What is sensory processing? Why does my child like to spin? Why does he cover his ears?
Kids covering their ears, hiding their eyes, spinning in circles, hanging upside down, banging into walls, maybe even banging their head… Have you ever seen these things and wished you could understand?
Maybe you have heard that your child was “sensory seeking” or was “avoiding sensory input.” Or maybe you heard someone say “my kid is a sensory kid” or he just “needs a lot of input.” Maybe your child’s OT has talked to you about swings, or weighted blankets but you didn’t quite understand why?
The idea of sensory processing is such a HUGE idea and encompasses way more than we can cover in one article. But let’s start with some of the basics and go from there!
We know that some children may not like certain foods, certain smells, certain textures. It may look like them being sensitive to loud noises, or specific noises, refusing certain foods, or being “picky” about the clothing they wear, the food they eat, or the places they do or don’t want to go to. All of these could be in response to their sensory processing, or sensory sensitivities.
It can be very frustrating for a parent to not understand why their child doesn’t want to leave the house, doesn’t want to go certain places, covers their ears, or gets upset out of nowhere for reasons we don’t understand. So often though, these behaviors or responses come from the way their body is processing certain stimulations, and there is no way for us to understand what that feels like to them. To the child, something we don’t even notice, can actually be experienced as very painful. This can be baffling to us.
It is important for parents, while not always easy and often frustrating, to try to understand what may be triggering certain responses or behaviors so we can help our kids. Instead of ignoring certain behaviors or reactions, getting frustrated, or trying to force a child through something that they don’t seem to like or want to do/wear/eat, first we need to try to understand if there is an underlying sensory challenge at play. OTs can play a huge role in helping to determine the underlying trigger or sensitivity, and then helping to determine ways for the child to be able to better organize or regulate their sensory system, and/or find adaptive strategies to allow the child to still function with the sensitivity, including helping us as parents find the best ways to support them.
What does it mean to be over-responsive (or sometimes also called over-stimulated or sensitive) to certain stimuli? You can think of this as when the brain receives that type of stimuli, they don’t get used to it the way others may, and cannot ignore it, so it can become overwhelming; or that they have a lower threshold to that type of stimuli. This can lead to feeling overwhelmed, anxiety, tantrums or what is considered sensory-avoiding behaviors (they want to avoid the stimulus that overwhelms them, or maybe is perceived as actually painful or leaves them unable to concentrate).
Being under-responsive (or sometimes called under-stimulated) to certain stimuli can mean it takes more of this type of stimuli for the brain to even recognize it, or to reach the same threshold as others. Some can truly need more of that input to be able to feel regulated. And if a child is not regulated, it can make it hard for them to concentrate or focus, it can also make them anxious or upset. Sometimes this may lead to what is considered sensory-seeking behaviors (where they want to receive more of that type of input in order to regulate themselves, organize their brain, understand their environment, or simply because it feels good to them, so they actively seek out more input).
- Vestibular (Balance)
- Proprioception (Body awareness in space)
- Taste
- Touch/Tactile
- Smell
- Sight
- Sound
So you have a basic understanding of each system and want to start some trial and error with your child to see if it helps. A couple things to consider first:
- Tracking Behaviors
What exact behaviors or responses are you seeing from your child – what does it look like? What are they doing with their body? What time of day is it? What’s the environment?
Take at least a few days to track exactly what you are seeing, when and where you see it and if there was anything leading up to it. Include tantrums, when they seem overwhelmed or anxious or when they seem to be seeking or avoiding stimulation or activities. Any of this CAN be sensory related (not to say it always is, but it is worth tracking).
- Determine which sensory systems are involved
Once you’ve tracked the behaviors or responses, first you need to determine which ones could be related to a sensory challenge and which sensory system may be involved. (This step is included on our downloadable behavior tracker included in our membership vault)
- Determine if it is a over-responsive system or under-responsive system
Try an activity and observe the outcome. Remember these activities are not a “cure. The goal is to help your child regulate their system in that moment. This may be to help increase focus, attention or calm your child, or avoid a triggering event. So always remember what the goal is that you are looking for with that activity. Is it for calming, attention, focus?
When implementing a strategy or looking at the results, consider what is or was your child’s emotional state. While some activities are specifically focused for calming a child once they are upset and helping them to regulate their emotions (we’ll discuss that below), most other activities when you are targeting a goal of increasing focus or attention for example, will typically work better when the activity can be done as a prep activity before your child is triggered or before you are asking them to sit still or focus. For example if heavy work helps your child regulate and be able to focus, then you would want to have them do heavy work activities immediately before you ask them to sit down and do homework or sit calmly for dinner.
If we are targeting a specific behavior that we realize presents itself once a child is dysregulated, then it’s important to look for the signs that they are starting to become dysregulated. If we can recognize those signs and implement the strategy either before the child is triggered, or before they are fully escalated you will have much more success with using a sensory strategy in these cases. (We dive more deeply into this in our upcoming parent training).
Now, if you are specifically targeting a sensory activity for calming an upset child or emotionally dysregulated child once they are already upset, then we will look at that differently. These strategies will be very different than those we use to increase focus and attention, or to help a child be able to sit still, etc.
Also remember, just because a strategy didn’t help one time, doesn’t mean it won’t ever help. You’ll want to try it a few times to see your child’s response. If it didn’t help – it also doesn’t mean sensory didn’t play a part. Every child is different. This can be a game of trial and error to find the activities that work best for your child and creating a sensory diet around those activities. You always want to have a tool box of different activities that might help in different situations.
One more tip!
Once you’ve found some different sensory activities that help your child, it’s great to keep them involved and allow them to choose the activity. They know their body best, and with your help and direction they can learn to choose what is going to help them the most and what they will enjoy! YourKidsTable.com gives some great examples of how to use sensory cards to allow them to choose their activity, and even offers printable sensory diet cards that you can print and use at home.
Want to dive deeper into understanding the different sensory systems and get more specific directions and ideas on really determining what your child’s sensory profile is, what to look for and how to implement strategies that will work? Our upcoming online parent training will be perfect for you. Sign up with your email below to be alerted as soon as it launches and is available for parents! We also have our upcoming training on understanding behavior… don’t miss out.
- Quick Links
Free sensory system cheat sheet - breaking down the 7 sensory systems and activities or strategies for each
Parent trainings: Get alerted when our upcoming parent training on understanding the sensory system & creating sensory activities that work for your child & our upcoming parent training on understanding behavior!
Sensory Diet Cards: Once you’ve figured out the activities that help your child, check out the printable sensory diet cards from Your Kids Table and involve your child in choosing their sensory strategies!
Autism & Homeschooling: 7 tips to decrease anxiety & meltdowns
Pingback: Sensory and OT – Warrior Families
Pingback: Not All Behaviors Are Created Equal: A guide to understanding why your child may be acting out – Warrior Families
Pingback: 8 Parenting Tips for raising a child with Autism, with less stress and more joy!
Pingback: Is it Sensory or Behavior?