What Is a Personalized Sensory Box

Children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) have difficulty interpreting information through one or more of their senses. As a result, these children have problems regulating their responses to sensory information. For these children and their parents, each day brings overwhelming challenges which lead them to seek professional help. Usually they will be sent to an Occupational Therapist, to address sensory integration / sensory processing needs.

One of the strategies used to calm or to stimulate the senses, is the use of a personalized Sensory Box. A Sensory Box is just a container where you place items for your child to explore with his senses. Simply stated, sensory boxes provide a medley of sensations ~ smells, feels, movements, sights, sounds, textures… to increase environmental awareness, relaxation and cognitive stimulation. Parents should have a sensory box at home and also one for their child at school.

Sensory Box Goes To School ~ What To Do

Following the recommendations of your occupational therapist, work with your child’s classroom teacher, child’s teacher assistant and/or special needs teacher and decide what would be best to place in your child’s individualized sensory box to be left in his classroom. 

Be sure to personalize the box with your child’s name and have a convenient, easily accessible spot to place it in the classroom. Or better still, have the child help you decorate and make the box HIS. Decide who is responsible to clean the items, remove the worn items and buy and replace new items. Maintaining these boxes takes commitment and organization, but is well worth the effort.

Have a plan on how the other students will be told about the sensory box and how to prevent other kids from using the items. When explaining this to the class, it would also be an optimum time to discuss why some children need sensory boxes or other special needs aids. Moreover, bring out and read to the students the special needs picture books on Sensory Processing Disorders. List and links to reviews below.  

At first, the adults working with your child will initiate the use of the items but the goal is for your child to learn to self-regulate and use these items when he needs them.

If all is done correctly, when your child gets an item from his box, the other students should see it as natural as getting a tissue to blow his nose or going to the pencil sharpener.

A personalized sensory box…so simple but oh so effective.

How have you made use of a sensory box?

Related posts:
*What Goes In a Personal Sensory Box

*Picky, Picky Pete ~ A Boy and His Sensory Challenges Written by Michele Griffin and published by Future Horizons. Review here *Sensitive Sam ~ Sam’s Sensory Adventure Has a Happy Ending! Written by Marla Roth-Fisch and published by Future Horizons. Review here

*The Goodenoughs Get in Sync ~ Five Family Members Overcome Their Special Sensory Issues Written by Carol Kranowitz and published by Future Horizons. Book review here

*Special People, Special Ways ~ Each page portrays positive images of children with various disabilities Written by Arlene Maguire and published by Future Horizons. About here

Learning in Motion 101+ Sensory Activities for the Classroom a Review

Learning in Motion 101+ Sensory Activities for the Classroom

by Patricia Angermeier,

 Joan Krzyzanowski,

 Kristina Keller Moir

Since my retirement from teaching, nothing has made me miss my classroom more than reading about the exciting sensory activities dreamed up by these three occupational therapists. Combining their knowledge about pediatrics, neurodevelopmental treatment techniques and occupational therapy gained through their work in clinics, schools and raising their own children, Patricia Angermeier, Joan Krzyzanowski and Kristina Keller Moir have compiled a must-have resource for all who work with children, especially children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Parents, this book is not only for the classroom, you will find a wealth of practical, easily doable sensory activites to be enjoyed the twelve months of the year in your home.



This book provides teachers, therapists, home-schooling parents, parents in general and other professionals with a variety of ways to help children improve their ability to learn and respond appropriately to the learning environment. Many children struggle with sensory issues, therefore, to address these needs, sensory integration has become a staple in early education. This book, covering the twelve months of the year, can be your bible of sensory activities.

Picture this teacher: It has been a long year, school in almost over as it in mid June. The forecast for next day gives an uncomfortable, sticky, rainy day. How to plan for the next day an activity that is fun and meaningful?
Where is that book the size of a telephone book, Learning in Motion? It is filled with great ways to improve learning and behavior.

Great, it is right here on my shelf with all the other teaching resource books.

Skim Table of Contents…September, October, Nov… JUNE Activity Finder. Circus Tricks page 255? No, too active already. Clowning Around page 256, No …JUMPING ROPE ~ perfect it can be done indoors.

Page 269: All that I need to read is on one page. Each carefully, crafted lesson plan is always in the same format so it is simple and practical to use.

*Activity Goals: Example: Gross-Motor Skills Development…

*Time: 20 to 30 minutes

*Objectives: Example: Jump over a moving rope…

*Materials: Rope 10 to 15 feet long

*Procedure: Great, the seven easy steps to carry out this activity are clearly stated here.

*Adaptions: My differently-able student in her wheel chair will participate by going under the rope...

*Multilevel Instruction: Vary the height or movement of the rope…for various skill levels.

This Jumping Rope activity is easy to do at home also. With no pangs of guilt, the book says I may copy the Letter to Parents that goes with this activity. I appreciate this letter after each activity as it gives the parents a chance to see what we do at school and many will want to repeat it at home.

Bell rings and I prepare for the next day. Reading my notes on the Jumping Rope activity, I notice a few children had trouble with the Activity Goals: Gross-Motor Skills Development.

Back to the Learning in Motion book.

Table of Contents…JUNE

On the first page in the section for June, like for each month, I find a chart with the fifteen Educational Goals by Activity listed in alphabetical order. I locate the Gross-Motor Skills Development column. Skim down the column, look for a checked box, skim across to the listed activity. Yes, an activity called Mountain Goats also develops this skill which we will do tomorrow.

Each month’s activities include a variety of ways to make learning fun and exciting. When you start turning the pages you feel like a kid in a candy store that cannot decide because everything looks so delicious. The IO1+ ACTIVITIES like the following make every day worth going to school for: Textured Finger Paints, Forsythia Branches, Flying Bats and Ghosts, Making Pottery, Dr. Seuss Day, Balloon Tennis, Windsocks…

The Introduction on the Theories of Motor Development and the description of the fifteen Educational Activity Goals will help you understand the reason behind each activity.

The last few pages have a special section suggesting activities to reinforce learning the alphabet. There are further adaptations and modifications to assist children with special needs. Some activities have recipes included, but as an added bonus, three full pages of recipes for finger paint, clay, play dough… round off the book.

Do not let the size of this book discourage you. It is well organized in a logical, easy to navigate format. Once you have used one activity, all the others are presented in the same way. This user-friendly guide is a wonderful timesaver, written in easy to understand language. Fun-filled activities correspond with seasons, holidays, and educational goals that make even a retired teacher want to go back to school.

• Publisher: Future Horizons; 2 edition (June 1, 2009)  http://www.sensoryworld.com/education.html

• Paperback: 350 pages

• Language: English

• ISBN: 978-1932565904

• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches

• Price: US $39.95

What other resources with sensory activities do you use with your children?

Related Posts:
*How Do I Teach This Kid? Book Review
*Behavior Solutions for the Inclusive Classroom: See a Behavior? Look It Up! ~ Review

*Danceland CD : Fun Songs and Activities to Improve Sensory Skills ~ Review
*28 Instant Songames ~ Review

Do Weighted Products Provide Proprioceptive Sensory Input?

So many problems, so many choice, so many decisions…Special Needs parents must feel overwhelmed so many times! Since writing my post on the Proprioceptive and Vestibular senses, I have been reading studies, perusing Special Needs products’ sites to find what is available for children to provide proprioceptive sensory input.

Proprioceptive input is the only kind of sensory input that has the unique characteristic of adjusting the sensory system "as needed". Therefore, if calming is needed, the system gets more calm and organized, if alerting is needed the system becomes more alert.



Julia Roberts, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Support for Special Needs writes in a recent post about the use of a weighted blanket by her son Gage:



“They call it magic, we call it a miracle!

I had no idea that weighted blankets could help with some of the issues that Gage has but it does. To this day where Gage sleeps, the blanket goes (Honestly, camping? Yes.). All 15 lbs. of it. It’s one of the seven things he needs to sleep! Hey! I said he had issues. ( items include two pillows, fan, two stuffed animals and a completely dark room.)…”



Their website says,



“Weighted blankets, like The Magic Blanket™, have shown to generate proprioceptive input on our bodies. For many people, this input causes the brain to release neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, among others. These neurotransmitters released by the brain have naturally calming effects, which have proven to be beneficial for people experiencing sensory integration disorder, anxiety, stress, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, and Rett Syndrome. It’s important to note that The Magic Blanket is not a substitute for care from an occupational therapist or mental health professional.”



We can say that when Dr. Temple Grandin developed a hug machine which provides deep pressure to help in tolerating touch and which appears to have a calming effect, she paved the way for all the weighted garments and weighted accessories that are available today.



The concept of the weighted vest or blanket is based on the technique of deep pressure. Deep pressure is used to assist the child to self-calm and relax so that sensory stimulus can be processed. The use of a weighted accessories or garments are thought to provide the child with unconscious information from the muscles and joints. It is said the weight keeps these children focused and grounded.



How Do Parents Know If Weighted Accessories Are Right for Their Child?
Each child has unique needs and, therefore, do not have the same sensory integration needs. Weighted products should only be used under the direction and advice of a healthcare professional or Occupational therapist and should be used under adult supervision.



Benefits of Weighted Accessories for Children With Autism or Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders:
*They are a non-invasive therapeutic opportunity for the family, teacher, therapist and child.
*These weighted items provide sensory input to reduce hyperactivity and distractibility.
*They aid in concentration and organizational skills helping the child academically and socially.
* They are also comforting and calming as if the child is being hugged.
*They are soothing to help a child sleep.
*They allow the child to understand their relationship to the world.
*They provide information about the child's movements and positions of the body. Example: A weight on the lap will allow the child to feel the seat he is sitting on.



What Weighted Products Are Available?
You can buy the following products weighted with steel beads encased in a vinyl pouch:
vests, wraps, blankets, lap pads, lower Torso to extend the vests, weight belts, and even weighted animals like snakes that are calming draped over the shoulders or held in their lap…



Another choice are the deep pressure accessories designed to be pulled snug to the clients' body, providing proprioceptive deep pressure sensory feedback, stability and skills.



Does Everyone Agree About the Use and Benefits of Weighted Products?
The research findings are controversial. There seems to be a limited amount of studies done and there are strong proponents on both sides of the question.



However, if you believe your child’s life AND yours could be enhanced by the use of weighted products get professional counsel and give it a try. What do you have to loose…?



What has been your experience with weighted products?

Mar 19 Sensory Tip- I Sense to Move-Anna Jean Ayres

“I Move To Sense and I Sense To Move.”

 Anna Jean Ayres

Sensory Processing Disorder, is a neurological disorder that was first studied in-depth by Anna Jean Ayres . Ph.D., OTR (1920 – 1988) In addition to her occupational therapy credentials, Dr. Ayres was also a California licensed psychologist.

In the 1960’s, Dr. Ayres studied the way the brain worked to use the senses to learn. Ayres described sensory integration as the ability to organize sensory information for use by the brain.

Her method is known as Ayres Sensory Integration and it is a Registered Trademark.