Sensory Diet for Children with Sensory Processing Concerns

Judy Benz Duncan, Occupational Therapist

Sensory diets are a common strategy used when addressing a child’s sensory needs in relation to their specific needs. Sensory diets are based on a child’s specific sensory needs – Working with your child’s OT/PT/ST/service providers experienced in therapeutic sensory diet planning and development is strongly recommended.

By providing a therapeutic sensory diet, you may, over time, restructure and retrain a child’s brain to process sensory information from their sensory receptors in such a way that will promote self-regulation of activity, focus, mood/behavior, and the ability to process the sensory information to participate more fully in regular home, social, and school routines.

Sensory Diets are “Kid-Designed”

A sensory diet needs to be “kid designed,” specific to their needs, with consideration to timing, frequency, intensity, and duration of sensory input. What works for one child, may make another child’s behaviors and reactions worse.

Information and basic activity ideas are presented here, however, in order to address your child’s needs, evaluate for the outcomes you are looking for, and for direct guidance and direction through the entire process, discuss and plan with your OT/PT/ST and services providers.

There is so much more to a sensory diet than just providing sensory input or encouraging a child to participate in sensory play activities. Knowing how and why a sensory diet should be created, as well as how to modify and make changes as your child experiences changes, is essential to the success, safety, and carryover of the sensory strategies being used.

What is a Sensory Diet?

Sensory processing is basically how we are able to take in and make sense of sensory information from within our own bodies and our world. With our eight senses (touch, sight, hearing, movement, body awareness, taste, and smell) we are able to get a pretty reliable picture of the world around us – for children with sensory processing issues, in one, two, or all of their senses, their world may bring a barrage of information that they cannot interpret, use, mange, or tolerate.

The design of a sensory diet for a child is developed to meet specific needs. A sensory diet will typically address activity, position, intensity, time, sensory system, and type of sensory input.

A sensory diet is also set up so that it can be modified throughout the day as needed. The specific and individualized activities that are specifically scheduled into a child’s day are used to help promote their regulation of activity levels, attention, tolerance, behaviors, and response to different situations and tasks or activities.

Sensory Diets Help Address Sensory Related Behaviors

Sensory diets have been shown to be effective for addressing many sensory-processing related concerns and behaviors and give a child the sensory input they need to better handle normal, routine activities of daily living.

A sensory diet is generally set up to include what will be done during a child’s morning and bedtime routines, at meals, and for any major transitions throughout the day.

A professional who understands how to set up and plan a sensory diet with you will also address:

Frequency of the input – you are looking at what your child needs throughout the course of their day
Intensity and Duration of the sensory input needed by your child throughout their day and during different types of situations as they transition from one to another
The Timing of when to use the various sensory diet strategies so that they are the most effective throughout the day and situation
Plan for Functional Use so that you can use the strategies and sensory diet activities as a normal, and routine, part of your child’s day.

Some of the reasons to use a sensory diet with may include:

Impulsive behaviors
Sensory seeking behaviors
Sensory avoiding behaviors
Meltdowns and sensory over-load
Aggressive behaviors
Difficulty with attention, focus, and concentration
Easily overwhelmed emotionally
Difficulty with transitions
Sleep issues and disturbances
Difficulty with social interactions and social play
Difficulty with understanding “personal space”
Not able to “tone down” or realize how loud they are talking
Self feeding issues, including food textures, foods tolerated or accepted
Clothing sensitivities, including type of clothing worn, easily irritated by tags, seams, shoes/socks

Purpose and Goals of a Sensory Diet

Consistent following of a sensory diet will over time help to restructure your child’s nervous system so that they are better able to:

manage and handle transitions with less stress, anxiety, and inappropriate behaviors
reduce or limit sensory-seeking and sensory-avoiding behaviors
tolerate sensations and situations that are challenging and possibly spark anxiety, aggression, or meltdowns
regulate their alertness levels as well as increase their attention span, focus, and concentration

A sensory diet helps a child meet their sensory needs safely, in a way that is socially appropriate.

Children with SPD versus Neuro-Typical Children

A child with sensory processing issues that significantly interfere with their everyday lives need more help than others may need in order to stay self-regulated and handle the sensory input they experience everywhere they go.

Neuro-typical children naturally seek out a variety of proprioceptive, vestibular, visual, auditory, smell, and tactile sensory input on a daily basis. Being able to experience a variety of sensory input usually allows them to tolerate, and regulate other sensory stimulation that children with sensory processing issues are challenged by.

Planning for the use of a Sensory Diet

Before discussing and planning for a sensory diet with your therapist and service provider, you can start with getting a notebook and recording:

Track and identify your child’s sensory related behaviors and responses over the course of a week or two

Track situations, time, events, that lead up to a meltdown, or inappropriate behavior

Track anything you try or attempt and your child’s response to that

Make notes of what you feel brought the behavior on (too noisy, transition, smell of dinner, tags in clothes, car ride, out in public, a hug, being tired, and so on)

Make note of activities that you feel “work” and those that do not work, or which may make things worse – every child is different and even those things that may help today, may not tomorrow – monitor and keep track of when a strategy works and possible differences when it does not.

Examples of Sensory Diet Activities

Information and basic activity ideas are presented here, however, in order to address your child’s needs, evaluate for the outcomes you are looking for, and for direct guidance and direction through the entire process, it is extremely important to discuss and plan with your OT/PT/ST and services providers before starting out with a sensory diet for your child. Sensory diets do work - get the info and guidance your child needs!

Proprioceptive sensory diet input activities:

o Body Awareness / Proprioceptive Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Jumping activities – hopscotch, mini-trampoline, bounce house, jumping-jacks, leap frog, and so on

o Carry weighted items – wear a backpack filled with books or toys, carry a stack of books from one room to another

o Heavy push/pull activities – carry weighted boxes, move a basket of wet laundry, help push a shopping cart, help vacuum, help scrub the floor, hang and pull themselves from a monkey bar, and so on

o Heavy Work (CLICK & GO for activities and ideas for use of heavy work, on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Squish time activities – squish under big cushions, roll up in a blanket

Vestibular sensory diet input activities:

o If your child has vestibular (movement) sensitivities, please work closely with an experienced service provider who can help you recognize signs of a system overload.

o Sensory Gonge Activities (CLICK & GO to read more about this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Sense of Movement and Balance: Development of a Child’s Vestibular System (CLICK & GO!)

o Activities that get them upside down – hang from playground equipment, monkey bars, do somersaults, roller-coaster rides

o Swinging activities – on the playground, swinging from monkey bars, swinging a gym rope, sensory swings, swings that move front to back as well as side-to-side

o Rolling activities – roll down a hill (grass or snow), roll across the room, roll themselves up in a blanket

o Spinning activities - amusement park rides that spin, use of a spin-disc, gonge top, sensory spinners, skating spins, sit-and-spin, run around in circles arms out, pretend play airplane soaring through the sky

Tactile sensory diet input activities:

o Tactile/Touch Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Texture / Taste Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com) Try foods that include different textures, flavors, and temperatures; try drinks that are smooth, carbonated/ bubbly, warm, flavored, icy

o Edible / Taste Friendly Sensory Slime (CLICK & GO for more on this as well as lots of recipes on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Play with various textures such as playdough, slime, shaving cream, dry rice or noodles, sensory sand, craft materials, and so on

o Outside texture walks – try walking barefoot through the grass, sand, water

o Pretend Play Activities (CLICK & GO!)

o Sensory Texture Rubs (CLICK & GO for ideas and activities on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Lycra body sock / sensory bag (CLICK & GO for Article/Info on Sensory Bag and Compression Clothes here on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Messy Play Activities and Ideas (CLICK & GO to read more about this on TheraPlay4Kids.com) Never force a child who is unwilling to touch messy or “icky” substances. Let them use a paintbrush, stick, gloves, a toy, or play with item inside a zip lock type of bag.

Auditory sensory diet input activities:

o Auditory/Hearing Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Sound recordings for relaxation and calming – such as rain, waves, bird songs, classical music, low tones, and so on; vary the choice of music and sounds based on what your child best responds to

o Try Sound Eaze (or Sound Ease) and other similar CD/DVD’s that desensitize children to everyday sounds such as flushing toilets, thunder, barking dogs, alarms, and other sounds many kids find distressing

o Play a sound listening game wherever you may be and try to identify the sounds you hear and where the sound is coming from to help your child focus and distract from other distressing stimuli

Visual sensory diet input activities:

o Visual input can be modified to stimulate or to calm. To calm the environment try to simplify or provide a basic soothing visual field. To stimulate, try bright colors, toys that light up, and so on.

o Vision/Visual Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Avoid excess visual stimulation or visual “clutter.” Try to use solid colored rugs, curtains, wall colors, etc. that are less stimulating than patterns or highly contrasting color changes.

o Keep toys in a toy-box or put away to avoid having too many choices or clutter to distract or overwhelm.

o Have your child sit where their view is less distracting (back to a window, or back to a busy environment or people coming and going.

o Avoid toys, clothes, bed sheets, towels, etc., in colors that your child may find distressing or which seems to cause a meltdown

Smell or Olfactory sensory diet input activities:

o Stay alert and attention to your child’s reactions! Certain odors can stimulate, calm, or even send your child into sensory overload.

o Olfactory / Smell Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Essential Oils and Their Safe Use in Children (CLICK & GO! For info here on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Explore scents with your child in order to find specific ones that work best to meet your goal (to calm or soothe as opposed to promote alertness and focus)

o Scent play – Smell and Guess Game. Have your child close their eyes (or wear a blindfold if they will) and try to identify a variety of scents and smells (citrus, banana, fresh baked bread, flowers, spices, crayons, and so on)

Taste sensory diet input activities:

o Taste Testing Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Play a taste game where they take a bite and guess what it is (use items you know will not gag or cause anxiety); use foods you know they already eat. You can add other new foods, but let them see a small piece of it and let them decide if they will try or not

o Involve your child in food preparation, and serving others, where they may be more likely to taste something if they help make it.

Calming Activities:

o Activities for Calming Sensory Overload and Promoting Quiet Time (CLICK & GO)

o Modifying Sensory Threshold Levels (CLICK & GO)

Sensory Diet for Children with Sensory Processing Concerns

Sensory Diets are “Kid-Designed”

A sensory diet needs to be “kid designed,” specific to their needs, with consideration to timing, frequency, intensity, and duration of sensory input. What works for one child, may make another child’s behaviors and reactions worse.

Information and basic activity ideas are presented here, however, in order to address your child’s needs, evaluate for the outcomes you are looking for, and for direct guidance and direction through the entire process, discuss and plan with your OT/PT/ST and services providers.

What is a Sensory Diet?

The design of a sensory diet for a child is developed to meet specific needs. A sensory diet will typically address activity, position, intensity, time, sensory system, and type of sensory input.

Sensory Diets Help Address Sensory Related Behaviors

Sensory diets have been shown to be effective for addressing many sensory-processing related concerns and behaviors and give a child the sensory input they need to better handle normal, routine activities of daily living.

A sensory diet is generally set up to include what will be done during a child’s morning and bedtime routines, at meals, and for any major transitions throughout the day.

A professional who understands how to set up and plan a sensory diet with you will also address:

Frequency of the input – you are looking at what your child needs throughout the course of their day

Intensity and Duration of the sensory input needed by your child throughout their day and during different types of situations as they transition from one to another

The Timing of when to use the various sensory diet strategies so that they are the most effective throughout the day and situation

Plan for Functional Use so that you can use the strategies and sensory diet activities as a normal, and routine, part of your child’s day.

Some of the reasons to use a sensory diet with may include:

Impulsive behaviors

Sensory seeking behaviors

Sensory avoiding behaviors

Meltdowns and sensory over-load

Aggressive behaviors

Difficulty with attention, focus, and concentration

Easily overwhelmed emotionally

Difficulty with transitions

Sleep issues and disturbances

Difficulty with social interactions and social play

Difficulty with understanding “personal space”

Not able to “tone down” or realize how loud they are talking

Self feeding issues, including food textures, foods tolerated or accepted

Clothing sensitivities, including type of clothing worn, easily irritated by tags, seams, shoes/socks

Purpose and Goals of a Sensory Diet

Consistent following of a sensory diet will over time help to restructure your child’s nervous system so that they are better able to:

manage and handle transitions with less stress, anxiety, and inappropriate behaviors

reduce or limit sensory-seeking and sensory-avoiding behaviors

tolerate sensations and situations that are challenging and possibly spark anxiety, aggression, or meltdowns

regulate their alertness levels as well as increase their attention span, focus, and concentration

A sensory diet helps a child meet their sensory needs safely, in a way that is socially appropriate.

Children with SPD versus Neuro-Typical Children

A child with sensory processing issues that significantly interfere with their everyday lives need more help than others may need in order to stay self-regulated and handle the sensory input they experience everywhere they go.

Planning for the use of a Sensory Diet

Before discussing and planning for a sensory diet with your therapist and service provider, you can start with getting a notebook and recording:

Track and identify your child’s sensory related behaviors and responses over the course of a week or two

Track situations, time, events, that lead up to a meltdown, or inappropriate behavior

Track anything you try or attempt and your child’s response to that

Make notes of what you feel brought the behavior on (too noisy, transition, smell of dinner, tags in clothes, car ride, out in public, a hug, being tired, and so on)

Make note of activities that you feel “work” and those that do not work, or which may make things worse – every child is different and even those things that may help today, may not tomorrow – monitor and keep track of when a strategy works and possible differences when it does not.

Examples of Sensory Diet Activities

Proprioceptive sensory diet input activities:

o Body Awareness / Proprioceptive Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Jumping activities – hopscotch, mini-trampoline, bounce house, jumping-jacks, leap frog, and so on

o Carry weighted items – wear a backpack filled with books or toys, carry a stack of books from one room to another

o Heavy push/pull activities – carry weighted boxes, move a basket of wet laundry, help push a shopping cart, help vacuum, help scrub the floor, hang and pull themselves from a monkey bar, and so on

o Heavy Work (CLICK & GO for activities and ideas for use of heavy work, on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Squish time activities – squish under big cushions, roll up in a blanket

Vestibular sensory diet input activities:

o If your child has vestibular (movement) sensitivities, please work closely with an experienced service provider who can help you recognize signs of a system overload.

o Sensory Gonge Activities (CLICK & GO to read more about this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Sense of Movement and Balance: Development of a Child’s Vestibular System (CLICK & GO!)

o Activities that get them upside down – hang from playground equipment, monkey bars, do somersaults, roller-coaster rides

o Swinging activities – on the playground, swinging from monkey bars, swinging a gym rope, sensory swings, swings that move front to back as well as side-to-side

o Rolling activities – roll down a hill (grass or snow), roll across the room, roll themselves up in a blanket

o Spinning activities - amusement park rides that spin, use of a spin-disc, gonge top, sensory spinners, skating spins, sit-and-spin, run around in circles arms out, pretend play airplane soaring through the sky

Tactile sensory diet input activities:

o Tactile/Touch Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Texture / Taste Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com) Try foods that include different textures, flavors, and temperatures; try drinks that are smooth, carbonated/ bubbly, warm, flavored, icy

o Edible / Taste Friendly Sensory Slime (CLICK & GO for more on this as well as lots of recipes on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Play with various textures such as playdough, slime, shaving cream, dry rice or noodles, sensory sand, craft materials, and so on

o Outside texture walks – try walking barefoot through the grass, sand, water

o Pretend Play Activities (CLICK & GO!)

o Sensory Texture Rubs (CLICK & GO for ideas and activities on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Lycra body sock / sensory bag (CLICK & GO for Article/Info on Sensory Bag and Compression Clothes here on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Messy Play Activities and Ideas (CLICK & GO to read more about this on TheraPlay4Kids.com) Never force a child who is unwilling to touch messy or “icky” substances. Let them use a paintbrush, stick, gloves, a toy, or play with item inside a zip lock type of bag.

Auditory sensory diet input activities:

o Auditory/Hearing Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Sound recordings for relaxation and calming – such as rain, waves, bird songs, classical music, low tones, and so on; vary the choice of music and sounds based on what your child best responds to

o Try Sound Eaze (or Sound Ease) and other similar CD/DVD’s that desensitize children to everyday sounds such as flushing toilets, thunder, barking dogs, alarms, and other sounds many kids find distressing

o Play a sound listening game wherever you may be and try to identify the sounds you hear and where the sound is coming from to help your child focus and distract from other distressing stimuli

Visual sensory diet input activities:

o Visual input can be modified to stimulate or to calm. To calm the environment try to simplify or provide a basic soothing visual field. To stimulate, try bright colors, toys that light up, and so on.

o Vision/Visual Sensory Box (CLICK & GO for blog on this on TheraPlay4Kids.com)

o Avoid excess visual stimulation or visual “clutter.” Try to use solid colored rugs, curtains, wall colors, etc. that are less stimulating than patterns or highly contrasting color changes.