Do your students struggle with self-regulation?
 
These 84 kid-friendly Sensory Diet Activity Cards are perfect for working with a child to offer a variety of sensory activities to support self-regulation and promote their development of sensory integration.
 
Now these are available in one-card-per-page (for telehealth) and four-cards-per-page formats. Designed by occupational therapist, Dr. Lisa Marnell, every sensory activity card is paired with fun and kid-friendly images to help children understand, envision, and master the activity. There are 7 categories of cards:
 
1- Proprioceptive (Heavy Work) Cards
2- Vestibular (Movement) Cards
3- Tactile (Touch) Cards
4- Oral (Taste & Tactile) Cards
5- Visual (Looking) Cards
6- Auditory (Listening) Cards
7- Olfactory (Smelling) Cards
 
Also, Sensory Diet Choice Boards are provided for children, teachers, therapists, and parents to make personalized four-step sensory diets using these cards. The Choice Boards include:
 
1- Start of the Day
2- Mid-Morning Movement
3- During Meeting Time
4- After-Recess Calm Down
5- Before Lunch
6- At the Cafeteria
7- After Lunch
8- Mid-Afternoon Movement
9- Mid-Afternoon Wake-Up
10- End of the Day Calm-Down.
 
Also, four blank Sensory Diet Choice Boards have been included for you to use.
 
What is a Sensory Diet . . . Or a Sensory Buffet?
 
First, a sensory diet must never be set in stone. In order to support a child's sensory needs, sensory diets offer a choice of activities to help a child with self-regulation, attention, and alertness. Children change day to day so it is not realistic to always use the same activities every day, in the same sequence. Over time, children, parents, occupational therapists, and teachers learn which activities, at which times, may best support a child’s sensory needs on a given day.
 
How Do Sensory Diet Choice Boards Work?
 
Cut out and laminate the Sensory Diet Activity Cards. Use tape or Velcro to attach them to the choice boards. (Each card has its Sensory Diet category written at the bottom of it.)
 
In conjunction with a child and the child’s occupational therapist, determine the objective of the sensory diet. Is it to provide regulating and calming input after a more active part of the day (as when coming in from P.E. or recess)? Is it to energize a child so that he or she is more alert and better able to attend to a group lesson? Is it to satisfy his or her oral motor needs?
 
An example sensory diet is provided toward the end of this resource. Please refer to this example to understand how to put together this resource.