Movement, muscle work and deep pressure/touch activities all provide sensory experiences that are extremely beneficial for all people, but even more beneficial for people with sensory regulation or sensory modulation difficulties.

Vestibular (movement) based activities are needed to improve posture, attention, eye skills, coordination, motor planning or praxis skills and also to stimulate language.

Proprioceptive (muscle and joint) activities are needed to clear traffic jams in the brain stem for greater sensory processing, to help get all the sensory information to the cortex of the brain so it can be enjoyed, and to help children know where their body is in space for greater body control and coordination skills.

Deep pressure to the touch receptors in our skin are needed to calm the central nervous system (like the calming effect we get from a nice firm massage), to give information to the body of where it is in space, to feel grounded, and to help each child develop an emotional connection with others.

It is important to do as much as you can at home and throughout the week when your child is not in therapy sessions. The best activities for your child are going to be the ones directly recommended for your child from the sensory therapist that knows him or her best. The most common activities we recommend in our office are gymnastics, swimming and martial arts programs. It is important to do your research before enrolling your child in any community program, as you need to feel assured that your child will be successful and challenged while still able to have fun. The personal qualities of an instructor that seem to fit best with children that have sensory needs and difficulties are- being firm but forgiving, and patient!

Other great after-school and weekend activities include rock climbing, football, soccer, water or snow skiing, running clubs,  skateboarding, surfing, mountain biking, indoor gym programs for younger children, basketball, and so on. Keep in mind a game like soccer that has a child standing in a field watching the ball does not qualify as a great extra-curricular activity.  Your child needs to be moving often and very active.

Activities that can be helpful to do around the house include yard work, using exercise bikes or treadmills (if safe and old enough), playing on a large trampoline in the backyard (only if it has a full wrap-around net for safety), cleaning or scrubbing work in the house or outdoors, play wrestling with pillows, and heavy work with wheelbarrow walks or animal walks. You can also throw in something for your child to chew in order to increase the intensity of muscle work to the jaw muscles, which is very helpful in regulating the central nervous system (i.e.- straws with knots in them, dried fruit, and/or gum).

If you have a sensory therapist working with your child already, you can bring these suggestions to him or her and see what they recommend. If not, then you can work on incorporating some of these activities into your weekly schedule and see how your child responds. If you get a calming response, then continue, if not, then stop!

I hope these suggestions have been helpful, now get out there and get your kids moving!!

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