This section is for parents, but please look at the rest of the website including "Teacher Resources" for more ideas!
Sensory Processing and Fine Motor Development
Parents often ask if there are things they can do to help their children at home. Sensory processing is the foundation for building motor skills. When a child is processing sensory information without any difficulty, they can plan out how to do something they want to do, follow directions, self-regulate their behavior with age-level skill, and engage in creative, exploratory play. If you notice that your child is having difficulty with sensory processing or suspect that some of their challenging behaviors might be due to sensory processing problems, there are many things to try. You can also check with an OT to help identify where the problems might be so that you can choose the best approaches.
The following activities are fun for all children and can be helpful for children's learning as they are multisensory. If you need more guidance with choosing activities, please check with an occupational therapist.
Deep Pressure/"Heavy Work" Activities:
These types of activities help children build their "body awareness", which, in turn helps children develop an inner picture of themselves so that they can move in a coordinated way. Except for very young children, you can guess that a child has difficulty with body awareness if they have difficulty imitating positions and movements for "Simon Says" or seem clumsy, even though they seem to be strong. Deep pressure/heavy work activities can also be very calming. For example, parents often figure out that swaddling a baby or tucking covers in around a child before reading a story at bedtime is calming. These are examples of deep pressure/heavy work activities.
First, if your child has a disability, please check with an OT before using these activities!
Sensory Processing and Fine Motor Development
Parents often ask if there are things they can do to help their children at home. Sensory processing is the foundation for building motor skills. When a child is processing sensory information without any difficulty, they can plan out how to do something they want to do, follow directions, self-regulate their behavior with age-level skill, and engage in creative, exploratory play. If you notice that your child is having difficulty with sensory processing or suspect that some of their challenging behaviors might be due to sensory processing problems, there are many things to try. You can also check with an OT to help identify where the problems might be so that you can choose the best approaches.
The following activities are fun for all children and can be helpful for children's learning as they are multisensory. If you need more guidance with choosing activities, please check with an occupational therapist.
Deep Pressure/"Heavy Work" Activities:
These types of activities help children build their "body awareness", which, in turn helps children develop an inner picture of themselves so that they can move in a coordinated way. Except for very young children, you can guess that a child has difficulty with body awareness if they have difficulty imitating positions and movements for "Simon Says" or seem clumsy, even though they seem to be strong. Deep pressure/heavy work activities can also be very calming. For example, parents often figure out that swaddling a baby or tucking covers in around a child before reading a story at bedtime is calming. These are examples of deep pressure/heavy work activities.
First, if your child has a disability, please check with an OT before using these activities!
- The "Hotdog": Using a beach towel or small blanket, roll your child up like a hotdog in a bun.
- The "Gingerbread Cookie": Use a yoga/exercise ball and roll it over your child's back, arms and legs. Kids love to pretend they are "gingerbread cookies"!
- Crabwalks: How many ways can you think of to get to another place? Crabwalking (sit down, place hands behind on the floor, raise the body and move backwards and forwards) is a great workout. Kids can try moving one of their toys from one place to another by placing it on their stomachs.
- Bike riding with a weight: You can attach a wagon so that your child pulls a load, or use an exercise band and loop it around the frame of a tricycle to give some resistance as your child pedals.
- Climbing: Wall climbing is a great heavy work activity when your child is old enough.
- Wearing a backpack: These should be no more than 10% of your child's weight. However, on family excursions, a few bottles of water can add up!
- Squeeze and stretch toys: Children love to play with toys they can squeeze and stretch which give them a relaxing workout. If your child plays with an airfilled squeeze toy that loses its air, you can cut a slit in it and turn it into an "inside-out" toy that gives resistance.
- Chores around the home: raking leaves, shoveling snow, carrying in bags of groceries, and vacuuming.
- Hanging from bars on Jungle Gyms, a zipline, or cargo net.
- There are weighted blankets that can be made or purchased. The weight should be no more than 5-10% of your child's weight. They can be used for relaxing, but should not be used when your child is unattended
Movement Activities:
These kinds of activities stimulate the child's balance and movement senses. Spinning, swinging with a lot of force, and hanging upside-down gives strong sensory input, so you would want to monitor your child's reaction during these types of activities. These types of movements actually help children who are "sensory seekers", although they need to be controlled by an adult. Slow movements, especially in the in the "anterior-posterior" plane (head-to-foot) are very relaxing and will help your child calm down.
Here are some examples:
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These kinds of activities stimulate the child's balance and movement senses. Spinning, swinging with a lot of force, and hanging upside-down gives strong sensory input, so you would want to monitor your child's reaction during these types of activities. These types of movements actually help children who are "sensory seekers", although they need to be controlled by an adult. Slow movements, especially in the in the "anterior-posterior" plane (head-to-foot) are very relaxing and will help your child calm down.
Here are some examples:
- Two adults can make a hammock with a blanket and swing the child slowly back and forth in a head-to-foot direction.
- Rocking in rocking chair is also a "head-to-foot" activity.
- Swinging on playground swings-a long rope swing is the best, as the arc is longer.
- Slides give stronger movement input, especially long ones such as water slides.
- Ice hockey and skating, sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and skateboarding provide strong movement input.
- Rocking over a small exercise ball on the stomach is very relaxing; but sitting and bouncing can excite children.
- Spinning on a Sit n' Spin, Dizzy Disc, or swivel chair gives strong sensory input. The child needs to be monitored by an adult to make sure he or she does not become over-stimulated.
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Additional sensory-based activities:
Check out my Pinterest board Sensory Activities for Home for more ideas:
https://www.pinterest.com/hosmanjoan/sensory-activities-for-home/
For fine motor activities, please look under the heading "Teacher Resources" and the occupational therapy blog: "What's Buzzing in OT" , found under the Memorial School Website area.
Check out my Pinterest board Sensory Activities for Home for more ideas:
https://www.pinterest.com/hosmanjoan/sensory-activities-for-home/
For fine motor activities, please look under the heading "Teacher Resources" and the occupational therapy blog: "What's Buzzing in OT" , found under the Memorial School Website area.