Below is a list of the top 10 Sensory Tools that can help regulate a child in the Classroom:
- Weighted materials– These come in many forms, including belts, vests, blankets, animals and pads! These provide proprioceptive input without becoming distracting to the other students.
- Seat cushion– Seat cushions are generally filled with air and have a textured surface in order to provide many sensory outlets for your students without requiring them to leave their chair! The child feels the movement of the cushion as well as the texture. At the same time, the cushions are helping your child build their core strength to improve postural stability.
- Hand fidgets- Does your student have busy hands or seek out touch? A hand fidget is a great tool to provide that sensory input so that the student may better direct their attention to the classroom lesson or activity.
- Resistive foot band for chairs– Tie a resistive band around the front legs of a chair. The students may push on it with their feet to get the proprioception input that they are seeking without having to leave their chair or interrupt the class.
- “Helper Box”– Fill a box with books, papers or anything heavy. Have your students run an “errand” with the box to get in some needed heavy work and movement into their day!
- Pillow chairs– Create large pillows or purchase bean bag chairs to serve as comfortable places to take a break from the postural control needed to stay in their chair!
- Sound reducing headphones/ear plugs– Use these for students with auditory sensitivities when you anticipate that your classroom will become loud or when entering a loud environment (such as the lunch room).
- Touch box– Fill a box with rice or beans for students to dig through with their hands to provide tactile input. Another option is to fill a box with several types of materials for students to explore, such as felt and cotton.
- Resistive hand materials-Resistive putty, play dough or clay are all great tools to strengthen and keep hands busy!
- Chewy snacks or oral chew sticks– For those kids who seek proprioceptive or tactile input orally, allow them to chew on gum, eat something chewy/crunchy or provide a durable chew stick.
