Raising a Child with Sensory Differences:
A Journey as a Mum and Occupational Therapist, Part Four.

This is the last part of the four part blog series, written by Andrea Matthews, OT and Mum from Creative OT. In part three, Andrea looked at the 8 sensory systems, how we identify our sensory needs and how they can impact behaviour, movement skills and learning. In the final part in the series, Andrea looks at practical ways you can support your child's sensory needs at home and beyond.

Practical Ways to Support Your Child’s Sensory Needs at Home and Beyond

There are many ways that we can support the needs of people with sensory processing differences, to minimise the impact and prevent these getting in the way of what are children want and need to do.

 

Self-Care

Co-regulation is the foundation of self-regulation. As parents of neurodivergent children, it is important to look after ourselves so we are able to regulate ourselves to be able to lend that regulated state to our child when they need it.

Parenting a child with sensory processing differences can be challenging. We need to look after ourselves to make sure we have the personal reserves to be able to provide support. Take a moment to think about what regulates you and tops up your energy and calm. Sometimes when my personal reserves are low, I need to step away for a few minutes to take some deep breaths and ground myself before I’m ready to support someone else. I also really appreciate time to myself to have a cup of coffee, walk my dog, or watch my favourite programme in peace. It can be hard to look after yourself when supporting your child but is important for both you and your child.

Building your sensory knowledge

There are lots of free and low-cost training sessions, online resources, and support groups that can be invaluable in building your knowledge and confidence when it comes to understanding and supporting sensory needs. You can also work with a professional with post-graduate qualifications in sensory processing for 1:1 support around your child’s specific needs.

Acceptance

Children know what works for them; we see how they meet their own sensory needs through the behaviours they engage in, e.g. spinning, covering their ears, smelling or licking objects. Sadly, many children come to believe that these regulating behaviours are wrong, as they often don’t fit with the way that neurotypical people behave.

I feel that the most impactful thing you can do for your child is to make sure that they feel accepted and understood. By validating their lived experience, you can help them accept their unique sensory needs and any strengths and challenges that come along with this, giving them the confidence to begin to identify what works for them and to, over time, advocate for themselves.

Make sure relevant people understand their needs, so they feel accepted and understand across the environments they access. Involve your child as much as possible to ensure they feel comfortable with what is shared with key people, e.g. teachers, family members, friends, clubs they attend.

Create Sensory-Friendly Environments

Work with your child and key people across the environments they access, e.g. school, grandparents’ house, to adapt the environment to suit your child’s needs. This may be considering the lighting and sounds or making sure that there is a safe space to retreat to for movement or to decompress.

If you are supporting numerous people with sensory needs, e.g. more than one child at home, or in a school setting, then you may find that people have opposing sensory needs, e.g. one loves flashing lights while another prefers dim lights, or one startles at loud noises while the another enjoys making loud sounds. The general advice is to neutralise sensory stimuli as far as possible, e.g. neutral colours, quiet environment, neutralise smells, and provide space to move freely. Individual sensory input can then be added by setting up the environment to be used in different ways, e.g. separate spaces for quiet and noise, visual toys that can be used but also tidied away, space/equipment to move and a space to be still and contained, e.g. dark den, cosy corner.

Sensory Regulation Supports

When thinking about sensory regulation, everyone will have different things that they find helpful. Identifying and building these things into each day, sometimes called a sensory diet, can be very helpful for sensory and emotional regulation.

Tools such as sensory circuits, that typically include alerting activities, followed by organising activities, and then calming activities, can be useful and can be tailored for individuals. Alerting activities typically include fast movement with changes of speed and direction, organising activities require thought and control, e.g. targets or sorting games, and calming activities focus on calming sensory inputs, such as deep pressure.

Proprioception, that is actively moving the body to stimulate the muscles, joints and ligaments, is generally the safest and most regulating sensory input. The person creates this through moving their own body, so is in control of how it is used. Proprioception can help increase or lower arousal levels, depending on what the person needs. Proprioception can be increased through adding resistance to movement, so things like pushing, pulling, crawling, jumping, climbing and carrying, are all rich in proprioception. Personally, I use Lycra regularly during therapy, as stretching inside a Lycra body sock or crawling through a Lycra tunnel is a fun and simple way of adding resistance, and therefore additional proprioception to activities.

The tools listed below are a few ideas that can be helpful to use on the go to support sensory regulation:

  • Earphones/ear defenders for sound.
  • A cap or sunglasses for vision.
  • Snug fitting Lycra clothing for proprioception and deep pressure.
  • Chewing gum, crunchy/chewy foods, or a sensory chew for proprioception/oral stimulation.
  • A stress ball, piece of resistance band or other stretchy/squishy fidget toy, for proprioception and tactile feedback.
  • A wobble cushion or wobble stool for movement (proprioception and vestibular) when needing to sit.

Sensory Motor Supports

Multisensory activities that involve active movement are helpful for developing motor skills, as these require us to use vestibular, proprioception, tactile and visual feedback to guide our movements. Using activities that are rich in muscle work (proprioception) mean that we can support movement skills and sensory regulation at the same time. Typically, predictable, rhythmic movement, e.g. rocking, swinging, bouncing, and deep pressure rather than light tickly touch, support regulation.

Activities like yoga poses and obstacle courses are great for supporting movement skills and regulation simultaneously. The key is to make sure the activity is carefully graded to make sure that it offers just the right amount of challenge, while also being achievable. Being led by the child and building activities around their interests works best. I like to start easy and predictable to give a sense of mastery and achievement before gradually increasing the challenge. Making sure it feels like fun is key!

Interoception Supports

We can help children build awareness of their internal sense by being curious about what they are experiencing. Fun activities to help them tune into different body parts and how they feel is a great way to build this awareness. It is really important to honour the child’s experience and how they talk about/demonstrate how they feel, rather than assuming we know how they feel or trying to teach them about body sensations based on how something feels for us. Check out https://www.kelly-mahler.com

A Poem about Regulation

I wrote this little poem to express that regulated children are children who feel safe, supported and accepted.

If your brain is different

That’s ok with me

We don’t all think or act the same

Look around you and you’ll see

We all have things that feel tough and things that we’re good at

Comparing ourselves to others can make us feel so bad

Some people make things look easy and that might be the case

But sometimes they are struggling, they just don’t show it on their face

Your brain is beautiful as it is, I think you are a star

I accept you just the way you come, exactly as you are

And when things feel hard for you, you can always come to me

I’ll share my calm and be your balm

‘Til you feel ok to see

All the tools are there inside, it’s something you can do

You just need space, to feel safe to do what works for you

 

Blog Series written and supplied by Andrea Matthews, Creative OT

Andrea is an Occupational Therapist and Advanced Sensory Integration Practitioner. She specialises in neurodivergence, sensory processing and acquired brain injury. Her time is spent working in schools, clients’ own homes, clinic, workplaces, and the community with adults and children.  Andrea is Co-Director of Creative Occupational Therapy, Neuro Rehab Group and Creative Physiotherapy. 

Web: creativeoccupationaltherapy.com

Facebook: Creative Occupational Therapy

Updated January 2025