PART 2: SENSORY TECHNIQUES

Often one of the biggest challenges in your child’s day- and probably in yours- is doing homework. Some children are exhausted and need a snack or time to play before sitting down while others are better off finishing their homework first and playing afterward.

For a child who needs to move, requiring him/her to sit down to do homework as soon as he/she comes home may be counter-productive and result in your child seeking out movement inappropriately (such as fidgeting or getting up and down frequently), which will lengthen the homework process.

Children who have compelling sensory needs that they have managed to sublimate all day will most likely need a physical workout to feed their sensory systems- either to calm down and reorganize, or to raise their level of alertness to focus on homework. A 5-10 minute intense goal-oriented “workout” with a clear beginning and end is best for children who need vestibular, proprioceptive, or deep touch pressure input (see our Glossary in the Resources section for an explanation of terms). The trick is to help your child find a routine that works best for him/her.

Sensory aides can be used during homework as well to help lengthen endurance for sitting and improve the ability to attend over time.

• Placing a Sit ‘n Move cushion (www.pfot.com) on your child’s chair may provide just enough movement to enable your child to sit longer with more erect posture.
• The rhythmicity and heavy work involved in chewing gum or drinking from a sports top water bottle may keep your child on task longer.
• Theraband, resistive exercise band (www.thera-band.com) wrapped around the legs of the chair may provide enough resistance to help your child sit for longer periods of time and attend.
• Rhythmic music in more bass tones is also organizing and grounding (for example, The Spirit of the Forest or The Listening Program’s Classic 1 CD, Sensory Integration).

Vestibular activities can be arousing for a child who has low energy, flat affect, and needs to be up-regulated in order to focus and attend.

• Somersaults
• Cartwheels
• Handstands

Resistive activities (proprioceptive activities) that also provide some movement through space (vestibular input) are “grounding” and organizing because they incorporate “heavy work”. Engaging in these types of activities can ease the transition to homework. Activities that provide high proprioceptive with low vestibular input can include:

• “Pushing out the wall”: Have your child stand facing the wall with two open palms on the wall. Take two small steps backward and challenge your child to imagine making the room bigger by pushing out the wall.
• Bicycle riding
• Jumping rope
• Jumping on a trampoline for a set amount of time
• Soft, gentle bouncing on an inflatable therapy ball

Avoid activities that are difficult for your child to leave. For some children swings are so over-arousing and disorganizing that they compromise rather than facilitate the homework process. Since each child has unique sensory needs and responses to sensory input, work with your child’s occupational therapist to figure out the best plan for your child.

Blog Written By:

Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR

Chaye Lamm-Warburg, MA, OTR, Director POTS