Hypersensitive Sensory Threshold Activities

If your child seems to be very sensitive to sensory experiences, you may choose to try any of the following activities

• Provide soft clothes with tags removed; look for sensory-friendly children’s clothing lines

• Make a quiet play space or “safe spots” that your child can retreat to; this may be a big empty box filled with pillows, a corner of the room with blankets and pillows, or a little pop tent in the house filled with their stuffed animals, blankets, and pillows

• Keep weighted blankets, weighted soft toys, fuzzy blankets, pillows and such available to hide under, hug, or surround themselves with

• Keep the TV, radio, and stereo turned off or on low to avoid extra background noise – some homes have “noise” going on in all rooms of the house with multiple tv’s and music sources, so you may need to provide “noise-free” spaces

• Use of undergarments, such as tight fitting tag-free sports shirts made to help regulate body temperature

• Child safe chewable items for those children who like to chew

• Try to avoid crowded stores at peak hours (grocery store, restaurant, pizza joint, mini-marts, hair salon, department store, and so on)

• Try to go to the park or library at times when less crowded

• Use of headphones with or without music

Keep scrolling down for lots more ideas!

Introduce sensory experiences slowly and let your child go at her own pace. Remember to not force your child to touch or participate in situations that they are not ready for or where you see they are uncomfortable with. Sometimes you need to start with just having the activity or item in sight for a while letting your child get used to seeing it, before moving on to touching, tasting, or interacting with it

• Keep track of food preferences (or lack of) by starting a food diary

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• Click for: Blogs on Sensory Boxes

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• Click for: Blog on Calming Sensory Overload

• Click for: Blogs on Messy Sensory Play

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• Click for: Blog on Fidget Toys

• Click for: Blog on Seek and Find Sensory Rice Box

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Continue scrolling - More ideas below!

• Give deep pressure, whole hand, slow, rhythmic massages to feet, legs, arms, back, or head, as they tolerate. They may allow to one area but not another.

• Hold and rock in slow steady motion (on the floor or in a rocking chair, or even on a large therapy ball)

• “Smooshing” or deep slow squeezes to the hands, and sometimes to the mouth/chin area works

•  Use of squishable items like sensory/stress balls, putty, foam ball, texture balls, etc.

•  Use toy spinners and other age appropriate movement toys

•  Whole body squeezes, rocking, or hugging of a large therapy ball

•  Push heavy or weighed down chairs or other small furniture pieces, like an ottoman, across the room

•  Push a large weighted ball all the way through a sensory tunnel

•  Step through a series of hoops on the ground, or bend to walk through hoops held upright

•  Play in the sprinkler, letting them do the running in and out as they tolerate

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•  Click for: Blog on Sensory Meltdown or Temper Tantrum

• Click for: Blog on Sensory Slime (tasty slime too!)

Share your ideas in the comments below!

Disclaimer Note: Before beginning any new program, activity, exercise, or make changes, be sure to consult with your child’s doctor, and service providers for individualized guidance, direction, and supervision. These ideas and suggestions presented on TheraPlay4Kids are meant to help support and promote, however, since each child, diagnosis, medical status, and situation is different, one should seek help and approval from your child’s providers in order to achieve the best outcomes and ultimate safety for all involved. Please make use of this site and all the information presented at your own discretion for the safety and well-being of all involved.