Hi Welcome to today’s blog on sensory diet
Well I am wondering that we all have heard about sensory diet but do we exactly know what is it all about ?
So when all of us were chilling in college around 1991 there were two occupational therapists going by the name Wilbarger and Wilbarger
These two professionals devised an individualised plan of physical activities and accommodations to meet the sensory needs of a person
So what is so special about this plan ?and how is it benefitting
Ahh this plan focusses on giving an appropriate amount of sensory input throughout the day for a person with sensory processing difficulty to stay organised and an achiever
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Now what is goal behind this sensory diet , please note earlier we discussed the benefit of sensory diet
Goal 1 – to prevent sensory overload or overstimulation
Goal2- to provide good emotional regulation
Goal 3– to meet needs of the sensory nervous system
Goal 4- to become recovery technique from a meltdown
Goal 5- to increase the attentiveness
Goal 6- to instill calmness
Goal 7-to cut down anxiety
Goal 8- to have a control and better interaction
What all is included in a sensory diet
All activities can either address all the sensory systems or just one specific sensory system
Lets explore one by one
Lifting . pushing , pulling activities can give proprioceptive input
So vacuuming , swimming ,push ups , playing hopscotch, carrying backpack ,pushing a stroller , lifting weights , and push ups against the wall are important sensory diet activities for proprioception
When it comes to sensory diet for vestibular system , following will be the activities on your bucket list , swinging on a flat swing ,lying in a hammock ,rolling on the carpets , mats ,dancing and spinning on sit n spin disc
On the other hand , the tactile system is one sensory system that is very vital to promote calmness . so for this sensory system sensory diet activities would be drawing in sand , suji (semolina)or salt , massages the hands and legs,playing with playdough , squeeze balls and messy play with shaving foam and water play
Other senses cannot be ignored in the sensory diet and are also an essential part
For auditory – listening to music , nature sounds , playing musical instruments like drums . listening to sounds of running water and also using noise cancellation headphones to dampen unwanted sounds like pressure cooker , vacuum cleaners
For smell (olfaction)- explore calming scents like lavender , jasmine , vanilla , musk rose . while some people would be preferring alerting scents such as peppermints , coffee
Some would love to smell certain herbs , detergent , shampoo
For taste (gustatory)- certain crunchy food stuff serve as a great sensory diet e.g veggies that are raw , popcorn , wafers , chips , nachos , apples . Some people can be given chew jewellery in form of necklace , bracelets of raisins , marsh mellows
While some people wont like to chew but suck and lick , for this purpose sensory diet should include popsicles , ice cubes , shakes with straw
So when you are lost and you feel a sensory diet is definitely your rescue , don’t forget to scroll through my blog on Sensory diet and I know you will agree that it is wholesome
Thankyou
Creative efforts and ice cube lover – Heena Sahi
Creative representation for this blog is done by Morpheus Nag