Sensory Therapy in Children

Sensory therapy in a type of therapy in which a child is put in a room that is intentionally designed to stimulate their senses.

Children with autism use this type of therapy because they have trouble combining their senses together to come up with a response.

The aim of this therapy for a child is to help improve the brains ability to process information so they can function better. The assumption is that the child is normally over or under stimulated so does not function as well in the environment. Therapists encourage lots of movement in the therapy room when working with a child to help stimulate the senses. Key goals are to help the child accomplish the challenges through various activities set up in the room, help the child have adaptive responses and actively engage in activities set up to help the child interact for effectively in society.

Children who are autistic are not able to combine and use all of their senses together and respond accordingly to things they notice, therefore they have more trouble in society due to the lack of response they show. Stimulating their senses with this type of therapy and trying to teach them to use these together can help combine the sensory responses when out in the environment.

Once the session of therapy begins, the child works with a therapist to engage in activities that want to make them run and play. The activities are set up to allow each of the senses to be used frequently during the session. The children enjoy the challenges and find sensory therapy to be fun. All of these activities are ones the parent can learn as well and take home to work separately with the child.