Don’t ignore your child’s sensory needs
Many children I work with have coexisting sensory difficulties. Some have:
- aversions to noise, light, feelings on their body i.e., tight clothes, tags, dirty hands.
- some children will suck or bite a range of items
- prefer certain foods
- appear to be hyperactive and seeking movement.
Sometimes their sensory likes or dislikes can take over and have an impact on their ability to focus and attend to an activity or be present in a conversation. I once had an Occupational Therapist explain it like this, “Imagine you were covered in mosi bites, that it made it impossible to focus on anything else but the need to scratch!” And then be told that you can’t scratch but you have to sit perfectly still on the mat and listen for 20minutes straight = impossible!
I regularly refer families to OTs for an assessment of their child’s sensory needs, to gain more understanding and to learn how to effectively fill their ‘sensory buckets’. When you address a child’s sensory needs, rather than ignore them, they can function at their best!! If your child is in kinder or school, letting their teachers know about their sensory needs will be beneficial to your child’s ability to participate in the classroom and beyond.
If you think this could be your child, consider getting in touch with an OT to see if they can help. There’s lots of amazing OTs out there!!
About the writer:
Lauren is a speech pathologist who has over 15 years experience working with children and teenagers who present with a range of learning and communication difficulties. Lauren is passionate about helping others and loves to find simple and creative ways to make learning fun!
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