| Behavior |
Sensory Explanation |
Sensory Diet Activity |
| Hand flapping |
Seeking heavy work to muscles and joints |
Provide fiddle toys; perform chair or wall push-ups;
wear a weighted vest or blanket |
| Visual Stimulation such as finger flicking
in front of eyes; over-focusing on small toys; moving
eyes in odd ways |
Multi-sensory sensitivity; Decreased vestibular
processing; Difficulties with visual perception |
Provide strong, varied movement input; limit
extraneous visual stimuli; Perform activities that couple
vision with movement: i.e. targeting from a swing |
| Excessive mouthing and chewing on non-food
objects |
Decreased proprioceptive processing, especially
to the mouth; Decreased tactile discrimination, especially
in the mouth |
Use resistive chewy toys that the person
can chew on; Use a mini-massager to the mouth area; Provide
chewy and crunchy foods; Try using strong flavors such
as lemon, peppermint, and cinnamon |
| Rocking in chair or seat |
Decreased vestibular processing; decreased
proprioceptive processing; strong need for rhythm |
Provide a therapy ball to sit on; Provide
movement breaks throughout the day; Sing rhythmical songs
while person is swinging or moving; Provide a move and
sit cushion or wedge for the seat (found in therapy catalogues
and stores). |
| Head banging and Ear flicking |
Decreased vestibular and proprioceptive
processing |
Allow regular use of a therapy ball or mini-trampoline;
Provide opportunities for strong movement throughout the
day; Do chair/wall push-ups; Have client engage in activities
that provide strong vestibular and proprioceptive input
such as swimming, skiing, hiking, biking, sailing, swinging,
rock climbing, etc. |
| Humming or other vocalizations |
Decreased proprioceptive and vestibular
processing; Decreased auditory processing |
Mini-massager to mouth, face and ear; Blow
toys such as whistles and bubbles; Wear a walkman with
calming music |
| Smelling and sniffing |
Decreased gustatory and olfactory processing |
Provide strong flavors such as lemon, peppermint,
and cinnamon |
| Spinning Self |
Decreased vestibular processing (especially
in the rotary plane) |
Provide very strong rotary input on a sit
and spin; vary the direction and speed of movement on
swings; hold hands with person while they spin in circles |
| Complains about clothing, hair washing,
finger nail cutting, and the texture of food |
Tactile defensiveness |
Provide deep touch pressure to the whole
body through wrapping the person tightly in a sheet or
blanket; engaging in a therapeutic brushing program (monitored
in direct intervention); give squeezes in between pillows;
cut tags out of clothes; buy seamless socks; stick to
all-cotton fabrics; give strong touch input to shoulders
when giving a haircut or cutting nails; lotion massages |
| Complains about clothing, hair washing,
finger nail cutting, and the texture of food |
Tactile defensiveness |
Provide deep touch pressure to the whole
body through wrapping the person tightly in a sheet or
blanket; engaging in a therapeutic brushing program (monitored
in direct intervention); give squeezes in between pillows;
cut tags out of clothes; buy seamless socks; stick to
all-cotton fabrics; give strong touch input to shoulders
when giving a haircut or cutting nails; lotion massages |
| Poor eye contact |
Visual defensiveness or sensitivity |
Reduce extraneous visual stimuli; Allow
person to finish talking or listening before making eye
contact; show person pictures of people that will be at
a party or event ahead of time if possible to help them
become acquainted with a variety of faces; provide strong
vestibular input and encourage interaction during the
movement |
| Difficulty maintaining personal space |
Decreased proprioceptive and vestibular
processing |
Provide a cushion or carpet square that
delineates the person’s space; have person stand
at the end of the line in school; Provide strong all-over-body
proprioceptive input; Provide strong movement input on
swings, sit and spin, ziplines, etc. |
| Voice volume is either too high or too low |
Decreased auditory processing |
Tape record the person’s voice to
give them feedback regarding volume; provide blow toys
such as whistles and bubbles; listen to rhythmical, calming
music over headphones |
| Irrational fear of heights; strong aversion
to movement; car-sickness |
Decreased visual and vestibular processing |
Provide chewy foods or candies in the car;
Lemon drops and ginger snaps can help nausea; Provide
a safe place for the person to try climbing or moving
without other people present; couple vestibular activities
with heavy work and stay in close proximity to person
while they are moving |
