A sensory diet is a carefully designed, personalised activity plan that regulates the sensory input that a child needs to stay focused and organised throughout the day.

Our brain, through our senses, requires a balanced ‘diet’ in order for us to be able to make sense and function in the world that we live in. We naturally experience a variety of sensations during the day that impact on our brain.

With a regular, balanced sensory diet, we are better prepared to respond appropriately to the demands of the world we live in and able to keep our brain properly energised, organised, alert and calm.

When children experience difficulties with self-regulation, adults may have to assist them in finding the right type of activities to attain the appropriate level of alertness for their situation and environment.

If they are not in an appropriate state of alertness, their attention may be directed towards the wrong cues or they may fail to alert at all.

Each child has a unique set of sensory needs and preferences. Generally, a child whose nervous system is on high trigger or too wired needs more calming input, while the child who is more sluggish or tired needs more arousing input.

Our therapists can assist children and families to create a balanced sensory diet, that can contain both calming and alerting activities to help a child maintain the appropriate levels of alertness.

The sensory diet will help the child to organise their senses so that they can carry out activities to the best of their ability, while feeling happy, calm and relaxed.

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