Want to know how to keep your kids calm and happy? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by their emotions and behaviour? Understanding Sensory Processing is the key!

What is Sensory Processing

Sensory Processing is our ability to process different sensations in our environment and react appropriately. We can help our kids to learn this skill and cope with a variety of challenges everyday! More specifically sensory processing refers to the amazing way our brain receives messages from our senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioural responses. Good sensory processing allows kids to maintain attention, regulate their emotions and learn new information or physical skills.

Our Bodies has 8 senses

Yes 8 senses! 5 senses we commonly discusss and 3 what we call hidden senses.

• Visual – seeing
• Auditory – hearing
• Tactile – touch
• Olfactory – smell
• Gustatory – taste
• Vestibular – balance – where is my head in position to the ground
• Proprioception – awareness of body position in space – when I close my eyes I know that I am standing up straight.
• Interoception – ability to interpret internal body cues – I need to go to the toilet, I’m hungry.

Our sensory system at work

From our eight senses our body can understand the world around it……

…..Let’s put this into context. Just for fun, think about the last time you baked chocolate chip cookies. Your kids or husband walk through the front door. Their first reaction is mmmmhhhh and they all race towards the kitchen. You can bet their mouths are salivating and their stomach might even growl. They might even try and sneak a cookie straight off the tray and quickly realise it is too hot to eat, just yet.

Our bodies are hard at work digesting a range of senses from the wafting smell of cookies to the heat of the tray to the look of the gooey chocolate. I bet your thinking I need a chocolate chip cooking right now! Then, through amazing intelligent design, we have an internal reaction to the stimulus. We salivate, we move towards the food, our stomach growls in preparation to digest. Our brain triggers a nostalgic feeling and we are quick to grab a cookie because we remember that it tasted soooo good last time.

what if we got all mixed up?

Now wouldn’t it be strange if at the smell or sight of chocolate chip cookies we ran away and hid under our covers. This is the same for some of our kids who have challenges with sensory processing or may be feeling very dysregulated at that time. They may react inappropriately to specific sensations. The unexpected triggered response to sensations is called the fight flight or freeze response. Children who are dysregulated or have difficulty processing may have a flight, fright freeze response to everyday experiences.

Fight, FLight, Freeze Response (FFF Response)

The Braive institute created a simple video to explain the FFF response, have a watch below:

Learning to Cope with sensory overwhelm

When our kids are upset we become the detectives to try to figure our what is wrong. Then we use our parenting instincts to try help them feel better by a tight snuggle, a soft song or a distracting game. It is the same with sensory challenges. Children learn to cope with the overwhelming sensation by doing something that makes their body feel good, like singing songs, taking a deep breath or a squishy hug. When we support them to regulate it is called co-regulation. When they learn skills to regulate their own emotions and responses it is called self regulation.

Dysregulation – Meltdown phase

Our body can have challenges processing and responding to sensory information when we are not feeling very well. In our kids this is when they are tired, unwell, after a busy day or when their routine changes rapidly, significantly or without warning. Any parent will know that getting an already tired child to sleep is a lot more tricky. They become irrational and cry about every little thing. The dreaded meltdown begins!

I am speaking from my living room right now as my dear little son is teething and very overtired. My husband and I are tag teaming rocking him and singing to him to sleep (Sensory regulation is throughout the life span!) Hopefully he will learn to self-soothe soon, otherwise I might become dysregulated. haha

Even as adults we can have times of dysregulation. Adults have many strategies to help re-organize our senses. Things like taking deep breaths, having a hot shower, taking a nap or sitting down with a hot cuppa. Adults have learned skills to self-regulate. We can teach our children appropriate tools to regulate their body and emotions.

Sensory preferences

In order to teach these self regulation skills it is helpful to understand our child’s sensory preferences. Not everyone loves chocolate chip cookies like I do. It’s the same thing with sensations. We process sensations based on our experiences and our neurological make up. Some kids will prefer big sensations like jumping off the play set, swinging through the air and loud music. Other kids may prefer reading books, colouring in, soft music and cuddly blankets. What is frightening or overwhelming for one kid is soothing to the next.

Finding out what sensations your child prefers will help you to determine how to help them. Sensations we try to avoid are most likely something new and unfamiliar or something our body has trouble processing. To give an example. I have difficulty with balance and depth of perception. This make navigating surfaces that are high off the ground or unstable difficult for me. I find heights frightening. Sometimes I will have an overreaction to these types of experiences. I may hold tight to the person next to me or crawl over surfaces.

Can My child learn to like different sensations?

Yes! We can learn to cope with, and even enjoy new or challenging sensations. As babies we are completely reliant on our parents to help us regulate. Through things like sleep training we teach our babies to learn to sooth themselves. It is through what we call graded exposure (slow and steady) and experiences over time that we can learn to cope.

For example, a child has difficulty trying new foods and experiences a limited diet. We will change one part of our child’s food at a time such as a new sandwich topping without changing any other elements including the bread, plate or any other items on the plate. We will do this for a while until the child is happy to eat this new topping. The point is we cannot try to flood our child with the new sensation all at once. If we constantly create negative or challenging feelings surrounding sensation (ie. the child feels forced) they will form a negative view of this experience. (I will be writing more on food in the near future…. stay tuned).

When we show our kids it is a positive, fun experience or teach them a safe way to do something new or challenging we trigger a calm and happy response in their brains in relation to that sensation. This will help them to want to try it again in the future. Use play and fun to support your child. Take your time and read their cues (rapid breathing, flushed cheeks, running away, scared expression etc).

how can i help my child with Sensory Processing?

We can support our children with organising sensations through many different strategies. The goal is teaching your child to independently self regulate through co-regulation, verbal instructions and modelling (showing what to do). See some ideas below and download the tip sheet for more helpful strategies.

Regulation Strategies:

1. Movement – Heavy work (pushing, pulling and lifting activities) climbing, swinging and crawling.
2. Deep Breathing – Bubbles, blowing up balloons, blowing races
3. Co-regulation – Showing your child how to be calm by your own actions of deep breaths, soft voice, getting down to their level and just being with them.
4. Nourishing food and sleep – our brain can cope with so much more when it is filled with healthy nutrients and adequate sleep. Find nourishing breakfast recipes for kids here.
5. Warn your child about a change of plans – give ample warning to change especially if you know this is a trigger for your child.
6. Creating simple routines that helps your child become familiar with what is going to happen – e.g. bedtime routines.
7. Get to know your child’s preferences and use these as a strategies for creating calm (e.g. Sam loves jumping on the trampoline – create a game of jumping then trying to stop his body)

Be Patient, Talk with your child

1. Sometimes you are just going to have a bad day. Be patient with yourself and your kids, be present with them. Don’t be afraid to take 5 and come back in when you feel calm yourself. Our Kids look to us for calm and stability, they want us to show them what to do.
2. Talk about the emotions you think your child is experiencing e.g. you look like you might be frustrated. Help them to understand what they might be feeling then offer a solution to help them feel better. Note: solutions are not getting out of doing the right thing, they are sensory strategies to calm our bodies so we can try the hard thing again.
3. Talk about your own feelings out loud ” Mommy is feeling really overwhelmed today, I think I need to take a deep breath and do some nice stretches to feel better” You are teaching by example!
4. We develop our sensory processing skills as we grow up. Your kids are still learning.

Does your child have Sensory processing Disorder?

Some children may have neurological based challenges with sensory processing. We call this sensory processing disorder or SPD. Some indications that your child may struggle with sensory processing beyond the norm include:

Sensory PRocessing DIsorder Checklist?

1. Are they overly sensitive or under reactive to sensory information
   • Overreactive – ie. may be very opposed to wearing certain clothes because they are “itchy, scratchy, tight etc
   • Under-responsive ie. Seem not to notice pain or someone calling their name.
   • Emotional dysregulation ie. seem to shut down, display rigidity or inflexibility in their thinking.
2. Do they seek certain sensations
   • Constantly moving or regularly asks for really tight hugs.
   • Touching everything around them
3. Do they find it difficult to complete motor tasks
   • Your child may bump into things or seems uncoordinated
4. Do they have difficulty interpreting sensory information
   • Difficulty dressing without a mirror or directions
   • Difficulty chewing food properly.

When to get help

If your child struggles with every day activities and seems to be overwhelmed by normal sensations throughout the day they may struggle with sensory processing. The suggested resources below will support you if you are concerned about your child.

Sensory Processing supports for your kids

If you think your child has trouble getting through everyday activities without meltdowns or shutting down. If normal activities like getting dressed, mealtimes, car rides or bath time are challenging it may be Sensory Processing Disorder. You should consider a trip to your GP and discuss a referral to a paediatrician. Your paediatrician can help you access services such as Occupational Therapy and Psychology to support you and your child in learning strategies to make every day so much easier.

Paediatric Occupational Therapists are experts in sensory processing and will be able to support you and your child in finding solutions to everyday challenges.

Sensory Processing in kids

Parenting Resources

Sensory Processing for Kids – helpful online resources or books to support you:

1. Sensational Kids written by Dr Lucy Jane Miller OT – An excellent book explaining sensory processing disorder for parents.
2. The Star institute website has many great articles, resources and more to support you
3. The Out of Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz – Written by an experienced teacher to help you understand SPD.
4. The Zones of Regulation Program – Excellent program to help kids understand their body and learn calming strategies for how they feel.
5. Download the tip sheet on calming strategies for kids below!
6. Your Paediatrician
7. Your Paediatric Occupational Therapist

This post was written by a Qualified Paediatric Occupational Therapist to support you!

Share and Comment Below

What strategies do you use to help your child with sensory processing and self regulation? Comment below to share your tips and ideas with our wholesome home community!

If you would like some more clarification about sensory processing in kids leave a comment and I will support you as best that I can.