I would love to see if I can give you some ideas of how to delve into your child's sensory needs, but, I need more information. Here is a brief summary of some of the things you can tell me:

What senses are issues with you child? The choices are
1. sight (visual),
2. hearing (auditory),
3. touch (tactile),
4. taste,
5. smell,
6. balance (vestibular) and
7. body awareness (proprioception/kinesthetic).

Is your child:
1.hypersensitive - gets overstimulated by the sense or
2. hyposensitive - does not seem to be aware of events that require that sense or
3. sensory seeking - looks for input from that sense all the time?

These are things an OT would determine in order to decide on a "sensory diet" - the appropriate activities to help a child.

If anyone wants to give me some info on their child or on specific problems he/she is having, I will see what I can come up with. Deb

Hi, my son is 22 now and has long had sensory issues. His are (from your list)
2. auditory
3. touch
4. smells
6. vestibular
7. proprioceptive/kinesthetic

He seeks deep pressure by squirming his hands behind my back or under me as I sit on the couch. He also does this with his legs. He prefers that I actually sit down on his legs. I only do this for about 5-10 minutes as I am afraid to cut off his circulation!

He gets overwhelmed with more than 1 item in a direction, so visual supports work best for him.

When he's out in a mall or a noisy restaurant, for example, he gets very quiet and then later has great anxiety (pacing). He might also pick at his nails.

He paces a great deal. He can often bump into furniture and stand too close to people he doesn't know well.

He's hyposensitive much of the time, but then reacts after. He can't seem to regulate his own inputs or know when things are getting too overwhelming for him.

Thanks for any ideas. Our school folks are not much help at all.

Well, I've got two who we are sure are on the spectrum, but we're waiting for an appt. to get a dx. But, I'll list their sensory issues and maybe you can help me out.

Mitchell, who's 4:
1. Auditory hypersensitivity - if there is too much noise from multiple sources, he either covers his ears or removed himself from the area if he can.

2. He's a very visual learner, but is also visual seeking in that he loves to throw sand so he can watch it fall, tear up paper and throw it, etc. I think the throwing and tearing action is stimulating as well, although I think a lot of it is related to watching.

3. He chews/sucks on his blanket - has to be a waffle knit baby blanket.


Owen, almost 3:

1. Proprioception and vestibular hyposensitivity/sensory seeking - Owen likes to spin, bounce, rock, and can do these things for a LONG time. He can also do these things and play his Leapster at the same time.

2. Tactile hyposensitivity - He likes to be touched firmly, and will touch others with more "force" than expected - likes bear hugs, touching or rubbing on arms/legs/back/head, tickling, firm kisses on mouth, etc.

3. Oral texture avoidance - Owen will only eat foods that fit in the "dry/crunchy" category. Everything has to at least have a crunchy, dry outside to it. Example - fish sticks, chicken nuggets, nutrigrain bars, sandwiches (PB), cookies, breads, toast.

4. He's a very visual learner, good with puzzles.

5. He chews on all his sippy cup spouts, but nothing else.

6. He loves musical toys and the toys that play music he will sit and play over and over and over again.

That's all I can think of right now...they may each have for sensory issues that I'm not thinking about, but those are the biggies.

Mina

I'm going to do things backwards. :)

I think #4 is visual also. It sound to me like his visual system is very strong and he uses it well. Watching things vibrate may be very calming and relaxing, so he uses them to give that visual system a break. Not knowing him personally, this is just a guess, but it seems to add up.

2. Is the left ear closest to the outside of the car? Or is this just the ear he covers for no known reason? Does he react to - or did he used to react to - high-pitched sounds at home????

1. More questions about the soups... Are they hot? Does he - or did he ever - have an adverse reaction to things like casseroles, nuts in muffins, etc - what we call "mixed textures"? Does he eat everything in the soup when it is not in soup? Does he like salty foods?

1...by juicy, I mean soups.
2...high pitched barking, motorcycle pass by his side of the car, for which he justs covers his left ear.
3...he is very good at puzzles, finding the differences in pictures, doesn't care to much for the light up toys.
4...he just likes to see things vibrate, no set time or reason, just because.

1. By very visual, I assume your child either really likes visual toys (lights and such) or is very good at visual tasks (puzzles and such) or both. When kids have a sense that they are very strong in, I use that sense as a tool to help them learn things that are harder. I hold control of visual toys so they have to ask for them. I teach turn taking through puzzles. I use visual aids and design tasks (like math) so they are more visual.

2. What kind of loud noises does he not like? How does he react? What coping methods has he learned - if any - so far.

3. When a child has things they dont like when eating - this can be a taste, touch or smell issue - or some combination. As you said "juicy", rather than something like "citrus", I wonder if this is more a texture thing than a taste thing. Will he drink juices? Does he also get upset by things like very juicy hamburgers or melted cheese?

4. Kids who seek a sensation are usually trying to use it to regulate their system. Some things like warm baths are very calming. Others like fidget toys can be exciting and help get their system going. Your son is probably usuing vibration for this reason - but for which reason can differ by person. Does he seek it when he seems upset, excited, tired, sick, etc, etc. If you can figure out why he uses it, then you can figure out when he needs it and have it available to him.

Julian is:
1...very visual
2...doesn't like CERTAIN loud noises
3...taste, he doesn't like food that is juicy
4...He is a sensory seeker...particularly...vibrations.