Sensory Diet

"A sensory diet is a planned activity programme designed to meet a child's individual sensory needs throughout the day, enabling them to regulate their attention and therefore consistently engage in daily activities" (Nackley, 2001 as cited in Dunstan & Griffiths, 2008, p.6). The sensory diet is used commonly with children who are experiencing difficulties with things such as the ability to organise and regulate incoming sensory information (Dunn, 2000 as cited in Dunstan & Griffiths, 2008). The sensory modulation difficulties presented are that the child either lacks responsiveness (hyporesponsive) or is either sensitive to sensory stimulation (hyperresponsive) (Dunstan & Griffiths 2008). Sensory diets are useful to use on children who have sensory defensiveness.

One of the main strategies which can be used to help reduce high arousal levels in children is the use of ‘calming strategies’. An example of this is using deep pressure touch by using a brush. According to Brody (n.d.) the majority of children tend to respond better to firm touch, rather than light touch. This is because it gives their bodies information on where they are being touched as well as what is expected of them in terms of movement. Generally with children who have high arousal levels, calming techniques such as ‘brushing’ are useful to use if the child becomes distressed from a certain task. Usually I found within play sessions if the child was not focused or was not enjoying the session then the calming techniques could be used to help reduce the child’s stress. This is a useful tool for parents to use as well, as they are able to continue with the sensory diet at home and different strategies can be taught to the parents depending on their child and what their needs are. Strategies can also be used for children who are under aroused. Some examples around this can be changing the lighting and playing joyful music. I did not get to use this as much on my placement but did manage to see a few over reactive children and learnt some of these strategies with them.

"Therapy input for children with tactile sensitivities usually focuses on providing calming, deep pressure input and recommending environmental modifications to allow the child to feel safe at home and school/playcentre" (Dunn, 2000 as cited in Dunstan & Griffiths, 2008, p.6)

Here is a website I stumbled across which outlines more about the sensory diet and ways in which parents are able to create a sensory diet for their children. It also shows a sample sensory diet which is easy to follow:

http://sensorysmarts.com/sensory_diet_activities.html

I also found this youtube clip which summarizes the calming 'brushing' technique used on highly aroused children. It shows the occupational therapist using this technique on different parts of the child's body and it is easy to see the child is relaxed and wants more!