Facilitating Sensory Development
Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore. The sensory activities allow children to refine their thresholds for different sensory information helping their brain to create stronger connections to process and respond to sensory information.
As the child develops trust and understanding of this texture it helps build positive pathways in the brain to say it is safe to engage with this food. Sensory play literally helps shape what children to believe to be positive and safe in the brain. Ultimately, shaping the choices children make and impacting behavior.
Here are some signs that a child may be having difficulty with sensory processing:
- Seems over-sensitive to sounds (cries or covers ears when hearing loud or normal sounds)
- Has trouble paying attention to normal sounds
- Is always making noise and sounds so that it bothers other people (e.g. banging, screaming, humming, etc.)
- Over-sensitive to touch (cries or lashes out when touched by people, gets upset when touched by different fabrics or objects)
- Is always touching things to the point of annoying others (e.g. rubbing other people’s faces or skin, touching other people’s hair, etc.)
- Very nervous about movement or heights (e.g. doesn’t like swings, nervous about stairs, etc.)
- Is constantly moving, to the point of being unsafe or bothering others (e.g. climbing on things, jumping from great heights, spinning, running, banging head, can’t stop moving)
- Over-sensitive to light (squints or covers eyes when others have adjusted to the light)
- Enjoys looking at things in an odd way, or in a repetitive way (e.g. flicks lights on and off, holds toys or fingers up close to his eyes, watches ceiling fans, etc.)
- Seems extremely clumsy for his age
- Does not seem to notice pain
If you have concerns or questions about your child’s sensory skills, you may want to talk to an occupational therapist. You can contact our centre, or make a referral at anytime.
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