**Fall Registration is now OPEN! Early registration and group discounts available! Please check each individual course for CEU approvals.

Theramoves

Continuing education conferences for therapists

Sensory Diet

posted on

A good sensory diet can be the difference between a child who is glazed over and a child who is alert and attentive; a student who is continuously fidgeting in his chair and a student who can participate in the classroom; a screaming, hitting, dysregulated child and a child who can remain calm in the face of triggers. An estimated 5 to 16% of children are affected by sensory processing disorders; these numbers become even higher amongst those with autism and ADHD.


A well-developed sensory diet will support a child who struggles with sensory processing, creating immediate impact on the child’s ability to attend within the classroom, as well as facilitating long term development and brain changes regarding how sensory stimuli are processed. While sensory integration treatment lies primarily within the domain of occupational therapy, all professionals working with children would benefit from learning to implement sensory strategies to ensure the child’s optimum level of arousal and ability to participate in the treatment they offer.

Choose a course on sensory diets
Browse all our courses

What is a sensory diet?

The term sensory diet was coined by occupational therapist Patricia Wilbarger to describe incorporating specific, targeted sensory-motor experiences into a child’s schedule to enable them to maintain an optimum level of arousal necessary for functional performance.

The ability to modulate incoming sensory input is a crucial foundational skill that sets the path for higher-level motor and learning activities. When all of a child’s energy is focused on handling what should be an automatic, subcortical response, he does not have the available capacity to focus on engagement, attention, and learning.

A child who struggles to process auditory input for example, who is hyper-vigilant to background environmental sounds, who sits with his ears covered for a large portion of the day – that child will not be ready to follow the many multi-step auditory instructions issued in a classroom. A child who struggles with visual processing and cannot distinguish right from left or one shape from another will struggle to keep up with the demands required in reading and writing. A child with an underdeveloped vestibular system who consistently seeks movement from his environment and is not ready to sit at a desk uninterrupted.


The courses are suitable for:

  • Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapist Assistants
  • Physical Therapists
  • Speech Therapists
  • Special Education Providers
  • Regular Education Providers
  • Pediatric Social Workers
  • Parents/Caregivers

Theramoves offers accredited sensory diet trainings for therapists
NY State Education Department Logo
NBCOT - National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy
AOTA (American Occupational Therapist Association) CEU

Upcoming Sensory Diet Courses 

Join a Theramoves course and enjoy…

curated content

Curated content chosen with 30+ years of field experience

educational methods

Proven educational methods in each session

honest guidance

Honest guidance and practical advice

personal relationships

Personal relationships and complete customer service

Emails answered

Emails answered promptly and personally

top presenters

Classes delivered by top presenters

More on Sensory Diets

Well-integrated adults can intuitively meet their sensory needs; they may choose to take a short walk
after sitting endlessly at a computer, listen to soft music to unwind, or chew gum and tap their feet to
stay alert through a meeting. The activities chosen for a sensory diet may consist of various types of
sensory input – including vestibular, proprioception, tactile, auditory, oral-motor, and visual –
specifically chosen to bring a child to a calm, yet alert state. A good sensory diet takes the child’s
individualized sensory profile into account and consists of specific input that will target their personal
sensory needs.

FAQS

When a child exhibits any of the following behaviors, he may be showing signs of difficulty modulating
sensory input:
● Appears glazed over, disengaged, and inattentive
● Displays constant fidgeting (also related to ADHD)
● Shows difficulty remaining seated
● Exhibits movement-seeking behaviors such as running/crashing/spinning/hanging head upside
down
● Experiences difficulty focusing
● Displays physical aggression and/or emotional outbursts
● Overreacts to a trigger
● Tunes out auditory input
● Hypersensitive to background sounds

One of the keys to sensory integration is frequency and consistency. Often, a sensory diet is developed by an occupational therapist (OT) and given over to be carried out by a caregiver or paraprofessional on a daily basis. When a child has strong sensory needs, those needs often eclipse their ability to learn or engage in other therapeutic activities.

All professionals working with children would benefit from learning to identify sensory needs and
implement sensory strategies to ensure their ability to reach a child who has difficulty modulating
sensory input. By learning to implement a sensory diet, a professional will gain tools and skills to help a child who becomes dysregulated during their treatment and will be able to use sensory strategies as a preventative measure to enable the child to maintain regulation and be an active participant throughout the treatment session.

While sensory diet activities may include the use of equipment such as swings or crashmats, they are
often designed to be implemented at home or in the classroom. Additionally, by learning the scienc behind the different forms of sensory input and how to use them, you will be equipped to creatively
adapt these concepts and provide the child with the necessary input, using the available space and
equipment. A good sensory diet is not dependent on exercises that require expensive balls and
suspended equipment; it requires a good grasp on how to precisely provide each child with the type of input they require.

You will learn:
● To recognize when a child would benefit from a sensory break
● To identify what form(s) of sensory input the child would benefit from
● Techniques to bring a child to a more alert arousal state
● Techniques to calm a dysregulated child
● A variety of activities that can be implemented with or without equipment
● Practical strategies that can be incorporated into the classroom

Theramoves also offers sensory processing disorder courses.

After your course order was placed, you will receive a Thank you email with FAQ’s that will
include all the information for the upcoming course.
● You will also receive a payment receipt via email.
● 2-4 days prior to the live webinar you will receive an email from Theramoves which will contain
a link for the platform the course will be using such as Go To Webinar to complete the
registration process, please go ahead and complete that.
● The email will also contain the course PowerPoint and any additional handouts.

If you are using an I-Device once you download go to webinar or go to meeting, please restart your device.

  • Once you registered with our online platform (Go To Webinar) you will receive a link to “Join the Webinar”. This link comes again an hour before the webinar.  
  • Join the course at the designated date and time.
  • We ask that you join 15-20 minutes prior to ensure proper access and avert any technical issues, then go ahead and make coffee 🙂

  • For CEU purposes, our system automatically logs your attendance when you sign in for a webinar and log out. (If you have technical difficulties and have to sign back on, do not panic! No worries the system recognizes that).  
  • At the end of the webinar, an email is sent out with the post-course quiz/course evaluation and learning outcome measure on the material presented.
  • Please check your spam/promotions folders as it may inadvertently end up there.
  • Congratulations! Score a 70% or higher and receive your certificate of completion via email.

A full refund less $75 dollars administrative fee per course will be given for cancellations received up to 3 days prior to the course. After that, no refunds will be given for cancellations unless a replacement participant is registered.

Taking online courses on sensory processing disorder diets is a convenient way to add to your toolbox of skills, ensuring you can best reach each child, whatever your domain of practice. While professionals may have significant knowledge and skill, if they cannot teach a child in a way that the child will learn, they will not be successful. By learning to recognize the need for a sensory diet and understanding how to implement it, you will expand your ability to give over the skills and knowledge that you already have. 

Choose a course on sensory diets
Browse all our courses
theramoves logo