Description

The Sensory Diet Toolkit!

Objectives:

• To identify if a child has sensory difficulties
• To identify which sensory system is being triggered/overloaded
• To provide a plan to meet the child’s sensory needs

Outline:

This toolkit has been created to guide you in identifying a child’s sensory needs alongside suggested activities that can be put in place to meet them. It is based on experience, from working with children that demonstrated sensory processing difficulties within Outstanding Specialist Education Settings in Sussex.

It contains EVERYTHING you need to support a child struggling with sensory processing difficulties! It has been broken down into Stages:

• Stage 1: Profile Needs: In this section – you are reviewing sensory needs and getting a base-line, so that once the interventions have been implemented, you know if they have been effective.
• Stage 2: Teach the Child: In this section – you have been given the resources to guide the child into understanding what their behaviours are telling them about their sensory needs.
• Stage 3: A Sensory Diet: This section is all about having a Sensory Lifestyle, to give the child a ‘diet’ of sensory input throughout their day. There are resources for families and school settings – so that everyone is working towards the same goal!
• Stage 4: Review Needs: This is focused on going back and re-assessing sensory needs, to establish if what you have put in place has been effective.

Note: This is a guidance Toolkit and does not replace the expertise of an Occupational Therapist.