Pinning this in case is gets handy in the future.
Sensory Diets
Helping the child feel calm, alert, and organized
Autism is a neurological condition that often leaves the nervous system out of sync with the environment
around it. This is very evident in the difficulties the nervous
system has in processing sensory input. As discussed earlier there are a
host of difficulties that this condition can present to the individual.
Since the nervous system has difficulty processing sensory
information effectively, it is often left agitated, disorganized, and
overwhelmed. As mentioned above, the child (and adult) often has a
hard time regulating the amount and intensity of stimulation to keep the
nervous system calm, organized and focused. They can be under-aroused
and sluggish one moment, and overwhelmed and anxious the next.
Because of this problem balancing what the nervous system needs,
Occupational Therapists trained in sensory processing disorders often
develop sensory diets to calm and organize the nervous system to keep it
within the optimum range of arousal.
A sensory diet is a carefully scheduled routine of sensory activities,
given throughout the day, to help keep the nervous system calm,
organized and focused. It is a carefully balanced set of sensory
activities that are implemented periodically throughout the day to keep
the nervous system within the optimal range of arousal. This lowers
anxiety, increases focus, and maximizes the child’s ability to learn and
adapt to daily demands. Usually the sensory diet is a set of
activities to calm and organize the nervous system when over-aroused,
and alert the nervous system when under-aroused. When the child is
over-aroused, calming and organizing activities are given to stabilize
the nervous system. When the child is under-aroused, alerting
activities are given to increase the arousal level. Once the nervous
system is in the optimal range of arousal, then a steady dose of
organizing stimulation can maintain that state of readiness.
In
designing a sensory diet, as part of the evaluation the occupational
therapist will develop an inventory of sensory preferences and
sensitivities that designs a sensory profile for the child. The
sensory inventory and profile may look like the one in appendix A.
From this profile the therapist identifies what stimulation calms the
child (e.g. deep pressure, slow rocking, etc.), what stimulation alerts
the child (e.g. jumping, swinging, chewing crunchy snacks), what
stimulation the child seeks out (preferences) and what he avoids
(sensitivities). From developing this profile the therapist can design
a schedule of activities into the child’s daily routine that will calm
and organize the nervous system. Often a set of activities are
recommended to be used on a set schedule each day (frequently every
couple of hours) as standard practice to keep the child organized, and
then provide either calming or alerting activities as needed based on
the child’s arousal level. Although a thorough discussion on sensory
diets is beyond the scope of this book, some of the general sensory
activities are listed as follows.
General Calming Activities
• Deep pressure massage
• Sitting on bean bags, large body pillow.
• Sandwiching, pillow press.
• Lap pads
• Deep pressure or weighted vest.
• Bear hugs, neutral warmth.
• Slow rocking
• Lotion rubs
• Soft lighting
• Soft, slow music.
• Joint compressions
• Stretching
• Chew gum
• Sucking
• Fidget toys
• Calm, rhythmic movement patterns.
General Alerting Activities
• Brisk rubbing.
• Tickling.
• Chewing gum, chewy food.
• Any push/pull, run, skip, jump, heavy lifting.
• Fast, irregular movement (swing, trampoline, therapy ball).
• Kick, bounce, and throw a ball.
• Strong tastes and odors (peppermint, perfumes).
• Bright lighting.
• Loud, fast music
• Cold water play.
• Fidget toys.
• Drinking carbonated drinks.
• Sitting on T-stool or air cushion.
• Physical exercise.
• Dancing
This series on “sensory issues” can be found in the blue book, “Autism Discussion Page on the Core Challenges of Autism.”
