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How To Create A Sensory Diet For Special Educational Needs Kids?

27th March 2021

The job for a 21st-Century special educational needs teacher is beyond just scholastically assisting the learners. When we talk about “sensory diet” the first thing that comes to our mind (most of us) is: it is all about food, but it is not!! Also, you may think how to start a successful sensory diet for children with different special needs… or you may ask how can you use a “sensory diet” in your SEN classroom, isn’t it?

Well, the truth is, a special education learner may lack access to the different Advanced Placement (AP) courses or may need out of school learning prospects. Here, the contemporary SEN teachers with special educational needs courses for teachers play their role significantly. This post is all about various ways to create sensory diets for special needs learners.

Before just going deep into the topic, we need to understand what exactly is a “sensory diet” and sensory input!

If we talk about specifically, the “sensory diet” is an independently custom-made homebased or school, preschool or child care program of sensory as well as physical-based activities. It is a treatment approach that is being used to manage different sensory processing dysfunction. Chiefly, it aids to possess a child sensation organized sensorily that allows them to attend, learn and behave to the best of their aptitude.

The sensory diet consists of a sequence of various physical activities a child can do at home. It has nothing to do with food. Generally, an occupational therapist plans a personalized sensory diet routine to meet a SEN child’s requirements. It can be used as a part of sensory integration therapy as well. Well, if we talk about the goal of a sensory diet then it is to find the “precise” stage of sensory input for each distinct child.

Here are the 6 major sensory diet areas…

Who can get help from a sensory diet?

Here are areas where the sensory diet plays a major role –
 

• Children with intellectual special needs
• Learners with physical special needs
• Kids with irregular responses to sensory involvement
• People with sensory processing issues
• Children with an emotional directive and behavioural difficulties
• Kids with sensory processing special needs, autism, ADHD and learning disabilities
• A child who fights with variable emotions, behaviour, or responses to sensory stimuli

Some kids may have a mixture of different reactions and need different activities or accommodations depending on their special needs.

The building blocks needed of a sensory diet
 

1. Sensory processing: The precise processing of sensory encouragement in the environment as well as in a child’s own body.
2. Planning: The chronological multi-step performance action to attain a definite outcome like succeeding a sensory-based problem course.
3. Attention and Concentration: The continuous exertion, doing activities deprived of distraction as well as being able to hold that effort long enough.
4. Approachable Language: Understanding of spoken etymological.
5. Executive Operational: The higher-order reasoning assistances to make a sensory hindrance course from one format to another.
6. Acquiescence: The aptitude of the child to follow through with guidelines and requirements.

Ways to create a personalized sensory diet for a child with special needs

In order to create a sensory diet, you need to see whether the child is displaying sensory seeking behaviours, or sensory avoiding behaviour. Now, you may think what are the sensory seeking behaviours…these are the examples of sensory seeking behaviours –
 

• Touching everything
• Favors sour or spicy foods
• Love towards roughness, amuse, chase
• Overly antagonistic with physical touch
• Continuously moving, spinning
• Puts everything in the mouth
• Trouble in sleeping
• Prefers loud noise, bright lights, crowded places, etc.

And these are the examples of sensory avoiding behaviours –
 

• Doesn’t like loud noises, large crowds, public places, etc.
• Doesn’t prefer the bright lights or we can say, prefers complete darkness for sleep
• Chooses noiseless or quiet activities
• Enjoys to stay alone or play 1:1
• Mainly bothered by clothing tags, itchy substantial, certain surfaces
• Doesn’t like to be hugged or touched

When you identify a child’s sensory needs in each area, you can create an effective sensory diet routine.

While creating a good sensory diet, you need to think or you need to ask some crucial questions to yourself (for parents and teachers both). Like –
 

• What were the different environmental triggers?
• What are the challenging times of the day?
• Is there any special need which is not being met that roots a child to constantly search for an activity?
• What was the child doing that led to a breakdown?

In order to get the answers, you need to look for the things that help to regulate, things that have a negative effect, certain actions have a contradictory effect, in certain times help or hinder the child…and so on.

Now let’s come to the main topic of the discussion, HOW to create a sensory diet!

Here are the stages ---

1. Form a list of actions into groups that address the 5 senses - visual, auditory, tactile, smell, taste. (Kids may vary on their needs and preferences, so shape activities into soothing or energy boosting actions).   

2. Create a list of the time your learners need sensory input the most. As a special education teacher, you need to identify if there is a specific time when they are full of energy or do your students require sensory activities after sitting for a long time…and so on.

3. Prepare a list of environments that can be stimulating or kindles sensory seeking input.

4. Incorporate the apt activity to match the timing, environment, or the sensory input being required.

5. Make a visual for you and your learners to follow.

6. Prepare the sensory diet with flexibility so that to make changes if things don’t work.

Here we are sharing some Sensory Diet Activities in order to understand in a better way:

For The Touch (Tangible):
 

1. Playing with the playdough
2. Activities with foam
3. Building sandcastles
4. Squeezing a stress ball
5. Finger paint

For The Oral Motor:
 

1. Playing an instrument that uses the mouth - a harmonica or a wind instrument
2. Drinking from a straw
3. Practicing the vowel sounds (A-E-I-O-U)
4. Singing
5. Eating crunchy foods

For The Auditory:
 

1. Listening to a podcast
2. Music
3. Listening to nature sounds
4. Listen to an audiobook
5. Playing an instrument

For The Visual:
 

1. Drawing
2. Looking at pictures
3. Solving a puzzle
4. Reading a book
5. Use soothing sensory bottles

For The Smell (Olfactory):
 

1. Playing a guessing game related to smell
2. Scented playdough
3. Practice deep breathing
4. Baking something
5. Using different essential oils

For The Vestibular:
 

1. Climbing stairs
2. Jumping with a skipping rope
3. Practicing the gymnastics
4. Dancing
5. Kicking a ball

There is end number of ideas, it is not possible for us to write about everything…still we tried to make a brief list for your better understanding.

In conclusion, including students with different special needs, as a 21st-century special education teacher with SEN teaching assistant course, it is your responsibility to provide holistic education to these children. Kids with sensory processing issues need approaches throughout the day to help them. The sensory diet is most active when collective with other involvements as well.

Important Takeaways

The sensory diet aids special needs children to get in an apt situation so that they can pay attention and learn well. The sensory diet activities help in making the kids more alert and calmer. It supports the children with special needs to stay on track with suitable behaviours and communications. The sensory diet for an overstimulated child helps to calm a special needs child with sensory overload, along with all the above-mentioned aspects!