09/16/2024
Let’s start with the difference between seeking and avoiding. Sensory seekers often want increased sensory experiences. Think loud noises, bright lights, crashing, jumping, spinning, strong smells. Sensory avoiders actively avoid increased sensory experiences like; strong tastes, big crowds, sticky objects. Can your child be both? Absolutely! Your child may avoid bright lights, but loooove to run their hands through kinetic sand. Now arguably, we all have likes and dislikes when it comes to our senses. When we want extra help is when it interferes with our child’s daily routines! How do we know? When I was in fieldwork in a school setting my fieldwork educator told me, what student wouldn’t love to get on a swing in the middle of a classroom? The key is what happens after they get off the swing. Were the behaviors that were interrupting their day regulated? Or do they go right back to them? Stay tuned as we look at examples of both for each of our sensory systems!
