Edible Finger Paint Activity!

Finger painting is a wonderful sensory activity, and it is also a great way to work on drawing, pre-writing, and writing skills. It's so simple to make and it's a great activity for a rainy day or a screened free afternoon. 

You will just need some food coloring and vanilla yogurt! Put 2 to 3 drops of food coloring into the yogurt, and stir well! Have fun finger painting. You can even show your child how to mix colors such as blue and yellow to make green. So much fun!!!
 

Tips for Tactile Defensiveness

A child with tactile defensiveness is overly sensitive to touch and other tactile input such as finger paint, sand, water, and certain clothing textures. Here are some signs and symptoms that you might see with a child who is dealing with tactile defensiveness.

• Frequently resists being held or cuddled by unfamiliar people
• Dislikes water splashing or bath-time
• Difficulty falling into a regular sleep/wake schedule
• Dislikes being moved quickly such as being tipped in the air, swung around, bounced, or rocked suddenly
• Difficulty with sucking, chewing, or swallowing new textures
• Does not tolerate new foods or food textures – diet is limited

       If a child has tactile sensitivity, here are some activities to try. Any child's sensory system will benefit from these activities, defensive or not. Start slowly, and DO NOT force any input that your child resists. If your little one is extremely resistant, it’s probably time to consult your pediatrician and ask about the possibility of occupational therapy. There are other treatments that must be carried out under the supervision of a therapist. 

• Spend a few extra minutes after bath time to vigorously rub the child with a towel, or guide them in doing so.  
• Rub lotion or powder on the legs, hands and arms while singing (for distraction purposes). Let them also rub the lotion or powder on you, especially if they won’t tolerate it on their own extremities.
• Pretend face washing or shaving- with different textures of cloth or towels.
• Use a variety of textured materials such as corduroy, fur, terry cloth, etc. and rub on your child’s back, arms and legs.
• Put textured mittens or puppets on child’s hands and let him or her take them off.
• Encourage your child to play in binds of sand, rice, beans or popcorn. Hide items and have the child locate them, guessing what they are while still covered. If your child won’t touch the textures, provide cups and shovels for play.
• Have the child roll up in a blanket or sheet, then play hot dog – press on mustard, relish, etc., and then have them roll out.
• Put shaving cream, lotion, or pudding on a large piece of aluminum foil and have the child draw a picture or write spelling words. Be sure to get both hands messy!
• Finger painting or body painting with water-based paints. 
• Play in play dough or putty. Pulling, squeezing, rolling, etc.
• Draw numbers/letters on the child’s back, arms, lets, etc. and have him identify. You can make it a multiple choice or yes-no question - Is this a 2 or a 5?
• Provide activities that provide tactile input on the child’s entire body, such as a kid pool full of styrofoam, big soft pillows, or balls.
• Games with physical contact are good – bear hugs, piggyback rides, wrestling, back rubs, petting animals.
• Identifying objects with eyes closed – keys, comb, marble, block, coins, shapes, etc.

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Addressing Auditory Defensiveness

Auditory defensiveness is an over sensitivity to sounds in the environment.  Children with auditory defensiveness may present with some or all of the following symptoms:

* Seems unsettled or distressed in loud environments
* Frequently cover their ears to sounds that other children tolerate
* Are bothered by noises made by things like the vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, etc.
* Avoids activities that have loud environments such as parties, ballgames, and movies.
* Possible language difficulties

Here are several strategies to help children with auditory processing issues.

* Modify the environment by considering the acoustics
* Changing seating arrangements may be beneficial
* Limit extraneous noise from the hallway by closing the door or windows
* It may be necessary to cover the loud speaker with buffering material
* Having rugs or carpet on the floor will decrease echo and extraneous noises
* Whenever possible, children should be forewarned about bells, announcements, fire drills, etc.
* Have the child wear headphones or earmuffs that that cover the entire ear
* Play calming music such as Mozart in the headphones or as background music
* If concentration is an issue, the child should chew gum, suck on sour candies, and/or eat fruit roll ups, or crunchy snacks.
* Therapeutic Listening® is a program that may help a child with issues such as auditory defensiveness, hypersensitivities, sensory modulation, and general organization issues.
For more information, go to http://www.vitallinks.net/ and click on parent info.

David Castillo Dominici@Freedigitialphotos

Activities for Tactile Sensitivity

 

Photo by Sattva @ Freedigitalphotos.net 

 

      Try these activities with children who have tactile sensitivity. Any child's sensory system will benefit from these activities, defensive or not. Just be sure and remember to start slowly, and DO NOT force any input that your child resists. If your little one is extremely resistant, it’s probably time to consult your pediatrician and ask about the possibility of occupational therapy. There are more advanced treatments that can only be carried out under the supervision of a therapist. 

• Spend a few extra minutes after bath time to vigorously rub the child with a towel, or guide them in doing so.  
• Rub lotion or powder on the legs, hands and arms while singing (for distraction purposes). Let them also rub the lotion or powder on you, especially if they won’t tolerate it on their own extremities.
• Pretend face washing or shaving- with different textures of cloth or towels.
• Use a variety of textured materials such as corduroy, fur, terry cloth, etc. and rub on your child’s back, arms and legs.
• Put textured mittens or puppets on child’s hands and let him or her take them off.
• Encourage your child to play in binds of sand, rice, beans or popcorn. Hide items and have the child locate them, guessing what they are while still covered. If your child won’t touch the textures, provide cups and shovels for play.
• Have the child roll up in a blanket or sheet, then play hot dog – press on mustard, relish, etc., and then have them roll out.
• Put shaving cream, lotion, or pudding on a large piece of aluminum foil and have the child draw a picture or write spelling words. Be sure to get both hands messy!
• Finger painting or body painting with water-based paints. 
• Play in play dough or putty. Pulling, squeezing, rolling, etc.
• Draw numbers/letters on the child’s back, arms, lets, etc. and have him identify. You can make it a multiple choice or yes-no question - Is this a 2 or a 5?
• Provide activities that provide tactile input on the child’s entire body, such as a kid pool full of styrofoam, big soft pillows, or balls.
• Games with physical contact are good – bear hugs, piggyback rides, wrestling, back rubs, petting animals.
• Identifying objects with eyes closed – keys, comb, marble, block, coins, shapes, etc.

Oral Defensiveness

Another type of sensory issue is oral defensiveness. The common symptoms of a child with oral defensiveness include:

• Picky eater…avoids certain textures, temperatures, or flavors of food 
• Gags easily or gags with certain food textures or smells
• Difficulty sucking, chewing, or swallowing 
• Chokes easily 
• Avoids/dislikes toothbrushing or facewashing
• Dislikes going to the dentist 
• Avoids/dislikes getting hands or face messy  
• Inappropriate tasting or mouthing of non-food items

Activities to address oral defensiveness:

• Use pretend shaving cream or whipped cream and let your child pretend to “shave” or put on make-up using a popsicle stick  
• Use soap crayons or face paints to paint your child’s face. Avoid the eye area and always test for allergies first.  
• Blowing bubbles or whistles  
• Rubbing the face, around the mouth, with cloths of different textures of fabrics (like satin, velvet, etc.).  
• Have your child name and touch the various parts of his or her face while looking in the mirror 
• Imitate different tongue and lip movements, and/or speech sounds. You can exaggerate the movements for demonstration
• Make a “bubble” face by closing your lips tightly and puffing your cheeks out with air and pop the “bubble” by poking your cheeks with your hands.  
• Before eating or drinking, use your own hands or a soft cloth to gently tap or pat around your child’s mouth  
• Introduce one food item at a time  
• Provide as much positive reinforcement during mealtime as possible...stickers, songs, etc.
• Use a soft toothbrush to gently brush across the tongue and the sides of the mouth  
• Use a vibrating toothbrush – let your child hold it and bring it up to their face rather than you doing it. 

Living with Auditory Defensiveness

Auditory defensiveness is an over sensitivity to sounds in the environment. Children with auditory defensiveness can present with some or all of the following symptoms:

• Seems unsettled or distressed in loud environments

• Frequently cover their ears to sounds that other children tolerate

• Are bothered by noises made by things like the vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, etc.

• Avoids activities that have loud environments such as parties, ballgames, and movies.

• Possible language difficulties

There are strategies are available to help children with auditory processing issues.

• Modify the environment (such as in a school) by considering the acoustics in the classroom. Changing seating arrangements may be beneficial and limiting extraneous noise from the hallway by closing the door or windows is also helpful. It may be necessary to cover the loud speaker with material to tone down the volume.

• Having rugs or carpet on the floor will decrease echo and extraneous noises.

• Whenever possible, children should be forewarned about bells, announcements, fire drills, etc.

• Have the child wear headphones or earmuffs that that cover the entire ear to filter out extraneous background noises.

• Play calming music such as Mozart in the headphones or as background music.

• If concentration is an issue, the child should chew gum, suck on sour candies, and/or eat fruit roll ups, or crunchy snacks.

• Therapeutic Listening® is a program that may help a child with issues such as auditory defensiveness, hypersensitivities, sensory modulation, and general organization issues. For more information, go to http://www.vitallinks.net/ and click on parent info.

Other Types of Sensory Defensiveness

If your child has tactile defensiveness, it’s likely that there are some other issues going on as well. You might notice a resistance to eating certain textures of food, which is called oral defensiveness. If your child demonstrates oversensitivity to light and visual distractibility, it’s possible that there is some visual defensiveness going on. If certain sounds are particularly annoying or even painful to your child, this is called auditory defensiveness. One type of defensiveness that I didn’t mention in my earlier post is gravitational insecurity. This is an extreme sensitivity to heights, movement and/or a change in head position in space.

When a child is experiencing defensiveness in more than one sensory system, it’s likely that this is impacting his or her quality of life. That means it’s time to seek therapy from an experienced therapist. A common treatment for sensory defensiveness is the Wilbarger Brushing program. This involves deep touch pressure using a special brush along with joint compressions. The program is typically done in conjunction with a “sensory diet” of activities that include vestibular and proprioceptive input. For little ones with oral defensiveness, there are special techniques that a trained therapist will utilize to address this issue. With the brushing program, the therapist will provide hands-on training so that the parents and other adults who work with the child can administer the program. It is typically carried out approximately every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day. Your therapist will supply brushes and replace them when needed.

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