Sensory Diet

• A sensory diet is a planned and scheduled activity regime that encourages a variety of sensations to be experienced throughout the day.
• It can be compared to a food diet, where children need to eat regularly throughout the day to maintain their energy and focus.
•  It aims to help a child meet his/ her sensory processing needs and feel calm, alert and organized most of the time.

It can be used to:

• help a child wake up and be more alert
• help a child calm down
• help a child be more organised
• help a child focus on work

Sensory activities should include:

• Movement
• Heavy work of joints and muscles (Proprioception)
• Visual stimulation (looking)
• Oral stimulation (mouth fidgets)
• Deep pressure touch to whole body
• Deep pressure touch for hands (hand fidgets)
• Auditory Stimulation (hearing)
• Smell

Sensory activities have a lasting effect on the nervous system as shown below.