Real life sensory strategies
You do not have to try ALL of these. Please don’t try all of these!
If you need something to try TODAY: Jump to our Sensory Quick Guide for immediate strategies.
If you have 5 minutes: Read "The Process" and "How to use sensory strategies" below, then pick ONE specific strategy to try.
If you just need ideas for school: Read “School support and advocacy,” towards the end of the article.
If you're ready to explore your child’s specific needs: Read the whole article. Or start with Part 1: Understanding sensory challenges.
The Process (before you try anything)
Before buying anything or changing routines, it helps to slow down and notice patterns. An OT can help you figure this out for your specific child.
Three things to ask yourself (and/or your child, if they can answer):
1. When/where are things hard?
In Music? During transitions? Before bed? In busy places? Setting can give clues to what input is problematic and when to offer support.
2. What is your child already doing?
Jumping, chewing, hiding, pacing, refusing clothes/food? The things your child does when they have an unmet need are our best clues to what that need is. The goal is to understand what the behaviour is doing for them. If your child is running around every night at bedtime, they might need more movement beforehand.
3. Are they seeking input or trying to escape it?
Are they reaching out, running around, crashing, making noise, or craving interaction? Or, are they holing up, curling in, running away, acting annoyed or tuning others out?
Sometimes it seems backwards. A child making loud noises might be seeking sound OR trying to block out other sounds. This is why it takes some close observation across settings.
The goal: Make a best guess. Choose something that offers similar input in a safer/easier way. See below for ideas.
Sensory support comes first. Skills like coping, reflection, and communication are much easier to learn once a child’s nervous system feels safer.
How to use sensory strategies
Introducing a new strategy or tool
Pick one thing. Offer it neutrally. Prioritize autonomy, no pressure. Model using it yourself. Say: “This is something that helps some kids’ bodies feel calmer. Want to try it or not today?”
Put the tool within reach and let your child explore how to use it. Avoid hovering, coaching, or asking for immediate feedback.
A tool is helping if your child seems more comfortable, engaged, or able to recover, not just if they look quieter or more compliant.
This is trial and error. Try tools a few different times, watch patterns over days, and check in with your child when they’re calm.
If your child hates something, don’t force it. If it increases agitation, shutdown, or the behaviours you’re trying to help in the first place, stop and reassess.
If your child needs a tool, it's a need, like eyeglasses for vision.
You would never:
Only let a child wear glasses as a reward for good behavior
Take glasses away as punishment
Shame them for needing glasses
Force them to try to cope without them because “they have to learn”
Give them what works for someone else without figuring out their own prescription
Worry that if they have glasses, everyone will want them
Please don’t let anyone do those things with your child’s sensory supports either.
Be proactive and predictable
Many sensory strategies work best before a child is overwhelmed. Waiting until a meltdown or shutdown fails because the nervous system is already flooded.
A proactive approach (sometimes called a “sensory diet”) means offering predictable sensory support throughout the day, especially before known hard moments.
This doesn’t need to be rigid or complicated. Start by offering one predictable support at one predictable time (movement before school, scheduled breaks in a quiet space during the day). Offer them the strategy even if they feel regulated. Make it part of the routine, not something that’s being shoved at them once they’re struggling.
Once they’re regulated: Help kids express sensory experiences
Putting words to sensory experiences can reduce panic and confusion. When kids understand what is happening in their bodies, sensations feel less threatening and more tolerable. It also helps them solve the real problem (e.g., the heat) instead of the story they made up to explain the discomfort (“I hate math”). Naming sensations is the first step toward asking for what they need.
This only works when a child is calm enough to think. During meltdowns or shutdowns, focus on support, not language.
Ways parents can model and teach sensory language:
Speak out loud descriptively about your own sensory discomfort (“This light feels harsh on my eyes.” “This shirt has a rough texture.”)
Borrow language from people with sensory differences you think might be similar to your child’s. Adults with autism and ADHD share clear, usable descriptions of sensory experiences you can find online. Tell your child, “Some people find this kind of light really hard to look at because it kind of flickers. Do you see that?”
Validate your child’s experience with language first (“you feel hungry”), even if it is unexpected or hard to understand; problem-solve later.
A simple advocacy pattern to teach:
I have a sensory thing (or a “noise thing”).
X feels/is really hard for me.
I need ___.
Specific ideas to try
These are organized by general need. You do not need to read them ALL! Choose ONE category that sounds most like your child. Try ONE thing from that section. Come back later for others.
Again, I am not an Occupational Therapist. A real OT is your best bet for finding solutions for your individual child. But I know that’s not accessible for everyone.
Scroll to read about:
Kids who are intense, crashy, rough, or "too much"
Kids who are restless, “space out,” or can't get started
Kids who are anxious, exhausted, or "just done" after busy environments
Kids who chew, suck, mouth objects, or bite
Kids with clothing battles, food refusal, or shutdown around textures
Kids who don’t notice hunger, thirst, fatigue, or bathroom needs until it’s urgent
Kids overwhelmed by visual input
For kids who are intense, crashy, rough, or "too much"
Try: Proprioceptive input
Some kids need more proprioceptive input to organize and calm the nervous system, to know where their body is, and feel more grounded and secure. This means input to muscles and joints that tells the body where it is in space: basically, heavy work and deep pressure.
Before school: carrying a heavy backpack, pushing against a wall, biking uphill, pushing a loaded stroller (if safe)
After school: rough housing (with consent), pulling/pushing heavy furniture, carrying groceries, giving “horse” rides to a sibling
During homework: sitting on a wobble cushion, using a resistance band on chair legs, frequent heavy movement breaks
Before bed: tight wrap in blankets (burrito roll), “squish” with couch cushions, heavy work like push-ups against the wall or squats,
Tools:
Weighted lap pad or vest (these are more portable and less “trapping” than blankets)
Big chewable jewelry or pencil toppers
Therapy putty or stress balls with real resistance
Compression clothing
Note: Weighted items aren't meant for all-day use, and more isn't always better.
For kids who are restless, “space out,” or can't get started
Try: Movement (vestibular input)
Before seated work: big jumps or jumping jacks, burpees, dancing, swinging
During focus work: bouncing on yoga ball, rocking chair, standing desk, wobble seat, lots of movement breaks
Tools:
Yoga ball as desk chair
Trampoline
Swinging (linear back-and-forth, not spinning)
Note: Fast movement and spinning can be dysregulating for some kids. Start with slow, predictable, linear movement. Watch your child's response.
For kids who are anxious, exhausted, or "just done" after busy environments
Try: Less or muted sensory input
Headphones or earplugs in busy places
Quiet space to decompress (no questions, no demands)
Dim lighting, less visual clutter,
Avoid crowds when possible, or create a secluded space within them
Predictable routines and a simple “It’s too much” signal to allow escape
Tools to try:
Noise-cancelling or noise-reducing headphones
White noise machine for sleep
Sunglasses, hat, hoodie, umbrella
3-fold presentation board for privacy, corner seat or a spot facing away from the crowd
Mesh “tent” so they can feel like they are hiding but remain visible
For kids who chew, suck, mouth objects, or bite
Some kids seek oral input because they crave that sensation. Others need stronger input to their jaw and mouth to feel grounded (this overlaps with proprioceptive needs). Either way, giving them safe ways to meet this need can prevent unsafe chewing and biting.
Try: Oral sensory input
Chewable jewelry, pencil toppers, or dedicated chew tools
Crunchy/chewy snacks during homework or transitions
Drinking through straws (especially thick smoothies)
Gum (if it’s age-appropriate and safe)
Safety note: Monitor for choking risks. Replace worn chew tools.
For kids with clothing battles, food refusal, or shutdown around textures
Try: Give them control over tactile input
Clothing: Let them choose based on feel, not looks. Buy triplicates. Look for seamless (especially socks!), elastic waists, soft cottons. Cut out tags. Try cotton boxer briefs for the war on undies, regardless of gender.
Food: Remember sensory-based food refusal is not about “pickiness” or control. Support means preserving predictability and safety: separate foods, avoid surprise mixing (no “hidden veggies”), respect “safe foods,” and offer new foods alongside familiar ones without pressure. Exposure without consent often increases fear and restriction.
Touch: Again, reduce surprise and increase control. Make hugging optional. Always warn them/ask consent before touching. Respect that they experience light touch as painful, but help them understand others may not intend to hurt them. For haircuts and nail-clipping, narrate each step, allow your child to explore the tools (if safe), and use distractions if they help. Use firm, predictable pressure (e.g., on the toe itself before cutting the nail).
Let them carry textures they DO like: fidgets, favorite blanket, specific stuffed animal (again: buy triplicates), silky handkerchief…
What NOT to do: Force exposure. "They need to get used to it" often backfires.
For kids who don’t notice hunger, thirst, fatigue, or bathroom needs until it’s urgent
Some kids genuinely don't receive clear signals from their bodies about internal states (called interoception). It's not that they're ignoring their body's needs; their nervous system isn't sending reliable messages about those needs in the first place. Many “sudden meltdowns” spring from this.
Try:
Scheduled body check-ins (Ask them: “food, water, bathroom, rest?”) rather than waiting for cues. Offer snacks, washroom, water, a break on a similar schedule. Don’t force them to take what you offer though, or say “last time you had an accident, remember?”
Visual reminders (timers, charts, routine-based prompts)
Neutral language (“Your body might need fuel”) instead of waiting for self-report
For kids overwhelmed by visual input
Try:
Reduced visual clutter in work areas: clear bins with lids instead of open toy boxes, solid-color folders, minimal decorations on walls. In the bedroom, rotate toys in/out of storage so fewer are visible at once.
Solid-color backgrounds for homework and focused tasks
Seating facing a wall, not the room, or a tri-fold presentation board to create a visual boundary at their workspace
Lower lighting, avoid fluorescent lights when possible (they flicker imperceptibly but can be very bothersome)
Sunglasses, hats, or hoodies when outside or in bright spaces
Paper copies instead of screens when possible
Note: Visual schedules and charts can help some kids but overwhelm others. Watch your child's response, or bring them out only when needed.
School Support & Advocacy
Many sensory supports are low-effort, high-impact, and easy to implement at school. Here are my top five to try:
Seating changes or sensory-friendly seating add-ons like wobble cushions or resistance bands
Proactive/scheduled and in-the-moment big movement breaks
Access to a quiet space with low visual stimulation
Flexibility on clothing expectations and rules (wearing a hat or hood, sunglasses, short sleeves in winter, elastic waist pants)
Tools: Headphones, fidgets, compression clothing
Write strategies into formal plans. Specify when tools can be used, not just whether they’re allowed (e.g., “during independent work,” “before transitions,” “as needed without asking”). Make sure ALL the adults around your child know the tools are ACCESS SUPPORTS, not rewards.
Teach your child clear, simple language like, “I have a sensory thing. Noise is very hard for me. I need a break.” OR, give them a visual card, so they can ask for what they need even if speech fails them.
If your immediate reaction is “there’s no way the school will agree to this.”
Read: How to project manage your school meeting for more advice on advocating and collaboration with educators.
Re-frame: Sensory supports are access tools, and your child is struggling, not “bad.”
Frame it as a general accessibility question: “What does the school do for children who are unable to participate in the music due to sensory disabilities?”
Start small: Ask for one predictable movement break, a seating change, or access to a quieter space during independent work.”
If the school says they "tried it and it didn't work.”
Ask for data: how often was it offered, for how long, under what conditions? Can you see the observation record? What did your child report? Most sensory strategies need consistent implementation over time, not a one-day trial.
“But if your child has headphones, everyone in the class will want them.”
This is simply untrue. Kids use tools if they need them. If every child in the class is really asking for a certain sensory tool, there’s something in the environment making it hard for every child.
Please seek professional help if:
Sensory distress is escalating
Daily routines (school, sleep, eating) are completely breaking down
Tools are making things worse
You have safety concerns (self-injury, aggression, risky behaviours)
You're constantly firefighting
An occupational therapist looks at how sensory processing, nervous system regulation, and environment interact. The goal isn’t to force kids to tolerate discomfort, but to reduce distress and build skills for recognizing and advocating for needs.
Look for pediatric OTs with experience in sensory integration and neurodiversity-affirming practice. You want someone who asks "how can we support this?" not "how do we make them act normal?"
This is detective work. Your child is already trying to tell you what they need through what they seek, what they avoid, and what they do when they’re overwhelmed. You're learning to listen in a new way.
And if you need help figuring it out, let's talk. Schedule a one-on-one consultation.
Start at the beginning: Understanding Sensory.