Sensory Enrichment: Using Everyday Activities to Calm Sensitivities and Sensory Craving – Teresa Garland

• Immerse sensitive children in rich sensation.
• Replace craving behaviors with useful sensory-based activities.
• Desensitization for sound, textures and foods.
• Live demonstrations with children!

Create activities for the fidgety child, the sensitive child and the unmotivated child. This workshop presents new ideas, activities and projects to keep children with sensory modulation disorder happily immersed in pleasant sensation. There will be live demonstrations with children showing desensitization techniques for sound, texture and food. Additional demonstrations include activities for sensory-immersion in textures such as yarn, wood and stone, and in in scent, color, and music. We also take a brief look at the latest evidence for sensory interventions.

Objectives

1. Distinguish three general desensitization techniques.
2. Develop a repertoire of sensory-based activities.
3. Compare the evidence for sensory therapy Vs. Ayers™ Sensory Integration.

Outline
Sensory immersion & desensitization

• What is it?
• What evidence do we have?

Desensitization demonstrations

• Sound-effects story
• Get used to gooey
• Food play

Turn small activities into projects and hobbies
Immersion activity demonstrations

• Yarn rolling, wrapping, chaining
• Project: cover a box
• Stone gluing
• Project: make a planter
• Scented “flowers”
• Project: indoor sensory garden
• Music: make a playlist
• Color: fabric on a ring, paper mosaics
• Project: collage