A sensory diet provides the child with the appropriate organizational input throughout the day. A young child will need adults to be observant of when the strategies need to be implemented and an older child should be able to integrate the strategies into their daily routine. In order to develop an appropriate sensory diet, it is important to have a good understanding of the child’s processing strengths and weaknesses, what types of input they seek and what they avoid. Being proactive in providing the organizing input will be the most helpful as well as having strategies to address disorganized behavior. Strategies of “put something in your mouth, move, touch, look and listen” are used, based on the Alert Program, developed by Mary Sue Williams and Sherry Shellenberger. Proprioception (heavy work patterns, joint compression and joint traction) is the corner stone of a sensory diet. We assist parents with an understanding of their child’s sensory processing needs and with the development of a “sensory diet” which can be used in any environment. As the child matures, he will be able to take responsibility for self regulation.
