Sensory Games for Special Needs

I thought with the popularity of the other posts that maybe I should share more about my son. These are activities that I've found through research and therapy sessions with him that work great for children with sensory issues, with or without autism. Keep in mind that each child responds to stimuli differently, so what might entertain one child would be a trigger for another. My son has Proprioceptive Dysfunction in combination with Sensory Processing Disorder. He can't assimilate sensory information the way other people do and the Proprioceptive Dysfunction causes his brain to not properly send signals to his body to move. Its like trying to drive a car at night in the pouring rain when the brakes and wipers don't work and the headlights are flashing on and off constantly and every time you turn the wheel the car goes in the opposite direction.

He engages in a lot of play therapy to help him to integrate sensory information and coordinate his body or find more positive ways to distract himself from stimuli that trigger his behaviors. When working with a sensory-sensitive child, whether or not they are autistic, remember to bring them back down after a stimulating session so they can reset themselves to a neutral state. I forget to do this sometimes and the consequences are always disastrous.

1. Hide-and-Seek. This is one of Liam's favorite games. Instead of people hiding, though, we use objects instead. Dice are particularly useful, but we've used army men, small superhero figures, coins, and even pebbles. Pretty much anything that's small and you don't mind getting it a little messy. I hide the objects inside a bowl of shaving cream, or sand, or colored water, or even balls of play-doh. Sometimes when working with water we use two different temperatures because he has difficulty distinguishing between hot and cold. I've also hidden larger pebbles (maybe the size of a quarter) in bowls of tiny beads. This game is a little harder for him because the feel of the objects is nearly identical but the size is different and forces him to work a little harder.

2. Loud and Quiet. My son loves music and dancing; pretty much anything that with rhythm. We will have an hour of dance time where we switch between loud songs (he loves dub step and 90s rap) and quiet songs (like Debussy, Liszt, or Rachmaninoff). We move our bodies according to the tempo of the music. I always end with a quiet song; Liam's preference is Liszt's Consolation. We play the loud music quite loud and soft music very quietly and whisper while its on.

3. Pushing and Pulling. My son has trouble regulating his body movements so this one is very important to his development. I have an exercise band that we use and basically have a nice battle of tug-of-war. We also have one of those Velcro paddle and ball sets. I use the Velcro part and stick whatever I can find on it, some things stick well and some things don't. This way he practices pulling hard and pulling lightly. We also have several "push" toys for him like a lawnmower. I placed some simple weights on the underside of the lawnmower so its harder for him to push. You can try using swim weights or ankle weights as well, but use your common sense with the swim weights! We use them only when he is within arms' reach and in the toddler pool!

4. Gardening. This one seems more like a family activity than therapy, but all the digging, hauling dirt, playing in the water, weeding, pruning leaves, and checking for bugs are all great chances for sensory play! Liam loves hauling buckets of pretty much anything. We even started a compost pile at one time so he could rake it and haul dirt for it and find worms to put in it. Compost piles are a great option during the colder months when its much harder to grow things.

5. Jumping! Liam absolutely loves to jump and many autistic children do, too! This is one of the reason why we have the two king mattresses covering his entire bedroom floor. Since we had replaced our king size bed with a queen size waterbed this was a cheap (as in free!) way to recycle the old mattresses, especially since we couldn't afford a trampoline or some of the other jumping toys that are available. Even though he can jump whenever he wants, I try to limit his time or organize it around other activities so he doesn't cross his threshold. A couple of times we've used pillowcases and had sort of potato sack races in the living room. While fun, they aren't nearly as popular as the bed! The mattresses also double as a comforting spot for him to squeeze into when he needs some alone time. Like many sensory/autistic children weight and/or pressure are calming for him.

6. Chew toys! Yep, you heard it right. My son chews on toys like a little puppy. He has an oral fixation because, as you all know, your mouth is one of the most sensitive areas on your body. This is why infants and toddlers put things in their mouths: to experience and understand them. Liam tends to lick people and walls (particularly at my older son's school) and put rocks and dirt in his mouth. He chews on his hands and fingers, other toys, clothing, pretty much anything he can get his hands on. Instead of trying to eliminate the licking and chewing completely - its a neurological compulsion - I have instead opted for alternatives. He has a bucket of "safe" toys for chewing. There are even therapy items specifically made for this type of sensory stimulus, though I can't really afford them. Each of his chew toys have different sizes and textures, though obviously none are small enough to choke on.

Some of the calming techniques I use between activities are as follows:

1. Breathing. We pretend we're eagles and stretch our arms out as far as the will go. As we raise our arms up we breathe in. When lowering them, we breath out. Keep in mind we're doing this slowly. We also lower our voices to a whisper and then transfer to another activity.

2. Burrito Boy! One of the most powerful ways to calm Liam is to swaddle him like a newborn. Just find a blanket big enough and do a traditional swaddle. If he seems uncomfortable, I'll pull his arms out so its just his lower body that's swaddled. This gives him control over the situation and makes him feel more comfortable while still allowing him to feel safe. He particularly loves this one if I warm the blanket up in the dryer first!

The most important thing with a sensory child is to allow them to feel in control of their stimuli. Many of their behavioral issues stem from feelings of chaos or lack of control and putting the power back in their hands can head off a lot of negative outbursts.

I hope this helps anyone who has a sensory kid in their lives!