If you  have a child with a sensory processing disorder, no doubt you have heard of using a “sensory diet” to help with regulating behaviors and responses during daily activities.  The term gets thrown around a lot in SPD circles and many parents are hopeful that the right sensory diet will change everything.  Using an appropriate array of sensory strategies can indeed be very helpful for anyone who struggles with regulating their arousal level during activities (too active or too under-responsive).  The trick, when the person has difficulty processing sensory information, is to establish the correct “diet” and then apply it efficiently to get the most benefit or nutrition, if you will, out of the sensory diet.

“Sensory Diet” is a term that was coined by OT Patricia Wilbarger (creator of the Therapressure technique, aka “Brushing”) to refer to the therapeutic intervention of using specific sensory activities throughout the day to achieve and sustain a calm, organized state of alertness.  The concept has since been expanded to include the use of sensory activities that are both calming and alerting to help individuals maintain an appropriate state of alertness and behavioral responses during the day.  The Alert Program (“How Does Your Engine Run”) is perhaps one of the best known protocols for understanding and designing sensory diets.  The word “diet” as used in this context refers to the idea that as sensory beings people need a balance of sensory activities with variety in the content of activities much like we do in our nutritional diet.  You need the right combination of foods, in the right amounts, to maintain a balanced physical state.  The sensory diet relies on the use of the right amount and intensity of sensory input to regulate arousal and behaviors.

There are many places to find lists of sensory activities. I always recommend Raising A Sensory Smart Child,  Henry OT “Tools For” books,  and The Alert Program.  Of course, Pinterest is practically exploding with them. But having a list of activities isn’t what a sensory diet is all about.   Using a sensory diet means applying knowledge of the child’s unique sensory needs and responses to the process of choosing appropriate sensory based activities and environmental adaptations to support the child’s behaviors and self-regulation in a pro-active manner.

While fidget toys and trampolines, wall push-ups and therapy balls play a big part in many sensory diets, a sensory diet is so much more.  Just as current nutritional research says that food diets don’t work, neither do sensory diets.  What works is a change of lifestyle; with a better understanding of what sensory needs exist and how to meet them.   To that end, here are my tips for making the most of sensory strategies to help your child.

1) Seek advice from an OT or other professional who is trained in sensory integration and sensory processing disorders.  When looking for an OT to advise you or work with your child ask about their background in developing home programs that include sensory based strategies.  With a skilled OT to help you understand the sensory systems and guide your choice of activities that fit your family’s needs you won’t have to stumble in the dark or reinvent the wheel.

2) Take time to do your research and be a detective.  Watch your child’s responses and behaviors closely, track behaviors and look for patterns, monitor what happens before and after use of different sensory activities.  You have to know your child well in order to choose the correct activity in any given situation.  Finding patterns of responses through the day will help with establishing routines that include beneficial sensory activities and help you know what strategies to use when you notice changes in behaviors.

3) Pack your toolbox to the top!  It isn’t enough to have just one or two calming activities and one or two alerting activities in your bag.  A sensory diet is not like using a recipe where you use the same ingredients, same amounts and get the same result. It is more like a menu when eating out. It’s important to have activities that can serve as “snacks” as well as “meals” and to have enough variety to meet your child’s needs.

4) Be Prepared! Sensory tools work best when used proactively to prepare a child for what is coming up and to sustain a level of alertness or behavioral response.  While calming activities can be used as a child starts to escalate there comes a point where the meltdown will have progressed too far for anything to truly “work” other than time.  Your goal in using a sensory diet is to avoid those escalations with the savvy use of sensory strategies.  That comes from being vigilant (see #2) and having a well-stocked toolbox (see #3).

5)  Cut yourself some slack when it doesn’t work.  No matter how hard you try to use a sensory diet to control your child’s responses, the truth is that at times it will not work. A child isn’t some inanimate object you can control.  You will sometimes misread his cues, fail to anticipate that a situation could be upsetting for her or simply be too stressed out yourself to implement activities.  It’s okay. Forgive yourself and move on. Pretty soon you’ll have another chance to try again. Learn from the situation, add to your toolbox and keep going.

Want to know more about how to implement the use of sensory strategies into your child’s day? Join us at 7:00pm on Wednesday April 2, 2014 for “Sense-able Strategies for Every Day” where I will talk about sensory diets, sensory based activities for self-regulation, The Alert Program and more.  RSVP now by email at classes@rightstepsforkids.com or by phone at 630-552-9890