Discover the powerful world of sensory diets and how they can positively impact your child’s life. Learn the basics from a licensed pediatric occupational therapist and see how this can benefit your family.
Are you wondering what sensory diets are? Maybe your child is receiving occupational therapy services, and your OT recommended that you implement a sensory diet into your child’s routine to improve their sensory processing skills, and you’re not sure where to start. Well, I’m here to help make what may seem overwhelming a little easier.
Hi! My name is Marra, and I’m a mom and a licensed pediatric occupational therapist. I’ve spent years working with children with all different kinds of sensory processing challenges and their families to help make their lives a little easier and to encourage children to reach their full potential.
I’ve worked with countless families to help them develop individualized sensory diets for their children. I spent so much time doing so because I’ve seen the benefits of implementing a sensory diet can have on the entire family over and over again. So let’s dive into the basics and benefits of a sensory diet.
What is Sensory Processing?
Sensory processing is the way our nervous system processes and understands all of the information in our environment through our 8 senses. Yes, that’s correct; we have 8 senses. If you would like to learn more about our 8 senses check out What is Sensory Processing
Our brains have to make sense of all of the information from our environment before we can choose how to respond. This is a big job and can be really challenging for some children who haven’t developed their sensory systems yet.
It’s important to understand that we all process sensory information. We need to be able to do so efficiently and effectively before we do anything else.
If your child struggles to process certain sensory information or it is impacting their participation in meaningful daily activities, then they might benefit from occupational therapy and implementing a sensory diet into their daily routine.
What is a sensory Diet?
Sensory diets are a schedule of sensory activities that fit into your daily routine. The purpose is to provide your child with structured sensory input throughout the day to prevent meltdowns or sensory overload.
It’s all about prevention and keeping your child in a calm, regulated state where they can learn and play.
The term “sensory diet” actually comes from food and nutritional diet. Have you ever had those days where you are just too busy to eat during the day, then you binge in the evenings and eat a ton of unhealthy food because you are so hungry?
On the days when you eat a healthy breakfast and lunch along with some healthy snacks, you are less likely to binge in the evening because your body got a little of what it needs throughout the day, and you’re not deprived of the nutrients your body needs.
Well, it works the same way for sensory processing. If a child’s sensory needs are not met throughout the day, then they too will binge on sensory input or be so dysregulated they have a meltdown that’s really hard to recover from.
This is one of the reasons children can have a great day at and then fall apart at home in the evenings. Binging and sensory dysregulation can look like a lot of crashing, spinning, aggressive or destructive behavior, short temper/fuse, tantrums, or simply shutting down.
It’s really hard to recover if a child is at this point. It is so much more efficient to implement a sensory diet ahead of time and prevent these difficult moments.
HOW DOES SENSORY DIETS WORK?
Sensory diets are a set of activities and experiences that can help individuals with sensory processing challenges to regulate and manage their sensory processing. It is tailored to the individual needs of a child.
But how exactly does it work? By having the child participate in sensory activities throughout the day, they can receive the needed sensory input to keep their body in a calm and regulated state. Think of it as giving the child “sensory snacks” throughout the day to prevent “sensory hungry” behaviors.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD MY CHILD PARTICIPATE IN SENSORY DIET ACTIVITIES?
Every child is different, so this will vary depending on their individual sensory needs. By working with a licensed pediatric OT, they can get to know your child and develop an individualized sensory diet for them that focuses on their sensory needs and their goals, as well as taking into account your family’s routines.
An example of a sensory diet plan can be having the child participate in a sensory activity every 2 hours throughout the day. Remember, this is a preventative strategy, so we want to provide the child with structured sensory input before they get to a place where they need it and are dysregulated.
I know every 2 hours seems like a lot, but as an OT, I would work with the family to implement sensory strategies into their current schedules and routines. This way, it wouldn’t take extra time.
It can be simple activities such as jumping to the car instead of walking, playing with fidgets in the car, or doing 10 wall pushups before a meal. Consistency is key, and it’s so much easier if it fits well with the family’s already-established routine.
It’s important to note that the use of sensory brushes should always be done under the guidance and supervision of a licensed occupational therapist.
These professionals can tailor the techniques and applications of the brushes to meet the specific needs of each individual. They can also provide guidance on how to introduce and incorporate the brushes into a comprehensive sensory integration plan.
SENSORY DIETS: SCHEDULE OR NO SCHEDULE?
This is again dependent on the child and their family. Some OTs will create a very structured sensory diet schedule for a child to participate in where they do the same sensory activity at certain times throughout the day, and it is the same every day.
For some families, this works really well. If a specific schedule and consistent routine work for your child and family, then having a really structured sensory diet schedule can be very beneficial.
For the majority of the families I worked with, having a structured schedule for their sensory diet can be great for a week or so, but it’s really difficult for the family to maintain it over a long period of time.
I also found that if the child participated in the same activities every day, they would get bored and then frustrated. If the activity they are participating in leads to frustration, then it is not helping to regulate their body. The child should enjoy the sensory activity
So, for many families I worked with, I would have a list of 5-10 sensory activities that the child could choose from every 2 hours or so.
This allowed some flexibility based on the family’s routine and gave the child some decision-making power and a voice they could use to eventually choose what they need and what makes their body feel better.
That is the end goal of the sensory diet, not a child who is regulated 100% of the time because that’s not realistic, but a child who can be aware of their needs and be able to advocate for what they need throughout the day.
During every therapy session, families and I would revisit the list of sensory diet activities to talk about what is working and what is not working and tweak it as needed. This is why it is so important to work with an OT in creating a sensory diet for your child.
It’s also important to remember that children vary in their sensory needs throughout the day and as they continue to grow and develop. It’s critical that the sensory diet is revisited every couple of weeks and changed as needed. What works now, might not work 2 months from now.
It can take some effort initially to develop and implement a sensory diet for your child however, in the end, it is so worth it. If the sensory diet is used consistently, then it can help your child stay regulated and decrease their stress as well as the stress in the family and your home. I have seen this work so well for so many children. With some time, you and your child can increase your participation in the activities your love.
Please leave comments and questions below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.