Help for sensory seeking child

amother

Slateblue

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 10:43 am

I am not sure this is the right forum but here goes:

My child has been approved by the BOE for OT starting September. DC has difficulty with fine motor skills and is sensory seeking etc.

Having finally identified the issues that bothered me, I am no longer so upset when DC is fidgety or clumsy. However, it is extremely exhausting having to "control" all the touching, constant movement etc. when it affects others in the family, never mind when we are in public.

How do I magically "redirect" DC's energy and movement to something less bothersome? Hopefully, therapy will help in the long run, but I need ideas for "on the spot".

TIA

amother

Teal

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 3:28 pm

amother wrote:

You don't specify the age of your child, but here are some universal tips that may help.
-buy dc some silly putty. It will help with the fidgeting, and with building up hand strength.
-koosh balls are also great fidget toys for in public. Dc can hold it in his/her pocket and play with it. Keep one or two in your purse to give dc when you go out.
- bean bags that have weight to them can be placed inside dc pants/skirt pockets for 1/2 hour at a time. (When you need dc to be less fidgety). Total weight should be 5% of dc body weight.
- get a good lotion and massage dc after bathing. It will help with body awareness and calming
- when you see dc start to fidget, have dc jump up and down/jumping jacks- the deep input into the joints helps calm.
- Change dc chores to the heavy work around the house. Bringing in groceries, sweeping the floor, wiping the counters, carrying the laundry, (gardening). Again, the deep input to the joints and heavy work are calming.
-give child crunchy snacks: apples, carrots, peppers, pretzels, etc. Have dc eat applesauce/yogurt/etc. from a straw. Again, heavy work to the mouth.
-when child need to do homework, let dc sit on a exercise ball instead of a chair to help with dc concentration.
- try squishing dc between two pillows. This provides deep input, and is calming to the nervous system.

Basically, I gave you a few ideas falling into three categories:
Compensating- giving him appropriate ways to fidget
Deep input- calming and organizing for the nervous system
Heavy work- again calming and organizing for the nervous system.

I hope this helps. Never force any of this on dc. If dc doesn't like something from the above, stop it and try something else. They are only suggestions as I never worked with your child.

For yourself, get the book "the out of sync child". It will help you help dc.

Disclaimer: I am an Ot, though I have no official training in sensory integration.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 7:48 pm

My sensory seeking DD drove me nuts at that age. Petco saved my sanity.

If you have a Petco or PetSmart near you, make it a part of your weekly routine. We would spend an hour just letting her run up and down the toy aisles, touching, squeezing, squeaking, and shaking all of the dog and cat toys. When she had her fill of input, we'd take her to look at the fish tanks for a half an hour, and that calmed her down and made her feel peaceful.

The employees there absolutely loved her, and as long as she put the toys back where she found them, they never cared that she ran around (with us tagging right behind her.)

We had a pet frog at the time, so we'd get our weekly supply of live crickets each time we went. That way we felt we weren't abusing their hospitality.

amother

Peach

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 8:00 pm

My Dd sounds like yours. We definately did the massaging brush and some of the other suggestions. We labeled DDs behaviors as her "energeez" and when she would feel her "energeez" coming on she would do some heavy lifting or stair climbing or jumping Or something like that at my direction. Before entering a function she can do a some sort of sensory input activity (textured if she is likely to touch things or whole body if she is inclined to hyperactivity or a combo of both) However, the techniques did not "fix" the underlying problem.
We did alot of dietary changes and along with maturity, things BH have improved but I saw the most improvement once I started implementing dietary changes. There are certain foods that are triggers for DD and I can tell right away if she ate any of them.

amother

Linen

Tue, Jul 07 2015, 8:53 pm

amother wrote:

Can you explain a little more about the dietary changes? Or give some examples?