It goes without saying that you would not try to take a road trip across country without having your car fueled, the proper amount of oil, or working brakes.  Or you would not go backpacking across Europe without hiking boots, a backpack, and the daily essentials.  So, let's look at things on a smaller scale, why do we not prepare our children with the proper tools and "fuel" to get through the day.  Too many times, especially in the school environment we hear that "there isn't enough funds for sensory equipment" or "sensory needs are not very important at school".  BUT THEY ARE.  In essence we are setting our children up to fail, or even more, have to work harder by not having proper sensory diets developed and in place for staff and parents to carryout.  

Children with sensory processing disorder, those on the Autism Spectrum, or children who struggle with attention and self-regulation, need to have the right tools in order to be successful.  That starts with the right sensory diet.   When developed properly and strategically, a sensory diet is more than just a few suggested activities for your child. It should be individualized and developed with your child's needs, routine, environment, and resources taken into consideration.  Therefore, it requires a team approach, gathering input from all members.  

Too often we find that sensory diets are not developed, let alone carried out.  And there are many reasons behind this.  Whether it be not enough time to develop it, staff or family not having the time or knowledge to implement it, or a child's lack of interest, there seems to be a reason of why it does not happen.  But if we work together as a team, we will find that it can be done, it should be done, and in return we are helping a child be more success, learn with greater ease, and tolerate the day much easier (for the child, parents, and staff).

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The sense of touch (or tactile sensory perception) is one of our most important senses. It begins to develop very early during pregnancy and becomes quite active long before a baby is born. Like the other senses that play an important role in sensory integration, it usually goes about doing its job without us noticing very much. Yet it is very important for allowing us to perform many skills and to feel comfortable and at ease in many situations. Babies learn a lot about the world through the sense of touch. When they go through the stage of picking up and putting everything in their mouths they are using their sense of touch to find out about shape, size and texture. This is how they first learn about the difference between things like round and square, big and little, rough and smooth, etc. If the sense of touch is not very specific, that is, it doesn't provide clear, consistent information, then it may be more difficult to understand these types of differences visually or cognitively. The hands, feet and mouth are the most sensitive areas of our bodies because they have many more cells which detect and respond to touch. We depend on information from our touch system to help us perform many skills..

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Add some flair to our Weighted Lap Pads and Blankets, to improve calming and attention in your clients and students. These hand fidgets and textured beanbags attach easily with Velcro to both our blankets and lap pads. While providing proprioceptive input, these fidgets will keep the hands busy, increasing organization and attention, especially during activities requiring larger amounts of sitting and listening.

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