy helps you with mindfulness, identifying your emotions, and separating emotions from facts.
Be consistent and organized – kids thrive on routine. Give your child/partner a heads up if you plan on changing the plans
Adjust accordingly – sometimes you need to make accommodations and adaptations to be successful
Reward positive behavior
Journal – writing down feelings and thoughts can help you process them. Also looking back at journal entries can give you clarity
Heavy work helps organize the central nervous system. Chores, exercise, physical activity or taking a walk can help
Reverse or reduce some of the triggering factors such as sensory overload, overeating, environmental toxins, processed foods, toxic people, drugs, caffeine, technology, and stress
Add things that are missing such as critical vitamins, healthy food, exercise, communication, and fresh air
Take care of yourself physically. Seek medical attention for chronic or undiagnosed illnesses. Some illnesses like IBS can go away once stressors are reduced
What to Do When a Child is Dysregulated: Support Strategies That Work
When a child is melting down, shutting down, or acting out, it can feel overwhelming for both the child and the adult supporting them. In these moments, logic, reasoning, and consequences simply don’t work. Why? Because a dysregulated brain can’t access higher-level thinking skills like problem-solving or impulse control.
But the good news? There are ways to help, and they start with understanding what dysregulation is, why it happens, and how to respond in the moment using evidence-based sensory and regulation tools.
What Does It Mean When a Child Is Dysregulated?
Dysregulation refers to a state where the child’s nervous system is overwhelmed. Their body and brain are no longer in a calm, alert state, they may be overly aroused (hyperactive, emotional, aggressive) or under-aroused (shut down, frozen, withdrawn).
In these moments, the prefrontal cortex (responsible for thinking and reasoning) essentially goes offline. They are in a fight or flight response.
Why Can’t They Just Listen or Calm Down?
This is a question many parents, educators, and therapists ask. The answer lies in brain science: when a child is dysregulated, they can’t process rewards, consequences, or reason. Asking them to “make a better choice” or “use their words” won’t be effective until they feel regulated and safe again.
So What Should I Do Instead?
Here’s how to help when a child is dysregulated:
1. Focus on Regulation First, Not Correction
Before offering consequences or even explanations, help the child feel physically and emotionally safe.
Stay calm and grounded yourself. Children borrow regulation from the adults around them.
Speak slowly, softly, and clearly.
Use phrases like: “You’re having a hard time. I’m here with you.” “Let’s help your body feel calm first.”
2. Use Sensory Strategies to Regulate the Body
Support the child’s sensory needs to calm their nervous system. Heavy work activities are especially effective because they engage the proprioceptive system, which promotes a calming, organizing effect on the body.
Get Ongoing Support Inside The OT Toolbox Membership
Inside our Membership, you’ll find hundreds of downloadable tools that help support regulation every day, including:
Heavy work printable packs
Brain break visuals
Sensory check-ins
Calm down tools
Zones of Regulation supports
Social emotional learning printables
And so much more
Join today to get instant access to tools that help you prepare for dysregulation before it happens, and support kids in the moments they need it most.
Sometimes just thinking about all the things wrong in this world can make you feel stressed. Trying to fix everything and everyone is overwhelming. Focus on one thing or one person at a time. Take care of one part of your lifestyle, rather than making radical changes all of a sudden.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
Weighted vests, weighted clothing, and compression garments are used to offer proprioceptive input to elicit a calm and focused response. They tend to be used as a sensory intervention for children with diagnoses like sensory processing disorder, autism (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with the purpose of calming the body for functional activities.
Weighted vests are a hot topic in the therapy world, as they have been used in practice for decades. Sensory strategies are difficult to research, gather data, or prove their efficacy. Want to learn more about sensory processing disorder? Use this checklist to guide you!
Weighted Vests for Kids and Deep Pressure Tools
Weighted compression vests are one type of sensory input tool used to support children with sensory issues, including those with special needs. These vests are designed to offer consistent deep pressure input, a calming and organizing force that comes from engaging the muscles, joints, and connective tissue. This proprioceptive input helps a child become more aware of their body in space, which can improve focus, emotional regulation, and overall function throughout the day.
Many vests are made from neoprene material, offering gentle stretch and comfort while providing compression. Some models even include built-in ventilation to increase breathability during extended wear. Others feature interior weight pockets, allowing for adjustable weight and easier customization for different year old age ranges or teens who may need less weight or a vest that matches their child’s clothing more discreetly.
What Does a Weighted Vest Do for Kids?
A weighted vest works by offering steady deep pressure across the torso, especially around the waist and top of the shoulder, areas that support postural stability and body awareness. This input can have powerful effects on a child’s ability to:
Stay focused during learning tasks
Reduce sensory-seeking behaviors like fidgeting, jumping, or crashing
Manage emotional responses during transitions or overwhelming activities
Experience the sensory integration therapy benefits often sought through OT sessions
When paired with adult supervision and used properly, these vests can be a perfect addition to a child’s home routine or even integrated into their child’s school supplies for classroom use.
For children with sensory processing disorder or those with autism, this type of sensory input tool can offer a quiet and supportive way to regulate. Some children even prefer it over other forms of input because it doesn’t draw as much attention from peers, especially when vests are designed to look like athletic wear.
When to Use a Weighted Vest for Kids
It’s important to work with an occupational therapist to decide when and how to use a weighted compression vest. Use should be purposeful, short-term, and part of a comprehensive sensory diet. Ideal times might include:
Homework time
Classroom focus work
Transitions that often trigger dysregulation
Emotional regulation practice or calming routines
Circle time or gross motor tasks that require attention to the body
Wearing the vest should be limited to around 15–20 minutes at a time, followed by breaks. Keep in mind that categories of vests differ in design and weight, so proper fit and width (especially across the chest and shoulders) matters. Many options come with adjustable closures like a hook system for a snug but flexible fit.
Other Deep Pressure Tools and Proprioceptive Strategies
In addition to vests, there are other tools and activities that can provide proprioceptive input and support sensory integration:
Click to see examples of compression clothing or snug-fitting neoprene wraps
Weighted lap pads or shoulder wraps
Wall pushes, towel wringing, or resistance-based exercises
Carrying heavy items, like books or laundry baskets
Animal walks, bear crawls, or wheelbarrow walks
Jumping, pushing, pulling: activities that engage multiple muscle groups
Weighted clothing Research review versus clinical observation
This article will dive into the research versus clinical observation, on the use of weighted vests and compression clothing. Here at The OT Toolbox team, we’re lucky to have therapists with a variety of experiences, and years in the field. This blog post on weighted clothing, weighted blankets, and other weighted sensory tools explores both clinical experience and evidence for a combined viewpoint.
We’re covering both here: what the research says about weighted clothing and what clinical experience and data says about these weighted tools.
The first author, Sydney Thorson OTR/L is a school based therapist who bases her practice on research and evidence based practice. The second author, Victoria Wood OTR/L is an occupational therapist with 30 years of clinical experience, who bases her treatment on clinical observation, data collection, and real life experience.
Research on weighted vests and Compression Vests
(Research review by Sydney Thorson OTR/L)
Weighted vests have been used in clinical practice for many years, without strong research evidence they actually work. In my opinion, this is a big deal for our field, as we should not be implementing such tools without good reason. If you’ve ever had questions about best practice and research on weighted vests, compression clothing, and weighted compression vests, read on.
A note aboutResearch on Weighted Clothing, Weighted Vests and Compression Garments
If you are looking to purchase a vest or implement it into therapy, there is not much data available online, or in popular pediatric therapy books. Some features of the vests may be noted in research articles. Important factors such as the amount of weight to be used, the length of time it should be donned, or the frequency of use is never suggested. Why? Because we simply do not have any data to support this yet.
Most importantly, occupational therapists are often providing treatment under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, which mandates therapeutic and instructional strategies must be research-based whenever possible.
How Do I Know Which Research to Trust?
One of the most difficult parts of a literature review is understanding how likely it is that the study results are actually “true”, and therefore, clinically significant. In my review below, I have noted how strong the level of evidence, so that you can decide how best to use the information moving forward.
What does it mean to be clinically significant?
Statistical significance is what tells researchers if their chosen effect really happened or not. A researcher may determine that a weighted vest has a statistically significant effect based on their data from a research environment. In real-life practice, it may not have the same results.
The clinical significance is just another way to say, “does this treatment actually work for my patients in their normal environment?”
All good literature reviews start a question that needs to be answered:Do weighted or compression vests improve regulation in children with disabilities?
In my opinion, the simple answer is…probably not.
Best Evidence for Weighted Vests
A systematic review is generally the best way to learn about a research topic. Researchers thoughtfully and methodically take into account numerous studies, compiling the results into one article, for the reader to enjoy.
One of the more recent systematic reviews, titled, “Systematic Review on the Efficacy of Weight Vests and Blankets for People with ASD or ADHD” noted that earlier reviews found that these items did not have efficacy (Denny et al., 2018). Since then, data continues to show inconsistent effectiveness of weighted vests.
This review included 18 studies, four of which were also systematic reviews. The efficacy of each study in this review was noted and used to offer the following results;
Results (Denny et al., 2018)
In individuals with ASD or ADHD:
Moderate evidence suggests that weighted items can increase attention and occupational performance.
Mild evidence supports that weighted items canreduce maladaptive behaviors, like aggression, self-injurious behaviors, or off-task behaviors.
No evidence supports the use of weighted items to increase adaptive behaviors, like seated, on-task behavior.
More rigorous studies are needed to determine if weighted items actually produce a clinically significant effect.
Use weighted items cautiouslyto determine if they will provide positive outcomes.
Should Occupational Therapists Use Weighted Vests?
In my opinion, with the inconsistent and insufficient available evidence of an intervention that is broadly used, OTs should turn to the leaders for guidance. This would include the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The American Journal of Occupation Therapy (AJOT) provided two systematic reviews on the topic of sensory interventions in 2020.
One review reported that weighted vests are not effective in increasing educational performance in children with ASD (Grajo, Candler & Sarafian, 2020).
The other systematic review from the AJOT went even further and stated that “weighted vests/items…received a red light designation…indicating that therapists should not use these approaches for children with sensory processing challenges” (Battin et al., 2020).
Best Evidence for Weighted Compression Vests
Compression vests are currently less likely to have specific data on their use, as they are often used a part of a treatment plan, either with weighted vests or other sensory items. Weighted vests are far more popularized in the research arena, but below you will find the best available evidence for compression vests.
A meta-analysis (including a systematic review) that complied recent data for deep pressure therapy items, including weighted and compression vests, squeeze machines, and brushing therapy, found that none were supported by evidence for any reason (Losinski, Sanders & Wiseman, 2017). Many of the studies reported on were low-quality for a number of reasons, and it is unknown how this could contribute to the results.
Weighted Vests and Autism
Occupational therapists often support individuals on the autism spectrum in the classroom, home, community, and clinic. OTs work closely in early intervention services with individuals diagnosed with autism.
While there are benefits for using weighted vests with individuals on the autism spectrum, in my opinion,it’s important to discern, through a research review, whether the specific needs of the individual are addressed.
A weighted vest, weighted clothing, compression clothing, compression bed sheets, or weighted blanket are just some of the tools used to support individuals with autism.
The benefit suggested of a weighted device or compression material refers to the regulation of the central nervous system, and the physical input through the proprioceptive system. This input can impact sleep, temperature regulation, to organize and calm the nervous system. It’s easy to see the connection between the nervous system, regulation of the individual, and functional performance of tasks.
Another great resource is the use of sensory clothing, or clothing that supports sensory needs, no matter the diagnoses or preference. In recent years, there are more options out there as well as greater availability to accessing sensory-friendly garments.
Should Occupational Therapists Use Compression Vests?
Unsurprisingly, there is limited guidance from our OT leaders at AOTA and AJOT that is specific to compression vests. This means that therapists can wait for guidance to come out, conduct their own research to add to the mix, or follow their next best available guidance. My gut tells me to follow the guidelines from AJOT for weighted vests, noted above.
This data trend is not exclusive to vests – some recent data does not support implementing anysingle-system sensory intervention in the school environment. Single-system sensory interventions, like swings, vests, and brushing, are becoming increasingly unsupported by leaders in occupational therapy (Grajo et al, 2020; Novak, 2019; Bodison, 2018; Wong et al, 2014; Watling, 2015).
This data does not make any statement towards other “sensory” experiences that are play-based, functional, or explorative in nature.
Research on the use of sensory-based interventions presented in the AJOT in 2018 suggested that many OTs “continued to use primarily clinical experiences and knowledge from their professional education programs rather than formal evaluations or scientific literature” (Carter & Glennon, 2018). The authors (and I) recommend a shift in our practice to utilize research evidence over personal experiences.
Clinical observation, data collection, real life experience on the benefit of weighted vests and compression tools
(Clinical experience by Victoria Wood, OTR/L)
The other side of the coin is a conflicting opinion, but one that therapists who have seen the benefits of weighted clothing and compression garments at work.
How a weighted vest works
Sensory seekers need to have their sensory “cup” filled in order to feel satiated. Have you ever wondered why a child with hyperactivity would be prescribed a stimulant?
The simple answer is; they will continue to seek input until their cup is full.
The stimulant, such as Ritalin, fills their cup faster than other sensory input. Once the cup is full, the person seeking input feels satiated, and can focus on work, functional tasks, or social skills. It is similar to needing to eat until you are full.
In a recent article on relaxation breathing, we covered how the autonomic nervous system responds to stimulation that is perceived as dangerous, over-simulating, or anxiety inducing via the commonly referred to signs of “fight, flight, freeze. It is through our limbic system that this occurs.
In response, heavy work activities support the calming or organization of this input. Other self-regulation activities such as proprioceptive input, visual input, and vestibular input can further support this sensory need. Just like the heavy work input of the proprioceptive system and vestibular system, this is organizing and regulating.
We shared more resources and tools to support this natural process in a blog post on using the benefits of a sensory burrito blanket as a sensory tool to offer heavy work input through compression.
A weighted vest, or compression garment, provides proprioceptive input similar to a deep hug. This deep pressure calms the central nervous system, thus calming, satiating, or organizing the body and brain.
What about research?
The reason there is not sufficient research and evidence on tools such as weighted/compression garments, vibration, therapeutic listening, sensory diets, etc. is the method by which it is collected.
Sensory data is collected through observation, interview, trial and error.
A person being interviewed about the behavior of their student/child may not paint a clear picture. Oftentimes, caregivers either over dramatize, or deny behaviors and outcomes.
Clinical observation may point to a reduction in maladaptive behaviors, or an improvement in attention while wearing a vest or using another sensory strategy, however, it is difficult to determine if the vest is making the difference versus sleep, diet, mood, exercise, weather, or 75 other variables.
It is difficult to trial a sensory strategy in a vacuum. Other variables are always present.
Behavior is difficult to measure.
Do sensory strategies such as a weighted vest work?
(In my opinion) weighted clothing works.
In my 30 years of experience I have seen countless patients show remarkable results from sensory strategies, especially compression and weight. The change in behavior is often instantaneous.
I have visibly seen a calm come over a child within minutes of donning a vest.
Some children are able to suddenly sit for 20 minutes at a table doing work while wearing a vest, where previously they were able to sit for barely three minutes.
Many patients I have worked with understand the value of their vest, and will begin to request it when needed.
The placebo effect of weighted garments:
The placebo effect is a beneficial health outcome resulting from a person’s anticipation that an intervention will help. How a health care provider interacts with a patient also may bring about a positive response that’s independent of any specific treatment.
If patients a,b,c, and d have a great outcome while wearing their “superman” vest or “police bullet proof garment”, it matters not if this is a placebo, or actual physical change happening to their central nervous system. If they feel better, have improved attention, and decreased maladaptive behaviors, the vest or strategy is working!
Dr. John Diamond, while reporting about the placebo effect, states; “What I am proposing is that rather than dismissing a cure as being “just a placebo effect,” we should try to do the very opposite. We should try to make all cures a result of the placebo effect.
If up to thirty-three percent of patients can improve with harmless distilled water, and only some sixty percent get the desired result with the pharmacologically active substance, we should be striving for all patients to be cured with a placebo. Then we would not have to administer a dangerous active substance.
Do no harm.
Health professionals follow an oath to do no harm. Under the correct supervision, weighted/compression vests do not harm a person. In my opinion, why not take a chance on trialing a simple strategy such as a compression vest, if it does no harm?
It might be the key to success you have been looking for, and might prevent more intrusive treatment strategies. Many times medical doctors prescribe simple medications in the hopes that symptoms will be alleviated, without actually having test results to confirm a diagnosis.
To me, this is much more harmful than trying a strategy such as a vest, or noise canceling headphones.
Trial and error with weighted clothing (or compression garments, weighted vests, etc.
Because of the nature of sensory based treatment strategies, much of what is done is trial and error.
What works for one may not work for another.
One child may need a combination of ten strategies to find the organization they need. The strategy used successfully for three months, may suddenly stop working. This is the exciting (and frustrating) element to treating sensory processing difficulties.
How to safely use a weighted or compression vest/garment
The body responds well to an on/off wearing schedule. This is because the nervous system becomes satiated or “used to” the input after about 15-20 minutes. Similar to wearing a watch or a necklace. At first you are acutely aware it is on your wrist.
After about 20 minutes you no longer notice it.
If you take the object off for a period of time, then don it again, the stimulus becomes new and recognized.
A few tips for weighted clothing:
Wear the weighted clothing/use compression garment for 20 minutes.
Wearing a weighted/compression garment for more than the allotted 20 minutes is not necessarily harmful, it just stops working as effectively. Under the right supervision, a vest can be worn for longer periods if it is not possible to complete this type of rigorous wearing schedule. Watch for signs of shut down, overheating, or excessive fatigue.
2. Weighted vests or weighted blankets should be 5-10% of the body weight.
The weight should typically be 5-10% of the body weight, higher for a weighted blanket, as the weight is distributed differently. Adjust as needed for maximum effectiveness. Some people are more sensitive to input than others.
3. Collect data.
Trial and error with data collection, observations, and a checklist, are helpful when trying any new sensory strategy. Have caregivers fill out a form targeting certain behaviors, rather than “improved compliance”. What does that look like? Sit for 20 minutes without fleeing. Reduction in self injurious behaviors from X to Y. Recover from meltdown in 5 minutes versus 20. The NAPA center has a nice overview of weighted vests and their benefits.
Additionally, this resource offers a sensory checklist that can help with getting started on obtaining data and observations regarding sensory needs.
We hope that this discussion encourages you to further explore the quality of your practice, treatment methods and strategies, and recommendations for families – how will you move your practice forward?
Compression Vest Alternatives
We’ve covered a variety of options to use as a compression garment to offer sensory support through pressure. Compression vests are a common term, but the vest garment is not always feasible as a sensory compression tool.
Compression vests may not be preferred because of the fit of vests.
Alternatives to compression vests may include:
Compression blankets
Compression clothing like Under Armour
Weighted toys
Weighted blankets
Have you used any of these compression tools?
Frequently Asked Questions About Weighted Vests for Kids
How heavy should a weighted vest be for a child? A common guideline is to start with a vest that is approximately 5% to 10% of the child’s body weight, distributed evenly across the vest. For example, a 50-pound child might wear a vest with 2.5 to 5 pounds of total weight. However, the exact amount can vary based on the child’s needs, age, and tolerance. Always consult with an occupational therapist to determine the safest and most effective weight range.
Do weighted vests help kids with ADHD? Yes, weighted vests can help children with ADHD by providing deep pressure sensory input that supports focus and self-regulation. The consistent proprioceptive input from the vest can help calm the nervous system, which may reduce fidgeting and improve attention during classroom tasks or homework. While not a cure or standalone treatment, many children with ADHD benefit from using a weighted compression vest as part of a broader sensory or behavioral support plan.
How much weight for a weighted vest for kids? The ideal weight is typically 5% to 10% of the child’s body weight, but the design and material of the vest also matter. Vests with interior weight pockets allow for gradual weight increases or reductions. Some models provide less weight but more compression, which may still be effective without added bulk. Work with an occupational therapist to assess your child’s individual needs.
Do calming vests work for ADHD children? Yes, many calming vests, which include weighted or compression options, are reported to help children with ADHD manage sensory overload and improve their ability to concentrate. These vests provide consistent pressure, helping to organize the sensory systems and reduce internal “noise” that can make focus difficult. Results vary by child, but they are often a useful tool when paired with other supports.
Are weighted vests safe for children? Weighted vests are generally safe when used under the guidance of an occupational therapist and with proper supervision. It’s essential to monitor the child’s comfort, posture, and response during and after wear. Look for features like built-in ventilation, adjustable fit, and less weight for younger children. Avoid using the vest for extended periods without breaks.
How long should a child wear a weighted vest for? Weighted vests should typically be worn for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, followed by a break. They are not intended for all-day use. This short-term wear helps the nervous system process input without becoming overstimulated or desensitized. Timed use during transitions, learning tasks, or calming routines is ideal.
Are there any risks with weighted vests? When used improperly, risks may include fatigue, overheating, discomfort, or changes in posture. Always ensure proper fit and weight distribution, particularly around the top of the shoulder and waist areas. Children should never wear a vest that’s too heavy or too long without supervision. Adult supervision and guidance from a professional are key to safe use.
Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.
AND
Sydney Thorson, OTR/L, is a new occupational therapist working in school-based therapy. Her background is in Human Development and Family Studies, and she is passionate about providing individualized and meaningful treatment for each child and their family. Sydney is also a children’s author and illustrator and is always working on new and exciting projects.
For many children, hair brushing is a challenging ADL task due to difficulties with sensory regulation. Using tools such as a sensory brush or a sensory diet can help support sensory issues that impact hair brushing. Individuals with sensory challenges related to their scalp can be further exacerbated by knots, pulling of hair, shampooing, or daily stress when it comes to this hygiene task. Fortunately there are some tips to help sensory needs and hair brushing.
Sensory hair brushing can be a daily challenge for children with tactile sensitivities or sensory processing differences. For some kids, the feel of a brush on their scalp or hair can trigger discomfort, anxiety, or even meltdowns. This guide shares sensory-friendly hair care strategies that support kids who struggle with hair brushing due to tactile defensiveness. You’ll find practical OT hair brushing tips, tools like a vibrating hair brush for sensory needs, and ideas for creating a calming routine that makes hair brushing more manageable.
If you’re looking for a sensory brushing protocol, advice on scalp brushing from an OT perspective, or simple sensory brushing strategies that work, this post is packed with helpful insights to support your child’s grooming routine.
NOTE: The information and strategies in this blog post on sensory hair brushing will not be appropriate for all types of hair and all sensory issues.
Sensory Hair Brushing
Individuals with sensory processing sensitivities may feel that getting their brushed hurts, or may find it overstimulating.
Other children may have challenges with hair brushing as it signals the morning routine is almost complete. They associate hair brushing with having to go to school or daycare, which increases their anxiety. Whatever the reason your child dislikes having their hair brushed, it can be very disruptive to your child’s routine, and anyone else in the home as well.
Sensory Hair Brushing Tips
Check out the tips below to help alleviate stress with hair brushing.
Tip #1: Brush hair while in the tub or sink
When you brush your child’s hair in the tub or sink:
You can build on the relaxed mood to complete a stressful task
Warm water temperature offers calming sensory input.
Having probably just washed your child’s hair, the conditioner/oil (depending on hair type) will help to allow a comb to slip through your child’s hair with ease.
You will also be able to work out any larger knots they may have with your fingers much easier as the water runs in the direction of hair growth.
Your child will more than likely be distracted with toys that are in the tub/activity occurring around the sink area, keeping the focus off having their hair brushed.
Make sure to braid or put it into a top knot if your child’s hair is long, to prevent tangles in the morning.
Bonus Tip! Don’t have time to wash your child’s hair every night, or don’t take a bath daily? Use a spray bottle to moisten your child’s hair, then brush it out. You can use a detangle to bring an extra element of fun to it too!
When it comes to brushing, the most important thing is to set up a routine, using the hair brushing techniques that work for the child’s hair type. Stick to that routine. Consider using a visual schedule, written schedule, or checklist.
Tip # 2: Turn hair brushing into a Game
Using humor and distraction in the form of a game is another great way to help your child feel less stress and sensory issues during hair brushing. You can have them “earn” points for each stroke or set of strokes, have a countdown, or sing a silly song.
Tip # 3: Use Role Play in Hair Brushing
Children learn best through play! Practice with a doll or let them brush your hair. As you do this, talk about how they are feeling and acting when they are brushing your hair. Are they being gentle? What can they do if they hit a knot?
It will also be helpful if you talk to them about how you’re feeling or how the doll might be feeling while having their hair brushed. Do you feel calm? Is getting your hair brushed hurting you?
Make sure that you emphasize the positives as well! You can use real terms such as sensory issues with hair brushing, and explain what is happening.
Share with your child how good it feels to have your hair brushed, that it makes you feel clean, and that it makes you look ready for the day.
Tip # 4: Let Your Child Do it Themselves
When you give your child control of an activity, you take away fear of the unknown, or in this case, give back control over what you are asking to be done.
This works well for children who say that you’re pulling too hard, their scalp is super sensitive, or they dread having to work out knots. By letting them brush their own hair, they are in charge of the pressure, pace and how they work through knots in their hair.
Your children may also be more willing to participate if they know that they are in control of the situation. Be on standby in case they need help!
If the whole hair brushing process can’t be done by the child, let them participate in some aspect. That might be applying conditioner/oil. It might be that they hand the brush or comb to the person brushing. The main concept here is taking ownership in the task through active participation.
Tip # 5: Use a Wide Tooth Comb
A wide tooth comb will slide through hair much easier, and with less resistance than a traditional brush.
Another perk to a wide tooth comb is that it doesn’t have bristles, which many kids find irritating to their scalp, and often gets caught easily in long hair.
Amazon (affiliate links) has several different types of brushes and combs for sensitive scalps. They also have detangling brushes. Just type “sensitive scalp brush” into the search box.
Whether your child has long or short hair, holding hair close to the scalp or placing your other hand on their head can help to limit the amount of tugging they feel during hair brushing.
Limiting the tugging sensation by keeping their head stabilized will also prevent activation of the inner ear, which can be alerting or cause dizziness. If they are particularly sensitive to the tugging sensation, or have poor head/neck control, they may be compensating by letting their head drop back with the slightest of tugs.
This is particularly important for children with long hair, as brushing down the back can elicit the startle reflex.
Tip # 7: Use a Timer
Using a timer is a fail safe tip for working on tolerance of any activity. Set the a timer to see how long your child can tolerate having their hair brushed as a baseline, then add 5 seconds once a week until you are able to thoroughly brush their hair.
A countdown timer (affiliate link) is very effective. You can use the timer on your phone or you can look for a visual timer app to add an extra layer of fun. Many visual apps have surprises at the end or turn colors as the app is counting down.
If you do not want the added input of electronics during this calming time of day, a separate timer (affiliate link) is best.
Tip # 8: Use a Social Story
A social story is a book created about any activity that your child has challenges with. The story talks about what’s going to happen, how it will feel, and the appropriate social responses that your child should have with the activity. Read the story to them right before completing hair brushing to maximize its effect!
Don’t have a social story? Ask your therapist to help you create one. You can also find free social story generators online, or use a premade one.
Bonus Tip! If a social story is too long or advanced for your child, try using a visual schedule! This is a simplified version of the social story and can be adjusted based on your child’s abilities.
Implementing Tips for sensory issues and hair brushing
These tips can help to break any negative behaviors or emotions that may surround your child’s sensory issues with hair brushing, and give you a foundation to start a fresh routine.
Start by trying one recommendation that you think will work for your child, give it a week, and if it’s still not working, try another.
Working through hair brushing challenges takes time, and is a trial-and-error process. Hopefully you will find these tips helpful!
Looking for more resources?
The OT Toolbox has a great resource called The Sensory Resource Handbook for tackling sensory issues related to hair brushing and creating a sensory diet for the many difficulties you are your child may be facing.
One of our new bloggers has a great resource on Amazon called Seeing Your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes (affiliate link). This is a new manual for parents, therapists, and caregivers to understand, accommodate, and treat tricky sensory situations and community settings with real life strategies, tips, and understanding.
Best Tools: Vibrating Brush, Scalp Massager & Soft-Bristle Options
When supporting a child with autism or sensory processing disorder (SPD) during hair care tasks, the right hairbrush can make a huge difference. Look for soft, flexible bristles that glide gently over the scalp without triggering tactile sensitivity.
A vibrating brush or scalp massager may help reduce discomfort by providing calming deep pressure input that overrides the lighter, more irritating sensation of hair strands moving across the skin.
For many autistic children, even small sensory details like the tastes of products, the texture of clips, or the sound of clippers can be overwhelming.
Choosing an unscented shampoo (and other fragrance free products) and using a detangle sprays with a smooth glide can reduce frustration before the brushing even begins. For some families, shifting to a low-maintenance hairstyle can also reduce stress and make hair care more manageable.
Sensory Hair Brushing Troubleshooting Guide
Hair brushing struggles often go beyond behavior. The issues might be rooted in how a child’s body processes sensory information. A child who avoids brushing may be responding to loud noise in the bathroom, bright light, or the feel of a strip of hair touching their face.
Try brushing with your child seated on your lap or in a calming, seated position on the floor to help ground the vestibular system.
Use deep pressure techniques like a firm shoulder squeeze or a short massage to prepare the body. If your child has an aversion to traditional brushes, try using fingers or a brush with soft, flexible bristles.
Keep scissors, clippers, and other tools out of sight until your child feels calm and secure. Adding patience, routine, and calm pacing can help build tolerance over time.
Quick Reality-Check: When Traditional Brushing Isn’t Working
For some kids, brushing just won’t be tolerated without adaptation. Children with SPD may feel pain or panic from the light touch of a hairbrush. They might respond by running away, flinching, or crying before the brush even gets close.
These reactions are not defiance or tantrums. They’re nervous system responses to overwhelming sensory input. In these moments, step back and reduce expectations.
Shift to simpler tasks like brushing in small sections, doing a gentle scalp massage first, or using detangle spray during or after a shower to make brushing easier. It’s also okay to skip brushing on hard days or use tools like wide-tooth combs.
Working up to full grooming over time helps build trust and confidence, and sometimes that’s more important than a perfect hairstyle.
Sensory Diet Routine: Prep > Brush > Calm
Creating a routine for hair brushing can support the body’s sense of predictability and reduce anxiety.
Start with prep activities that provide calming input, such as deep pressure through bear hugs, joint compressions, or heavy work like pushing a laundry basket. This helps regulate the vestibular system and makes the body more ready to process sensory information.
Move into brushing in a quiet, distraction-free space. Let the child hold clips or the brush first to build positive associations.
End with a calming activity: reading, swinging, or snuggling with a favorite toy, or whatever works for the individual. This routine will reinforce success.
For kids who struggle with haircuts or hair washing, breaking each task into smaller steps and reinforcing each one with praise or a preferred activity can create more success. With consistency, sensory brushing routines become less about struggle and more about connection.
Sensory-Friendly Hair Tool Recommendations
Zyllion Scalp Massager Brush(affiliate link)- Provides gentle vibration and deep pressure input that can help override tactile sensitivity.
Diane 100% Boar Soft Wave Brush (affiliate link)- Natural, soft bristles offer a smooth brushing experience and help reduce pulling.
Scalp Massager Shampoo Brush(affiliate link)- Silicone bristles gently stimulate the scalp and can be used during shampooing to support sensory regulation.
Wet Brush Original Detangler (affiliate link)- Flexible bristles reduce pulling and tension on the scalp, great for use after showers or with detangle spray.
Haircut Cape with Viewing Window(affiliate link)- A great tool for haircuts to reduce anxiety and support transitions. You can even take this to the hair salon or the barber shop for helping with hair cutting.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
We’ve created a sensory processing disorder checklist as a tool for sensory processing needs. Having resources like this sensory processing and self-regulation checklist will support sensory needs in individuals of all ages.
Sensory processing disorder is a condition where the brain misinterprets sensory information so that the body responds in atypical ways. Sensory processing disorder can be broken down into different categories, but one thing is clear: interpretation of sensory input is “off”.
Printable Sensory Processing Disorder Checklist
Below, you will find a list of common sensory responses that might be seen with sensory processing disorder. Use this sensory processing disorder checklist to better understand responses to sensory input. It will be helpful to read this sensory processing disorder chart to get a bigger picture on this umbrella term.
I see evidence of sensory processing challenges everywhere. Though not all of them should be classified as disorders. Sometimes it is ok to be a seeker or an avoider for our safety, wellbeing, career, or comfort. A person who is sensitive does not necessarily have a disorder until it affects their daily life. I do not like a lot of textures, however, I am functioning well in my day to day life.
Here are a few other examples of sensory red flags that are not damaging:
Certain athletes feel a drive to exercise. They must do it for their well being. Perhaps their arousal level is off, and exercise provides the modulation they need.
Football players love crashing and bumping. Is it possible they are sensory seekers, driven to engage in this sport?
Goldilocks had a hard time finding the right porridge, bed, and chair. Maybe she was sensitive to texture, taste and temperature. Eventually she found the right situation that suited her needs. She did not have a meltdown or shutdown in the process.
In The Old Hat, New Hat Book Papa Berenstain had a hard time finding the right hat. Too twisty, too twirly, too beady, too bumpy. In the end he decided on his familiar hat. This might be classified as a disorder if he “needed” a new hat and could not get one. We see this often with children having to get new shoes. Change is hard.
What professions can you see might be tactile seekers? Gardeners, artists, potters, masseuses, and chefs?
Who is likely to be avoiding stimuli when choosing their profession? People who choose to work at home, solitary workers, librarians, a spa manager, or an accountant?
Is it fair to say that people who choose high energy jobs are seekers or sensory integrated? Nurses, teachers, taxi drivers, OT/PTs? Maybe. Perhaps like me, they are not seekers or well integrated, but driven to help. I am exhausted mentally and physically at the end of the day. My profession is probably toxic for me, but important enough that I keep going.
When looking at all the red flags in diagnosing others, it is important to judge the impact the difficulty is having on life. This level of difficulty will determine who needs sensory processing treatment, who needs accommodations, and who is doing just fine.
The picky eater who lives on two foods and is not getting adequate nutrition is worth taking a look at. A child who is so sensitive to textures that he can not find anything to wear to school, or gets naked everyday in public, is struggling. The child whose meltdowns are so significant, they interfere with their daily life, needs some intervention.
In my career I have seen the whole spectrum of sensory processing difficulties. I have worked with children so impacted that it is a wonder they are surviving. On the other hand, I have evaluated children who are just quirky, not atypical. I remember trying to explain this to a parent. Her son was just quiet and introverted. He liked chess and robotics. He had a small social circle, but had friends and was doing well in school. Not everyone needs treatment or “fixing”. We all are not suited to be gardeners, football players, or electricians.
When looking at sensory difficulties, we need to focus our attention on the impact. This is why our goals are not often simply “improve sensory processing”. In the examples above with the picky eater and the child who will not wear clothes, the goals would focus on increasing food intake, and decreasing tactile aversion so the student can wear something to school.
Sensory Processing Disorder and Early Intervention
I talk a lot about education and early intervention. Help stem the flow of a problem before it gets too big. Educate large groups of people about a topic and treatment, so it can have a trickle down effect. One of the key factors in working with people is understanding. In my book, Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes, I spend time in each chapter helping the caregiver or recipient of the information understand what is happening with sensory struggles. I describe why your child may be screaming, kicking, refusing, or melting down in each setting. Then we look toward communication, treatment, and accommodation. It is available here on the OT Toolbox, in digital format or on Amazon (affiliate link) in print if you prefer.
Sensory processing Disorder Test
Using a sensory processing disorder checklist is just one step in completing a SPD test or assessment. It’s important to start somewhere and getting information from parents, educators, and others who know and love the child or individual is a key step in moving in the right direction with a sensory processing disorder evaluation. We want to see what’s really happening and what’s impacting function so the checklist portion is really important.
A checklist for sensory issues can be part of a screening tool. This gathers so much information and can really drive the evaluation process.
Other sensory processing assessment tools include observation, questionaries, and then the standardized assessment performed by an occupational therapist. The evaluating OT will use one of several sensory processing assessments to create a clinical picture that is part of the skilled evaluation process for SPD.
Sensory Processing Evaluations
Here are some of the most common evaluations that can be used to assess sensory processing. These sensory processing disorder tests do can be used along with other sources of information to get a bigger picture of what’s going on.
Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT)– This test is appropriate for children aged 4 months through 8 years, 11 months. It’s a very comprehensive assessment. The SIPT does require extensive training to administer.
Sensory Profile 2– This assessment is appropriate for birth-14 years, 11 months. It is a comprehensive evaluation and it has a school companion form for the child’s teacher to complete.
Sensory Processing Measure-2 (SPM-2)– This evaluation is appropriate for children aged 4 months-87 years. It is a quick assessment and it has a home and a school form that can be used for a comprehensive look at the child across environments.
Evaluation in Ayres Sensory Integration® (EASI)– This evaluation is appropriate for children aged 3 years through 12 years. It’s based on Ayres Sensory Integration® and it’s a very comprehensive eval. Examiners do need to be trained in order to do this evaluation.
Structured Observations of Sensory Integration (SOSI-M)– This assessment is appropriate for children aged 5 years to 14 years.
Here are a few other sensory processing assessments to be aware of:
Short Sensory Profile (SSP): 3–15 years
Sensory Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ 3.0): 5 months – 6 years
Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO): All ages
Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP): Adolescent and adult ages
Working in the sensory realm is difficult and confusing. There can be 1001 combinations of reasons a person is having difficulty, and just as many possible solutions. Once you find a solution, it may only work a handful of times. Broaden your OT Toolbox with treatment ideas, checklists, and resources.
Speaking of OT Toolbox, our website is packed with valuable resources. Yes you can go onto AI and get a quick answer, but it will not be full of resources, hands on activities, and fun!
With sensory processing disorder, input from each of the sensory systems can be interpreted by the brain in different ways. Kids can hyper-respond or overreact to sensory input. Or, they can hypo-respond, or under-react to sensory information.
Sensory processing disorder can be seen in children or on adults.
Sensory Processing Disorder Checklist
Putting it all together – Let’s look at all of the sensory systems in a list:
Visual System (Sight)
Auditory System (Sound)
Tactile System (Touch)
Gustatory System (Taste)
Olfactory System (Smell)
Proprioceptive System (Position in space)
Vestibular System (Movement)
Interoceptive System (Inner body)
Typically, sensory dysregulation within these three systems present in many different ways. A child with sensory difficulties may be over- or under-responsive to sensory input. They may operate on an unusually high or unusually low level of activity. They may fatigue easily during activity or may constantly be in motion. Children may fluctuate between responsiveness, activity levels, and energy levels.
Additionally, children with sensory processing differences typically present with other delays. Development of motor coordination, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social-emotional skills, behaviors, executive functioning skills, language, and learning are all at risk as a result of impaired sensory processing.
Sensory Processing Disorder Symptoms
It can be overwhelming when you start looking into various symptoms in sensory processing disorder. But if you are wondering about specific signs of SPD in your child, it can be helpful to have a comprehensive checklist of various areas that impact learning, play and functioning.
The comprehensive list of sensory signs and symptoms listed below are helpful to spot an issue in your child, but more so can help you pinpoint a starting point with helping your child so you can support their needs.
red Flags for Tactile Dysregulation
Tactile defensiveness, or what is sometimes described as tactile differences, refers to differences in how an individual experiences and responds to touch-based sensory input. This can include avoiding certain textures or, for some, actively seeking out tactile sensory experiences.
When we use terms like disabilities, dysregulation, differences, or challenges, or our goal is not to label an individual as having a deficiency or to pathologize sensory differences. Sometimes you may even hear the term dysfunction. When these terms are used, the goal is to describe sensory preferences and needs that may be impacting participation in everyday activities.
It is important to recognize that sensory processing is a spectrum of diverse experiences. Some sensory responses may create barriers to functional skills, such as self-care, play, or learning, not because there is something “wrong” with the person, but because their sensory system may require additional support or accommodations. Using this lens allows us to be neuro-affirming: we are not trying to “fix” or “normalize” an individual’s sensory experiences, but to understand and support their sensory needs so they can engage meaningfully in their environment.
Tactile defensiveness refers to avoidance of certain textures or the seeking out of tactile sensory input. These indicators can mean a sensory issue with the tactile sensory system.
Consider the sensory checklist based on the tactile system:
Hyper-responsiveness of the tactile sense may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to tactile sensation. This looks like:
Overly sensitivity to temperature including air, food, water, or objects
Avoidance to messy play or getting one’s hands dirty
Avoidance of finger painting, dirt, sand, bare feet on grass, etc.
Clothing preferences and avoidances such as resisting shoes or socks
Annoyance to clothing seams or clothing textures
Resistance to hair brushing
Over-reactive to unexpected touch
Overreactions to accidental or surprising light touches from others
Avoids affectionate touch such as hugs
Avoids washing hands at the sink
Difficulty with clothing fasteners like buttons, zippers, and belts
Challenges in the shower or bathtub with soap, washcloths preferences, and soap textures
Refuses to use glue
Hypo-responsiveness of the tactile sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or under-reaction to tactile sensation. This may look like:
Seeks out tactile sensory input
Bumps into others
High pain tolerance
Stuffs food in mouth
Licks items or own skin
Not aware of being touched
Seems unaware of light touch
Startles easily when touched
When getting dressed, doesn’t notice clothing that is twisted
Tendency for self-abusiveness: biting self, rubbing self with heavy pressure, head-banging, pinching self, etc.
Doesn’t notice a runny nose, messy face, or messy hands
Puts items in the mouth
Lack of personal space
Runs into other children without noticing
Has difficulty maintaining space in line; bumps into others without noticing
Falls out of chair
NEEDS to touch everything
Uses a tight pencil grip on the pencil
Writes with heavy pencil pressure
Tears paper when cutting with scissors
Unintentionally rough on siblings, other children, or pets
Always touching others or things
Seeks out messy play experiences
Prefers to rub or feel certain textures
Difficulty with fine motor tasks
Craves touch
Doesn’t seem to notice unexpected touch
Constantly playing in the soap or water at the sink
red Flags for Proprioception Dysfunciton
The Proprioception Sensory System is the recognition and response to the body’s position in space with an internal feedback system using the position in space of the joints, tendons, and muscles. This sensory system allows the body to automatically react to changes in force and pressure given body movements and object manipulation. The body receives more feedback from active muscles rather than passive muscle use. Related to the proprioception system is praxis or motor planning. Individuals are able to plan and execute motor tasks given feedback from the proprioceptive system. Praxis allows us to utilize sensory input from the senses and to coordinate hat information to move appropriately.
Hyper-responsiveness of the proprioception sense may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to proprioceptive sensation. This may include postural insecurity. This may look like:
Uses too little pressure when writing or coloring
Prefers soft or pureed foods
Appears lethargic
Bumps into people or objects
Poor posture, slumps in their seat
Poor handwriting
Inability to sit upright when writing or completing desk work; Rests with head down on arms while working
Challenged by clothing fasteners ( how much force to use with fastening buttons, zippers, and belts, or snaps)
Hypo-responsiveness of the proprioceptive sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or underreaction to proprioceptive sensation. This looks like:
Uses excessive pressure when writing or coloring
“Jumper and crasher”- seeks out sensory input
Can’t sleep without being hugged or held
Bumps into people or objects
Seems aggressive
Grinds teeth
Walks on toes
Chews on pencils, shirt, sleeve, toys, etc.
Prefers crunchy or chewy foods
Cracks knuckles
Breaks pencils or crayons when writing or coloring
Pinches, bites, kicks, or headbutts others
Difficulty with fine motor skills
Poor handwriting
Poor awareness of position-in-space
Stomps their feet on the ground when walking
Kicks their chair or their neighbors chair in the classroom
Frequent falling
Clumsiness
Poor balance
Constantly moving and fidgeting
Poor attention
Uses extreme force
Has unexpected bruises
Seeks out wrestling games
red Flags for Vestibular Differences
Vestibular dysregulation refers to differences in how an individual perceives and responds to movement, balance, and spatial orientation. This may look like avoidance of certain types of movement (such as swinging or climbing), or an increased need to seek out movement experiences (like constant spinning or jumping). When describing vestibular needs or sensitivities, it is important to approach this language with care. When we see red flags related to vestibular challenges, we can acknowledge that these sensory differences may affect a person’s comfort, safety, and ability to participate in daily activities.
Recognizing vestibular differences through this lens allows us to support each individual’s unique sensory profile without the goal of “correcting” or changing who they are. Instead, we aim to create environments, strategies, and opportunities that honor sensory needs and promote functional engagement. A neuro-affirming approach respects that sensory processing differences are part of human diversity, and that with the right supports, individuals can thrive in their own way.
The Vestibular Sensory System is the sense of movement and balance, and uses the receptors in the inner ear and allows the body to orient to position in space. The vestibular system is closely related to eye movements and coordination. Vestibular sensory input is a powerful tool in helping children with sensory needs. Adding a few vestibular activities to the day allows for long-lasting effects. Every individual requires vestibular sensory input in natural development. In fact, as infants we are exposed to vestibular input that promotes a natural and healthy development and integration of all systems.
Vestibular dysregulation and problems with the Vestibular Processing System can present as different ways:
Poor visual processing
Poor spatial awareness
Poor balance
Difficulty with bilateral integration
Sequencing deficits
Poor visual-motor skills
Poor constructional abilities
Poor discrimination of body position
Poor discrimination of movement
Poor equilibrium
Subtle difficulties discerning the orientation of head
Trouble negotiating action sequences
Hyper-responsiveness of the vestibular sense may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to vestibular sensation. This look may look like:
Experiences gravitational insecurity
Overly dizzy with motions
Resistant to moving activities such as swings, slides, elevators, or escalators
Fear of unstable surfaces
Unable to tolerate backward motions
Unable to tolerate side to side motions
Illness in moving vehicles
Avoids swings or slides
Gets motion sick easily
Appears “clingy”
Refuses to move from the ground (i.e. jumping or hopping activities)
Difficulty/fear of balance activities
Refusal to participate in gym class
Refusal to try playground equipment
Fearful on bleachers or on risers
Fear or dislike of riding in elevators or escalators
Fearful of movement
Dislike of spinning motions
Avoids chasing games
Overly fearful of heights
Nauseous when watching spinning objects
Poor posture
Easily fatigued
Poor coordination
Low muscle tone
Poor motor planning
Fearful when a teacher approaches or pushes in the child’s chair
Clumsiness
Poor attention
Difficulty or fearful on stairs
Fearful during situations of constant motion
Struggles or fearful on ladders
An extreme dislike of high places
Refuses to sit on or try a bike
Hypo-responsiveness of the vestibular sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or underreaction to vestibular sensation. This may look like:
Constant movement including jumping, spinning, rocking, climbing
Craves movement at fast intervals
Craves spinning, rocking, or rotary motions
Poor balance on uneven surfaces
Constantly fidgeting
Increased visual attention to spinning objects or overhead fans
Bolts or runs away in community or group settings, or when outdoors or in large open areas such as shopping malls
Difficulty maintaining sustained attention
Impulsive movement
Constantly getting up and down from desk in the classroom
Walks around when not supposed to (in the classroom, during meals, etc.)
Loves to be upside down
Head banging
Hypermobile or all over playground equipment
Leans chair back when seated at a desk
Loves spinning
Rocks self-back and forth when seated
Poor posture
Poor coordination
Poor motor planning
A deep need to keep moving in order to function
Frequent falling
Clumsiness
Poor balance
Poor attention
Always in constant motion
Prefers being in high places
Red Flags for Visual SYSTEM Dysregulation
Visual dysregulation refers to differences in how an individual processes and responds to visual input, such as light, movement, patterns, or cluttered environments. Some individuals may be more sensitive to bright lights, busy visuals, or fast-moving scenes, while others may seek out visual stimulation through watching spinning objects or moving their eyes in specific ways. When we use the term dysregulation to describe these sensory experiences, it is not to imply a problem or deficit, but to acknowledge that visual processing differences may influence an individual’s comfort, attention, and participation in everyday tasks.
Taking a neuro-affirming perspective, we recognize that sensory differences, including those in the visual system, are a natural part of human variation. Our goal is not to “normalize” visual responses but to support individuals by adapting environments, offering accommodations, and providing strategies that help them engage meaningfully in their world. By understanding and respecting visual sensory needs, we can better empower individuals to navigate their surroundings in ways that feel safe and supportive.
Eighty percent of the information we receive from our environment is visual. When perception of this information is not processed correctly, it can create an altered state that influences many areas: eye-hand coordination, postural reflexes, and vestibular processing are all influenced and reliant upon the visual system.
The visual system is the sensory system that most individuals rely upon most heavily for daily tasks. Visual information is perceived by cells in the back of the eye. These cells (rods and cones) relay and transfer light information into information that is transferred to the central nervous system. These photoreceptors are able to perceive day time vision and night time vision, with adjustments to sensitivity of light intensity. They are able to respond to different spectrum of color and differentiate color information. The rod and cone cells, along with the retina, process a great deal of visual information in the neural structure of the eye before transmitting information to the central nervous system.
The relay of information from the eyes to the central nervous system are made up of three pathways. Pathways project to different areas of the brain and allow for:
Processing and recognition of faces/shapes/motion (the “what” and “where” of objects)
Integration of information in order to coordinate posture and eye movements
Oculomotor adaptation.
Hyper-responsiveness of the visualsense may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to visual sensation. This may look like:
Complains of lights being too bright
Unable to tolerate certain lighting such as fluorescent overhead lights
Struggles with sudden changes in lighting
Challenged by bright or flashing lights
Colorful lights “hurt” the eyes
Complains of headaches in bright light
Complains of the “glow” of unnatural lighting
Distressed by light sources
Sensitive to light
Sensitive to certain colors
Distracted by cluttered spaces
Avoids eye contact
Trouble with puzzles
Frustration at the movies
Difficulty reading
Difficulty finding objects in a busy drawer
Hypo-responsiveness of the visual sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or underreaction to visual sensation. This looks like:
Attracted to spinning objects
Difficulty with visual perception
Difficulty with eye-hand coordination
Difficulty with reading and writing
Holds or presses hands on eyelids in order to see flashing lights
Squints or presses eyelids shut
Flaps hands or objects in front of eyes
Holds eyes at the movies
red Flags for Auditory SYSTEM Dysregulation
Auditory dysregulation refers to differences in how an individual perceives and responds to sounds in their environment. This may include heightened sensitivity to certain noises, difficulty filtering out background sounds, or a strong preference for certain auditory experiences. Some individuals may cover their ears, avoid noisy environments, or become overwhelmed in spaces with unpredictable sounds, while others may seek out calming or repetitive auditory input. When we use the term dysregulation in this context, it is not to suggest that there is something wrong with the person, but rather to acknowledge that their auditory processing needs may impact comfort and participation in daily life.
A neuro-affirming approach recognizes auditory processing as a diverse experience, not a flaw to be corrected. Our role is to honor and support each individual’s auditory needs by offering accommodations, adapting environments, and providing tools that help them engage in ways that feel safe and manageable. By understanding these sensory differences, we can foster inclusion and respect for all sensory profiles.
Receptors for the auditory system are located in the inner ear and are responsible for receiving vibration from sound waves and changing them to fluid movement energy. Information is projected to the central nervous system and transmits sound frequency as well as timing and intensity of sound input. The auditory system is integrated with somatosensory input in order to play a role in controlling orientation of the eyes, head, and body to sound.
Hyper-responsiveness of the auditorysense may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to auditory sensation. This may look like:
Startles easily to unexpected sounds
Dislikes noisy places
Overly sensitive to speakers on radios
Fearful of smoke detectors, overhead speakers
Shushes others or asks others to stop talking
Holds hands over ears
Sensitive to certain sounds such as lawnmowers or the hum of the refrigerator
Easily distracted by sounds and background noise
Hums to block out background noise
Hypo-responsiveness of the auditory sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or underreaction to auditory sensation. This looks like:
Seems to be unaware of sounds
Holds radio speakers up against ears
Doesn’t respond to alarms
Makes silly sounds at inappropriate times or frequently
Mimics sounds of others
Talks to self
Difficulty locating sounds, especially when in a noisy environment
Hums in order to hear the sound of humming
red Flags for Gustatory System Dysregulation
Gustatory dysregulation refers to differences in how an individual experiences and responds to taste and oral sensory input. This can include strong preferences or aversions to certain flavors, temperatures, or textures of foods and drinks. Some individuals may seek out intense flavors like spicy or sour foods, while others may avoid specific textures or have a very limited range of preferred foods. When we use the term dysregulation in this context, it is not intended to pathologize sensory preferences, but to describe how these differences may influence eating habits, nutritional intake, and participation in mealtime routines.
Viewing gustatory processing through a neuro-affirming lens allows us to respect individual sensory needs and preferences without the goal of “fixing” them. Instead, the focus is on understanding how these sensory differences impact daily life and finding supportive strategies to promote positive mealtime experiences. This might include offering a variety of sensory-friendly food options, gradually expanding food exploration in a safe and supportive way, and working collaboratively with families to honor each child’s unique sensory profile.
The gustatory system perceives input through the tongue. Taste cells in the mouth perceive five sensations: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and savory. The gustatory system is closely related to the sense of smell and proprioception. How we perceive taste is deeply influenced by the sense of smell.
While many children with sensory needs have a tendency to chew on their shirt collars or pencils as a sensory strategy in order to seek proprioception needs, the behavior may occur as a result or as a reaction to under-responding to oral input. Other children may seek out intense taste sensations and in that case put non-edible items into their mouth to satisfy that sensory need. Still other children may over-respond or under-respond to certain flavors or taste sensations. For those children, it is common to experience food refusal related to texture or taste.
Hypersensitivity to oral sensory input may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to gustatory sensation. This looks like:
Dislike of mixed textures (cereal in milk or chunky soup)
Avoids temperature extremes (unable to tolerate hot or cold foods)
Prefers foods that do not touch or mix on their plate
Use of only a specific spoon or fork or no utensil at all
Intolerance to teeth brushing.
Anxiety or gagging when presented with new foods
Drooling
Hypo-responsiveness of the gustatory sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or underreaction to gustatory sensation. This may look like:
Licking objects
Bites others
Chews on clothing
Hums all the time
Prefers a vibrating toothbrush
Prefers spicy foods
Stuffs food into cheeks
Prefers food very hot or very cold temperature
red Flags for Olfactory System Dysregulation
Olfactory dysregulation refers to differences in how an individual perceives and responds to smells in their environment. Some individuals may be highly sensitive to certain scents and may become overwhelmed, nauseous, or distressed by everyday smells such as perfumes, cleaning products, or certain foods. Others may seek out strong or specific scents as a way to self-regulate. Using the term dysregulation here is not meant to label these sensory responses as a problem, but to acknowledge that olfactory processing differences can affect comfort, attention, and participation in daily routines.
A neuro-affirming perspective recognizes that variations in how we experience smells are part of natural sensory diversity. The goal is not to eliminate these differences, but to provide support that respects individual needs. This might include adapting environments to minimize triggering scents, offering preferred calming smells, and helping individuals develop strategies to navigate scent-rich settings more comfortably. By understanding and honoring olfactory sensory needs, we can foster more inclusive and supportive environments.
The olfactory system, or the system that enables the sense of smell, has receptors in the tissue of the nose that are connected by pathways to the brain. Connections occur via two pathways, one being a direct route to neurons in the brains and the second being a path that passes near the roof of the mouth. This channel is connected to the taste of foods.
There is some evidence indicating that the sense of smell is more associated with memory than the sense of vision or the other senses. The connection of the olfactory sense to the emotional part of the brain and previous experiences, as well as hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to smells can cause anxiety or sensory related breakdowns in children with sensory processing difficulties.
Hyper-responsiveness of the olfactorysense may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to olfactory sensation. This may look like:
Overly sensitive to smells
Notices smells others don’t
Anxious around certain smells
Holds nose in response to certain scents
Challenged in the shower or bathtub, with overwhelming preferences and disliking certain scents
Hypo-responsiveness of the olfactory sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or underreaction to olfactory sensation. This may look like:
Smells unusual items like paper or certain materials
Prefers strong scents
Red Flags for Interoceptive System Dysregulation
Interoceptive dysregulation refers to differences in how an individual perceives and interprets internal body signals, such as hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain, temperature, or the need to use the bathroom. Some individuals may have difficulty recognizing or responding to these signals, while others may experience them as overwhelming or confusing. When we describe interoceptive dysregulation, it is not to suggest a deficit or problem within the individual, but to acknowledge that these sensory differences can impact self-awareness, self-care, emotional regulation, and participation in everyday routines.
A neuro-affirming approach respects that interoceptive experiences vary widely among individuals and are a natural part of sensory diversity. Rather than aiming to “correct” these differences, the goal is to provide support and tools that help individuals better understand and respond to their internal cues in a way that feels right for them. This may include using visual supports, developing body awareness activities, or building self-advocacy skills. By honoring interoceptive needs, we can help foster greater comfort, autonomy, and engagement in daily life.
The interoceptive sensory system is an area that most people are not as familiar with. This system is connected to amygdala, the emotional system, the limbic system, our emotional awareness, our feelings, and subconscious arousal. Receptors for the interoceptive system are in our organs and skin. The receptors relay information regarding feelings such as hunger, thirst, heart rate, and digestion to the brain. This is the foundation to sensations such as mood, responding to the moods and emotions of others (co-regulation), emotions, aggression, excitement, and fear and in turn, promotes the physical response of our bodies.
Physical responses include functions such as hunger, thirst, feelings, digestion, heart rate, and body temperature.
Hyper-responsiveness of the interoceptivesense may present in a child as over-responsiveness or overreaction to interoceptive sensation. This may look like:
High pain tolerance
Distracted and overwhelmed by feelings of stress
Distracted or overly sensitive to sensations of stomach digestion
Distracted or overly sensitive to sensation of heart beat
Always hungry or thirsty
Eat more and more often to avoid feelings of hunger
Unable to sense the feeling of being full; overeats or overdrinks
Overwhelmed by feelings of sadness, anger, happiness, etc. and unable to respond appropriately
High urine output
Use the bathroom more often than necessary to avoid feelings of a full bladder or bowel
Distracted by changes in body temperature
Distracted and overly sensitive to sweating
Overly sensitive to feeling ticklish or itchy
Overly sensitive to cold or heat
Overly sensitive to signs of illness
Fearful of vomiting
Hypo-responsiveness of the interoceptive sense may present in a child as under-responsiveness or underreaction to interoceptive sensation. This may look like:
Low pain tolerance
Poor or low response to interoceptive stimuli
Doesn’t know when to go to the bathroom
Never says they are hungry or thirsty
Does not drink or eat enough
Difficult to toilet train
Never complains of being cold or hot (always wears shorts in the winter or pants in the summer)
Never complains of sickness
Difficulty falling asleep
Unable to identify feelings of stress
Unable to identify specific feelings and appropriate responses
Sensory Checklists, explained
There is a lot to think about here, right? Taking a giant list of common sensory processing disorder lists and knowing what to do with that list is complicated. What if you had strategies to address each sensory system’s over-responsiveness or under-responsiveness so you could come up with a sensory diet that helps kids function?
Sensory processing is broken down by sensory system so you can understand what you are seeing in the sensory responses listed above. Then, you can use the lists of sensory activities to help the child complete functional tasks while they get the sensory input they need to focus, organize themselves, and function.
The sensory activities are presented as meaningful and motivating tasks that are based on the child’s interests, making them motivating and meaningful.
You can get the Sensory Lifestyle Handbook and start building a sensory diet that becomes an integrated part of each day’s daily tasks, like getting dressed, completing household chores, school work, community interaction, and more.
In young children, sensory issues can present leading to the early intervention process. Having a sensory processing disorder checklist on hand can help relieve some of the questions parents have about development and whether a behavior or action is typical or not.
Characteristics of sensory issues show up during these young years. You may see frustration or meltdowns due to unexpected touch.
You may identify tactile defensiveness even in the infant years when babies pull away from heavy input of a cuddle or wrapped blanket. You may notice sensory preferences in the way of seeking out a pacifier for comfort (long beyond the typical pacifier stage). You may even identify distress with certain aspects of sensory input as listed in the sensory processing checklists above.
A few helpful resources are listed below:
Meltdowns– This blog post covers temper tantrums verses sensory meltdowns.
Sensory integration at the playground – Exploring different sensory input areas at the playground can help identify sensory challenges in young children.
A Final Note on Examples of Sensory Processing Dysregulation
This extensive list of sensory red flags is meant to act as an educational tool for parents, educators of children.
As occupational therapists, we strive to support children and their “team” of parents, caregivers, family, and educators with resources and information that will serve the individual child so that they can function in everyday life tasks.
The purpose of this sensory processing disorder checklist is to help parents and professionals who interact with children become educated about particular signs of sensory processing differences.
A checklist is not to be used as the absolute diagnostic criteria for labeling children with sensory processing disorder. It is simply a resource to be used as a starting point when identifying distress symptoms to explore further.
If you have difficulty understanding your child’s sensory preferences, sensory avoidances, use this sensory processing disorder checklist as a starting point and reach out to a pediatrician and pediatric occupational therapist.
For a comprehensive look at sensory processing throughout every day activities, try our Sensory Lifestyle Handbook.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
Summer camp is an exciting experience for most kids, but what if you could create a custom sensory summer camp that supports sensory processing for all needs? Summer is a time of learning, fun, and new adventures over the lazy days of summer. Summer camp in the traditional sense is a time of themed activities that build character for a child.
However, it’s not always possible to sign up for a week of summer camp. Summer camp is expensive. Parents work or have busy schedules that make a week-long summer camp just not feasible. A backyard DIY summer camp experience is a way to save money while creating a summer learning experiences right in the backyard.
Be sure to check out this resource on how to run a therapy camp for tips and strategies with sensory summer camp planning.
Also be sure to check out the resource we’ve added to our shop: Create Your Own Summer Camp Side-Business. This is a printable workbook that walks you through every step of setting up a paid Summer Camp. You can use this process for year-round paid playgroups, handwriting tutoring, or any themed group.
The Summer Camp & Tutoring Side Business Workbook gives you everything you need to plan, price, and launch your own skill-based program, perfect for OTs, PTs, and SLPs who want to use their expertise in a fun, flexible way.
Sensory Summer Camp
One great addition to a sensory summer camp is our free summer sensory path! It’s a free sensory printable you can hang on a wall to add sensory motor, mindfulness, and sensory coping tools with a summer theme.
I’m joining several other bloggers who write about sensory processing ina Sensory Summer Camp at Home backyard summer camp experience.
Scroll through the links below to find enough sensory summer camp themes and ideas to last all summer long. You’ll find themed activities touching on all of the sensory systems to create an environment of learning through the senses.
Looking for a sensory camp that supports specific needs? No worries! The activities below support and challenge sensory touch!
You can find so many summer sensory activities here on the website to address various sensory motor considerations.
Specifically, these summer occupational therapy activities support development of skills across the board while focusing on the primary job of kids: play!
These sensory summer camp experiences are perfect for the child who craves or resists sensory input and can be modified to meet the needs of every child with sensory processing disorder. While these sensory summer camp ideas are perfect for kids with sensory processing disorder, they can easily be used in traditional summer camps. So, take a look at each of the camp themes below and get ready for a summer of sensory fun and memories!
Looking for activities and ideas to use in summer programming? You’ll love our new Summer Occupational Therapy Activities Packet. It’s a collection of 14 items that guide summer programming at home, at school, and in therapy sessions. The summer activities bundle covers handwriting, visual perceptual skills and visual motor skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, regulation, and more.
You’ll find ideas to use in virtual therapy sessions and to send home as home activities that build skills and power development with a fun, summer theme. Kids will love the Summer Spot It! game, the puzzles, handouts, and movement activities. Therapists will love the teletherapy slide deck and the easy, ready-to-go activities to slot into OT sessions. The packet is only $10.00 and can be used over and over again for every student/client!
Hole Punch Cards for matching upper case and lower case letters
7 Roll and Write Play Dough Sheets – Apples, Bees, Bugs, Buttons, Donuts, Play Dough, and Unicorn themes
Summer Fun Pencil Control Strips
Summer Lists Writing Prompts
Summer Number Practice
Summer Visual Perception Pages
All of the Summer OT activities include ideas to promote various developmental areas with a Summer-theme. Activities guide and challenge development of handwriting, eye-hand coordination, bilateral coordination, body scheme, oculomotor control, visual perception, fine motor skills, self-regulation, gross motor skills, and more.
Use these activities as warm-ups to your therapy sessions, or add them to the homework page below to create a home program.
Occupational Therapy Summer Camp
I love the play-based sensory and motor activities in the summer camp ideas listed below. Each would be a great summer camp theme for using in an occupational therapy summer camp.
OT professionals know the power of play. But occupational therapy supports development, and while a traditional occupational therapy summer camp may not be an individualized process, there is still skill development happening even in a group setting.
An occupational therapy summer camp can focus on an area of function: sensory play experiences, handwriting, shoe tying, use of typing programs, or social emotional skills. The sky is the limit this summer when it comes to OT camps as a tool and resource for kids and parents.
However, because an OT camp might not be focused on individual needs and goals of the camp participant, a summer occupational therapy camp can integrate play, sensory experiences, and any summer theme you can imagine.
These summer sensory camp ideas below can get you started with brainstorming:
What’s next? Actually taking the steps to create your own Summer side-gig! If you’re ready to take the leap and turn your camp idea into something real, the Summer Camp & Tutoring Side Business Workbook is your perfect next step. Created specifically for OT, PT, and SLP professionals, this printable guide walks you through everything you need to set up and run your own skill-based summer program. It walks you through everything you need to know about this process, from planning and pricing to registration forms, waivers, and activity templates.
Whether you’re thinking about a handwriting bootcamp, sensory playgroup, or life skills club, this workbook helps you put your ideas into action, on your schedule, with your expertise, and without the overwhelm.
This workbook was inspired by my own experience starting a sensory playgroup while juggling work and mom life. I built it on my own terms, brought my kids along, and created fun, meaningful experiences that supported real skill development, and made extra income while doing it.
…and everything you need to confidently launch a camp, playgroup, or tutoring program this summer.
Whether you want to run handwriting bootcamps, sensory skill groups, or one-on-one sessions, you don’t need a full course or new certification. You just need a starting point. This is it.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook walks you through sensory processing information, each step of creating a meaningful and motivating sensory diet, that is guided by the individual’s personal interests and preferences.
The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is not just about creating a sensory diet to meet sensory processing needs. This handbook is your key to creating an active and thriving lifestyle based on a deep understanding of sensory processing.
If you are an occupational therapist like me, then you know the power of using play tunnels in an occupational therapy obstacle course. The heavy work input provided by crawling through a tunnel is unmatched, especially when we use it as a warm up to fine motor tasks or functional activities.
Let me explain…
How Play Tunnels Help Kids
Play tunnels are one of the best tools for therapy as you can work on so many skills if you just put a little creativity into it. Tunnel activities simply invite kiddo fun and engagement while working on very important skill development across a spectrum of areas. You can use fabric tunnels or nylon, pop-up tunnels depending on the skills you want to address with tunnel play. With a little imagination you can build your own DIY tunnels too!
Tunnel for Occupational Therapy
There is a reason why OTs love using tunnels in occupational therapy sessions!
Keep reading to get some play tunnel ideas using different materials. For home-based therapists, DIY tunnels are a great tool for families to use in the home environment providing an opportunity for a fun and easy to implement home-based program. Some of these tunnel activities for babies and tunnel activities for toddlers can be used to address specific needs through play.
They also like to use tunnels for sensory needs such as vestibular and proprioceptive input. In the simplest of terms, the vestibular sense is known as the movement sense telling us where our body is in space, while the proprioceptive sense is known as the deep pressure sense telling us the direction, speed, and extent of our body movement in space.
These senses are important to help a child develop balance, body awareness, understand the position of their body in space as well as knowing how much speed and pressure their bodies are exerting when completing an activity or moving within their environment.
Adding a play tunnel into sensory diet activities to meet a variety of needs. It’s an easy way to encourage sensory input in the school environment, home, or clinic.
So, you may be asking, how can
children gather vestibular input from tunnel time activities? You can have
children roll within the tunnel, perform various body movements such as forward
and backward crawling, balancing on all fours while simply crawling through the
tunnel, slither on their backs, or have them crawl in the tunnel placed on top
of cushions and pillows.
These activities are great for supporting the development of crawling in babies and toddlers, especially because we end up seeing challenges down the road for kids that skip crawling. Here’s what an OT has to say about types of crawling.
Proprioceptive input can be obtained while the child is bearing weight on the upper and lower extremities during crawling providing input to the joints and muscles. They can push objects through the tunnel such as large therapy balls or large pillows, army crawl through the tunnel, and shaking the tunnel while child is inside can provide valuable proprioceptive input.
By using a play tunnel to address proprioception to improve body awareness, the proprioceptive sense allows us to position our bodies just so in order to enable our hands, eyes, ears, and other parts to perform actions or jobs at any given moment. Proprioception activities help with body awareness. Using a fabric tunnel that is snug against the body can provide good input which can also have a calming effect for some children.
Play tunnel activities
When using a tunnel, you can work on
other skills that address multiple areas for children. Try some of these fun
tunnel time activities:
Play Connect Four with pieces on one end and the game played on the other end.
Assemble puzzles with pieces on one end and then transported through the tunnel to the other end.
Clothespins attached on end to transport and place on the other end. You can use clothespins with letters to spell words.
Push a large ball or pillow through the tunnel.
Crawl backwards from one end to the other.
Slither through the tunnel (rocking body left and right) to get from one end to the other.
Scoot through the tunnel using hands and feet or even crab walk through the tunnel.
Recall letters, shapes, or words from one end and highlight on paper at the other end.
Recall a series of steps to complete a task at the other end.
Blow a cotton ball or pom-pom ball through the tunnel. Kids love this to see how many they can blow in a timed fashion.
With pennies on one end, have child transport them to the other end to insert into a bank. You can even give them the pennies at end of the session if you want.
Push a car through the tunnel to drive it and park it at the other end.
Build a Lego structure by obtaining blocks at one end of the tunnel and transporting to the other end to build.
Intermittently crawl through the tunnel and lie within one end to work on a drawing or handwriting activity. This is just a different and motivating way to encourage handwriting practice.
Crawl over pillows or cushions placed inside or outside of the tunnel.
Use a flashlight and crawl through the tunnel gathering specific beads that have been placed inside to string at the other end of the tunnel. You could work on spelling words with letter beads or simply just string regular beads.
Place Mat Man body pieces at one end and have child obtain pieces per verbal directive and then crawl through the tunnel to build at the other end.
tunnel activities for preschoolers
Ok, so for the preschool age range, let’s come up with tunnel activities for preschoolers that support development at this stage.
Crawl through a tunnel while holding a puzzle piece like a letter from an alphabet puzzle. Then they can place the puzzle piece in the puzzle when they get through the tunnel.
Set up an obstacle course with tunnels to crawl through
Crawl through a tunnel to match objects or sort colors. I like using blocks to sort into baskets.
Pretend the tunnel is a cave or secret hideout during imaginative play.
tunnel activity for toddlers
Next up are some of my favorite tunnel activities for toddlers. These also help to support development at the toddler stage.
Crawl through a fabric or pop-up tunnel
Push a toy car or ball through a tunnel
Play peek-a-boo at each end of the tunnel
Roll a ball back and forth through the tunnel
Crawl to retrieve objects placed inside the tunnel. I like to pair this idea with our ball in a muffin tin activity.
Next, I want to share some DIY play tunnel ideas because as occupational therapists, we are always coming up with fun play ideas using everyday materials!
DIY Play TUnnel Ideas
So, as mentioned previously, what if
you don’t have a tunnel or you want to create one within a home for developing
a home-based program? Well, make one! How can you do this? Read on for a few
fun ideas.
Create a tunnel by crawling under tables or chairs.
Create a tunnel in the hallway with use of pool noodles. Bend them over in an arch to fit or simply cut them down to size to slide directly between the walls.
Use large foam connecting mats and assemble a tunnel.
Use tape or yarn and string to alternating walls down a hallway to crawl under.
Use sturdy pieces of foam board positioned or connected together to make a tunnel.
Use an elongated cardboard box. Sometimes you can get large boxes at an appliance, hardware, or retail store.
Stretch a sheet or blanket over furniture and crawl.
Simply place a sheet or blanket on the floor and have child crawl under it (a heavier blanket works well).
Place a therapy mat inside a series of hula hoops.
Use PVC pipe to build a tunnel. Add sensory items to the PVC frame to create a fun sensory element to the crawling experience. One such tunnel was built by my wonderful fieldwork student, Huldah Queen, COTA/L in 2016. See the picture below.
Sew a fabric tunnel (if you have that skill).
Use pop up clothes hampers connected together after cutting out the bottoms.
Simulate tunnel crawling with simple animal walks or moves.
Tunnel activities can facilitate
child engagement while providing an optimal skill development setting. Tunnel time can address gross motor and
sensory needs while also incorporating other activities making tunnel time a
skill building powerhouse tool. Incorporate fun fine motor and visual motor
activities to make tunnel time a “want to do” activity every time!
Regina Parsons-Allen is a school-based certified occupational therapy assistant. She has a pediatrics practice area of emphasis from the NBCOT. She graduated from the OTA program at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, North Carolina with an A.A.S degree in occupational therapy assistant. She has been practicing occupational therapy in the same school district for 20 years. She loves her children, husband, OT, working with children and teaching Sunday school. She is passionate about engaging, empowering, and enabling children to reach their maximum potential in ALL of their occupations as well assuring them that God loves them!
Here you’ll discover how to create a sensory diet through information on sensory diets as well as a powerful resource to set up and establish an effective sensory diet lifestyle that works for kids. We’ve shared a lot of information about creating a sensory diet. There is a valid reason. Besides the growing need for sensory support for kids with sensory processing disorder or sensory challenges, there is a real need for parents and teachers to understand exactly what a sensory diet is and how it can help address sensory needs.
We’ll get into the steps to create a sensory diet below. Let’s first talk about how and why we need to make sensory diets.
The tips below are strategies for creating a sensory diet that can be effective and helpful in enabling a successful sensory lifestyle. Understanding how does a sensory diet help is many times, the first step in addressing sensory related needs!
Sensory diets can change the self regulation level that one is at, whether that be overstimulated and overwhelmed by the environment and internal state, or needing to become more alert. Sensory diet strategies can support these needs in any environment.
How to Create a Sensory Diet
Whether you are wondering exactly what a sensory diet entails or why a sensory diet can be effective in addressing underlying sensory needs, knowing how to create a sensory diet using the tools a child needs is essential.
Below, you’ll find answers to questions about how to create a sensory diet and what exactly a sensory diet is. If you are wondering how does a sensory diet work, then read on!
You can make a sensory diet in any space. Read our blog posts about creating a sensory diet on a budget and calm down corners for more information on creating a sensory diet in a specific space in the school environment.
What is a sensory diet?
First, it can be helpful to explain exactly what a sensory diet is. A sensory diet is a specific set of sensory activities designed to meet specific needs of the individual. Creation of a sensory diet requires assessment and trial followed by analysis and continued monitoring of strategies and their effectiveness.
An occupational therapist named Patricia Wilbarger came up with the term sensory diet to describe the brain’s need for more sensory-motor input from the various sensory systems. Just like our body requires a nutritional diet of healthy foods, the sensory diet is designed to support a person’s sensory needs.
One thing that is important to remember is that without adequate and appropriate sensory input, or sensory input that isn’t registered correctly, we can have sensory deprivation or we can feel out of sorts. It’s hard to be alert and attentive when this happens! That means that learning, participating in social situations, and functioning in everyday tasks can be difficult.
Studies support the use of active participation in multi-sensory activities for at least 90 minutes per week to improve occupational performance and autism symptoms and behaviors (Fazlioglu & Baran, 2008; Thompson, 2011; Woo & Leon, 2013; Wuang, Wang, Huang, & Su 2010).
Children who have a toolbox of sensory activities available to them for daily use may benefit from prescribed sensory activities. A sensory-based strategy guide can help.
Sensory diets are a commonly known strategy for addressing sensory needs. The term “sensory diet” was coined by Patricia Wilbarger in 1984 to explain how certain sensory experiences can improve occupational performance and help to remediate disruption of the sensory processing systems. A sensory diet is a means to adjust sensory input in relation to an individual’s needs.
Remember that each and every person has their own specific needs. Some of us like a heavy blanket laying on us when we sleep. Others prefer a light and airy sheet as a bed covering. This sensory preference is just one example in one part of the day, and one specific daily occupation that describes different sensory preferences. Another way to put it is to call these preferences a sensory need. We each have different needs when it comes to the tactile, motor, tastes, smells, etc. that allow us to function.
Similarly, a sensory diet designed to support regulation and sensory processing will be different for every individual. It can be considered a formula that allows each individual to process input and function during their day.
Sensory diets can include various sensory strategies and supports that help the individual to regulate. Some additional movements, or activities can include:
A sensory diet is a meaningful set of strategies for developing sensory programs that are practical, carefully scheduled, and controlled in order to affect functioning. Sensory diet activities provide appropriate sensory input based on the needs of an individual.
Just as a healthy diet consists of a variety of foods, a sensory diet is a balanced set of sensory information that allows an individual to function. A person cannot survive on broccoli alone. Similarly, a child cannot function with only one type of sensory activities.
Why Create a sensory diet?
There are many reasons why a sensory diet should be used to support specific needs. This resource covers the goals of a sensory diet.
Sensory diets are effective for addressing many sensory-related behaviors. Just a few reasons for using a sensory diet may include:
Emotional overreaction
Meltdowns
Aggression
Hyper-attention
Difficulty with transitions
Inattention
Sleep issues
Impulsivity
Sensory-seeking behaviors
Sensory-resisting behaviors
Resistance to textures/food/clothing
Poor social Interactions
This blog post on sensory processing includes a sensory processing disorder checklist that covers many reasons and reactions that can be impacted by sensory needs.
Make a Sensory Diet Template
This next section of this article covers a sensory diet template, which is a helpful tool for creating sensory diets. However, remember that we discussed above how everyone’s needs are different and that each sensory diet will be unique to the individual.
A sensory diet template is helpful in strategizing and getting started with sensory diet creation. But it should be used as just that, a tool!
Every one of us will have a unique sensory diet formula depending on preferences, processing, needs, and environment. One important piece of the sensory diet puzzle is the successful implementation of strategies. This is the part of actually using sensory activities, brain break, movement activities, calm down corners, sensory tools, etc.
We’ll go into how this looks in more detail below, but it’s important to remember that the sensory diet template plays a big role. Actually scheduling strategies and implementing them into day to day tasks is part of the sensory lifestyle.
There is more to a sensory diet than applying sensory input or encouraging a child to participate in sensory play activities. Knowing how and why a sensory diet should be created is essential to success, safety, and carryover of sensory strategies.
As individuals, we tend to choose activities and experiences that are pleasurable. We enjoy snuggling up under a thick blanket at the end of the day. We tend to shy away from unpleasant sensations such as a static shock that happens every time we use that certain blanket.
Likewise, some of us are thrill seekers and enjoy experiences like jumping from airplanes or bungee jumping. Others like to stay firmly on the ground and play it safe when it comes to leisure activities.
Similarly, our clients or children who struggle with sensory processing can present with different preferences, as discussed in The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook.
Steps to Create a Sensory Diet
The biggest thing I can say when making a sensory diet for a client or individual is to observe, observe, observe! Occupational therapy practitioners are very skilled at this observation piece. And the observation will make all the difference in whether a sensory diet actually serves its purpose or not.
When we make a sensory diet, especially for the pediatric population, we need to observe what works for that individual, what doesn’t work, and what kind of supports support or compromise functioning. Then there is the environment, the others involved in a functional task, and many other considerations. All of this requires observation.
The key to successful integration of a sensory diet is ensuring the clinical strategizing and application are fit into the specific needs of the individual. However, combining the needs of an individual with interests and preference along with application of specific steps ensures successful creation of a sensory diet.
There are specific steps to creating a sensory diet. Let’s go through the process:
Analyze/Identify
Strategize
Sensory Diet Template/ Apply Sensory Strategies
Monitor
Step 1: Analyze/Identify- The first level in creation of a sensory diet requires identification of sensory related behaviors, attention issues related to impaired sensory input, challenges with focus or emotional regulation as a result of sensory needs, or meltdowns that impair functioning.
This level of sensory diet creation requires assessment and identification of each challenging issue. Sensory behaviors should be identified and charted. This includes jotting down when specific behaviors occur, the setting where meltdowns occur, and antecedent to the behavior.
Make detailed notes that describe the action, the environment, the disabilities, and the impact on function, safety, learning, social participation, etc. When taking the time to analyze sensory impact on function, it’s important to look for issues that may be impacting the individual’s functional performance.
Make notes on things such as:
Actions/behaviors- how is the individual responding in situations?
Environment- where is the situation occurring
Timing- when does the behavior occurring? What happens just before the behavior or actions?
Co-existing considerations- what else is occurring during the behavior or action?
Sensory related issues can be charted in a methodological manner or they can simply be written down on a scrap paper. The point is to identify the issues through analyzation and to record them.
Identifying sensory needs when beginning the sensory diet process is much like keeping track of a food diary or sleep diary. In these situations, you’ll also want to mark down every detail including how one is feeling emotionally, physically, and other considerations. Just like these types of diaries help to identify what is really going on in a food diet, a sensory diary can help to support and identify needs for creating a sensory diet.
The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook contains printable data collection forms that can be used to analyze and identify sensory-related actions, behaviors, and resulting issues.
After sensory-related differences that impact function is identified, the reason behind the behaviors should be described.
Step 2: Strategize/Reasoning- The next level in creating a sensory diet involves identifying the “why” behind the behaviors. Think about why the individual may be responding, or reacting to sensory input or environmental input in the way that they are. Can you come up with rationale that describes actions?
Ask yourself questions to strategize on the “why” behind sensory-related behaviors:
Is it an unmet sensory need that causes a child to bolt down the hallway?
Is the reason the child chews on all of their clothes because they need more proprioceptive input?
Did the child not get enough sleep?
Is the routine off?
Was a transition done without warning or preparation?
Was the individual at a level of stress?
Use this information to come up with predictions and opportunities to support the individual with specific accommodations or modifications to the environment.
In The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook, you will find printable sensory-based behavior screening tools that can be used to identify the underlying sensory needs leading to a behavior or action.
Additionally, resources in the book allow for strategizing to address existing sensory challenges for an individual. The best part is that the pages can be printed off and used over and over again for a single individual or for many individuals.
Step 3: Create a Sensory Diet Template and Apply/Trial Various Sensory Strategies- In this stage of sensory diet development, strategies need to be trialed for effectiveness within the lifestyle of the child and family. Sensory strategies need to be incorporated as indicated across a variety of settings, based on various sensory needs as they change throughout the day.
Scheduling sensory diet strategies is an important step. If a box of sensory supplies is offered, but no schedule put into place, the sensory diet immediately is set up for failure.
Each strategy should be assessed for effectiveness. A simple checklist can be completed in the classroom or at home. When a sensory strategy is determined to work, that activity can be added to the child’s sensory diet.
If a particular sensory activity is determined to be ineffective, return to level one.
Remember that this part of the sensory diet creation process is very fluid! There will be trials, adjustments, periods of re-trialing, and monitoring. It can seem like this stage goes on and on! The thing to remember is to persist and don’t give up!
As adults who work with or raise children, we know the fluidity of childhood. Needs, strengths, interests, environment, and other areas can change as a child develops and grows. In the same manner, a sensory diet needs fluidity. Applying various strategies at different levels of growth in a child is a must. It must be said that a sensory diet for adults is just as powerful for the teen or adult with sensory needs.
Readers of The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook will find the Sensory Diet Schedule in the Addendum of the book to be a useful tool in creating a checklist for sensory diet activities. This is another series of printable pages that can be utilized over and over again as needed.
Step 4: Monitor- At this stage in development of a sensory diet, strategies should be monitored for effectiveness. Strategies should be monitored on a frequent basis with regard to effectiveness. As part of the monitoring process, a subjective assessment can be completed by adults who oversee the child’s sensory diet strategies.
Additionally, carryover of sensory strategies must be monitored. A list of prescribed activities that are not completed because they require exhaustive effort are not an effective strategy within the life of a family.
Carryover of sensory strategies is extremely important in both the home and in the classroom. If activities are not able to be carried out, then a different sensory strategy should be incorporated into the child’s sensory diet.
When using The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook to create and monitor sensory diets, users will find the Daily Sensory Diet Sheet and the Sensory Diet Schedule to be effective tools for carryover and monitoring strategies.
Use the Sensory Diet Effectiveness Tool, found in the Addendum of this book, to monitor sensory diet results and strategies. This form should be completed after a sensory diet has been in effect for two weeks.
If creating a sensory diet and turning it into a sensory lifestyle sounds like a strategy that is needed in your home, classroom, or clinic, then The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is a tool that you may need to get there! Check out more on The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook HERE.
The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is a strategy guide for sensory processing needs. With valuable insight into the sensory system and the whole child, the book details how sensory diets can be incorporated into a lifestyle of sensory success.
The tools in this book provide intervention strategies to support and challenge the sensory systems through meaningful and authentic sensory diet tactics based on the environment, interests, and sensory needs of each individual child.
So often, we hear that sensory recommendations are not carried over into the home or classroom. The tips and tools in The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook uses child-led interests and daily life interactions so kids WANT to participate in sensory diet activities their bodies need…because it’s part of play!
A sensory diet is an important strategy and tool to support learning needs in the classroom environment. Here is a resource on creating sensory diets for the classroom.
Occupational therapists can be a great resource for sensory diets that flow from the home to the school environment.
In fact, using a set of sensory diet cards as a resource where the student pulls various sensory supports to use at specific times or during transitions in the classroom can be very helpful.
The best type of sensory diet utilizes sensory aspects of everyday functional tasks within the activity as it occurs. This is covered specifically in the Sensory Lifestyle Handbook. But consider this: if one is outside or in the home and needs to address regulation needs, using activities and everyday objects is ideal. These backyard sensory diet strategies is one way to incorporate the outdoors into sensory needs.
Related, a sensory diet can include recess activities as a tool to support emotional or sensory regulation needs. This resource on recess sensory diets covers this concept in more detail. Running on a blacktop surface at recess, playing with hula hoops, balls, or building blocks at a key part of the day is scheduled into the students’ schedules every day they are at school. When you think about it, each student has a sensory diet of their own in the way of recess!
At home, recess isn’t an option, but heading outside is! The outdoor sensory diet strategies can really impact self-regulation, emotional needs, attention, and sensory processing needs.
Another environmental consideration is the playground. A park or playground area offers sensory diet equipment and tools that can be used on a scheduled basis. Consider adding a trip to the playground to the schedule on specific days of the week. Maybe a visit to the playground is in order for Friday afternoons after the student’s spelling test and the end of the school week. Or, a playground visit can occur every Sunday afternoon as a way to wrap up the weekend. Perhaps a walk to a local park can occur each evening after dinner. It’s all about what the individual needs and what works for the family’s lifestyle.
Another location for sensory diets can be the woods or a wooded outdoor area. This is a great way to incorporate nature into sensory needs, and should be scheduled according to availability, time available, and family lifestyle.
Another related resource on this site is the concept of sensory diets at the beach. When we travel, there can be a lot of different or novel sensory experiences. When hot weather, wind, and scratchy sand impact sensory needs at the beach, these are all important considerations.
Another support for travel is the sensory diet on the go! This easy to create sensory support is individualized and includes the materials and strategies that support the individual’s needs. Read how to create a travel sensory diet toolbox.
