Ready to Use at Home: Support Your Child with Sensory Integration Activities

Sensory integration is a child's ability to take in sensory input and respond to it appropriately. There are many activities you can do at home to develop these skills. Here are detailed suggestions for each sensory area:

Touch

• Touch boxes: fill small boxes with fabrics, sponges, feathers, rice or beans and let your child explore the textures with their hands.
• Finger painting: paints of different consistencies offer tactile experience and support creativity.
• Making slime: trying different textures increases sensory awareness.
• Kneading dough: play dough or salt dough gives tactile feedback and strengthens hand muscles.
• Hot and cold games: ice cubes, warm water bags or objects of different temperatures.

Proprioception

• Weighted vests and blankets: increase body awareness for better balance and coordination.
• Firm hugs: give a sense of security and body awareness.
• Climbing walls: strengthen muscles and develop body awareness.
• Jumping on soft surfaces: a bed or large mat gives proprioceptive input.
• Obstacle courses: build obstacles with cushions, mats or chairs.

Vestibular Sense

• Swinging: develops balance and coordination.
• Spinning: safe spinning stimulates the vestibular system.
• Rolling: rolling on a soft surface develops balance.
• Sliding: lets children experience speeding up and slowing down.
• Ball games: rolling over or catching a big ball increases body awareness.

Vision

• Coloured balloons: attract visual attention and develop tracking skills.
• Mosaics: improve visual perception and hand-eye coordination.
• Light-up toys: increase visual interest.
• Nature walks: observing colours, shapes and textures enriches perception.

Hearing

• Musical instruments: making music develops auditory perception.
• Recordings: natural sounds, music or stories increase auditory attention.
• Sound games: guessing sounds develops auditory discrimination.

Smell

• Spices: recognising different spices develops the sense of smell.
• Aromatherapy oils: lavender or chamomile scents are relaxing.
• Natural scents: flowers and fruits strengthen smell memory.

Taste

• Different flavours: tasting various fruits, vegetables and foods.
• Cooking together: tasting ingredients while cooking develops the sense of taste.

Important notes:

• Consider your child's interests.
• Do activities in a safe environment.
• Watch your child's reactions and adjust the activities.
• Be patient and praise your child.
• A specialist can help you build a personalised programme.

Remember, every child is different, so consult a specialist to find the most suitable activities.

Sensory integration activities will help improve your child's quality of life and happiness.