Many parents ask: What is a “Sensory diet”? The term “Sensory diet” was coined by Occupational therapist, Patricia Wilbarger (1984), and can be defined as a carefully designed, scheduled activity plan, that provides the sensory input a person’s nervous system needs to stay focused and organized throughout the day. Each sensory diet is specially designed to meet a child’s specific sensory needs. Wilbarger and Wilbarger (1991) developed the approach to provide the “just right” combination of sensory input to achieve and maintain optimal levels of arousal and performance in the nervous system. The ability to properly identify and respond appropriately to sensations can be enhanced by a proper sensory diet.

There are certain types of sensory activities that are similar to eating a “main course” and are very powerful and satisfying. The most powerful and longest lasting activities on the nervous system include deep pressure touch, joint compression or traction, movement, and heavy work (Wilbarger, 1995).

There are other types of activities that may be beneficial, but their impact is not as great. These “sensory snacks” are activities that last a shorter period of time and generally include mouth, auditory, visual, or smell experiences. Examples of sensory snacks are as follows:

·  MOUTH: water bottle

·  AUDITORY: listening to music, headphones to block sound out

·  VISUAL: dimmed lights

·  SMELL: cinnamon spray (alerting), vanilla spray (calming)

Implementation of an individualized sensory diet should span all aspects of the child’s day, predominantly those involving the school and home environments. A sensory diet is not simply arbitrarily adding more sensory stimulation into the child’s day. Additional stimulation can sometimes intensify negative responses. Specific time oriented activities must be repeated throughout the day to help the child maintain an optimal level of organization. Every child has unique sensory needs, and his/her sensory diet must be customized by a trained Occupational Therapist, to meet his/her individual needs and responses.

DEFINITIONS

Deep pressure touch: firm touch or activities that put pressure on the skin (i.e. mat sandwich, rolling therapy ball on top of child)

Proprioception: sensation of joint and muscles. Activities that apply compression or traction to the joints or muscle action.

Vestibular: movement such as rocking, jumping, and tumbling.

Heavy work: a type of proprioceptive activity that includes anything that makes the muscles work against resistant (i.e. animal walks, wheelbarrow walk)

Resources

Wilbarger, P. (1984). Planning a “sensory diet”: Application of sensory processing theory during the first year of life. Zero to Three, 5(1), 7-12.

Wilbarger, P. (1995, June). The sensory diet: Activity programs based on sensory processing theory. Sensory Integration Special Interest Section Newsletter, 18, 1–4.