Sensory & Emotional Regulation – Sensory Tools to Get Going

Things that may help you to get going or to ‘wake up’ like getting your coffee first thing in the morning and sitting for 5 mins before facing the day.

If you or your kids find it extra hard to get going

• after waking up
• after lunch
• and/or at ‘arsenic hour’ (that gap between after school activities and bedtime)

then try some of these…

Sensory Tools & Strategies to Get Going:

• crunchy foods
• coffee
• cold foods
• chewy foods
• cold drinks
• cool shower
• walk in the rain
• play in the snow
• sweet foods
• exercise/stretching
• bright lights
• upbeat music
• play
• technology
• hugs
• playing with a pet
• hanging out with friends

Things to consider:

• There’s no right, wrong or one size fits all when it comes to our sensory profiles.
• Which activities resonate with you?
• Which activities do you do/use daily to ‘wake up’ without even perceiving them as ‘sensory tools’?
• Which activities clash between you and your kids?
• What do you need to add more of into your day to keep you better regulated?

Learn more about sensory tools and profiles and how they help keep us calm and well regulated

Find this printable in Little Wooden Toybox’s Sensory & Emotional Regulation Pack

Sensory and Emotional Regulation Pack

47 pages | Digital Download | $19AU

✅ stay calm & well regulated
✅ get organised
✅ gain independence
✅ make home life calmer and happier 💖

Training Bites Library:

Advocating for kids who see, process and experience the world differently with ‘bite size’ pieces of information to help teach and understand a variety of behaviour, education and life skills topics.

Sensory & Emotional Regulation – Strategies to Keep Calm

Things that may help you to stay calm and well regulated throughout the day.

You will find that there are many comfort things that you do during the day that help to keep you calm and happy. You may not have even thought of these as being ‘sensory tools’.

Things to consider:

Have a look at the list below

• Which sensory tools and activities resonate with you?
• Which activities do you do/use daily to self regulate without even perceiving them as ‘sensory tools’?
• Which activities do your kids need to stay well regulated?
• Which activities clash between you and your kids? You’ll sometimes find that things that calm them down, like a repetitive toy, is exactly the thing that tips you over the edge!
• What do you need to add more of into your day to keep you better regulated?
• What can you add more of into your kids’ day to keep them better regulated?
• There’s no right, wrong or one size fits all when it comes to our sensory profiles

Sensory Tools & Strategies to Keep Calm:

• weighted blankets, vests, toys
• nature walk
• weeding
• hugging a pet
• warm drinks
• soft brown ‘comfort’ foods
• swinging or spinning
• hiding in a dark place
• hot showers
• colouring & painting
• spinning toys
• weighted exercise
• soft lighting
• favourite movie
• calm music
• technology

Learn more about sensory tools and profiles and how they help keep us calm and well regulated

Find this printable in Little Wooden Toybox’s Sensory & Emotional Regulation Pack

Sensory and Emotional Regulation Pack

47 pages | Digital Download | $19AU

✅ stay calm & well regulated
✅ get organised
✅ gain independence
✅ make home life calmer and happier 💖

Training Bites Library:

Advocating for kids who see, process and experience the world differently with ‘bite size’ pieces of information to help teach and understand a variety of behaviour, education and life skills topics.

How to Teach Emotions

Understanding and recognising emotions is key to getting emotions under control and responding to how we feel in a socially acceptable manner.

If we can’t recognise how we are feeling, then we don’t know how to fix it or avoid it next time.

If we can’t recognise what triggers (sensory stimuli) cause certain feelings, then we won’t know how to fix it or avoid it next time.

If we can’t recognise how someone else is feeling, particularly someone who is vulnerable and/or feeling out of control, then we won’t be able to effectively use tools & strategies to help them calm down and feel safe.

This is why it is so important to teach our young kids about emotions

Teaching our little ones about emotions

• empowers them to communicate how they are feeling (in time) and
• enables them to better recognise how others around them are feeling (build empathy).

Kids needs to be taught to recognise and understand that

• how we are feeling impacts our behaviours
• certain behaviours are appropriate for some settings but not others
• our behaviour affects how others around us feel

We can start by teaching kids to

• recognise emotions from different printed facial expressions
• recognise emotions of characters in their favourite TV shows and books
• recognise emotions of faces of people around them
• explicitly discussing how things make you and them feel
• explicitly discussing how you choose to behave despite how you feel

Our Understanding & Recognising Emotions pack will help get you started:

Find this printable in Little Wooden Toybox’s Understanding & Recognising Emotions Pack

Understanding & Recognising Emotions Pack

59 pages | Digital Download | $19AU

✅ stay calm & well regulated
✅ get organised
✅ gain independence
✅ make home life calmer and happier 💖

Training Bites Library:

Advocating for kids who see, process and experience the world differently with ‘bite size’ pieces of information to help teach and understand a variety of behaviour, education and life skills topics.

What is Sensory Processing?

Sensory processing refers to how we process and filter sensory input & stimuli from our surrounding environment.

1 in 20 people have sensory processing disorder (SPD) – this means that in some or many ways, this lack of ability to filter out certain stimuli, affects and impacts their daily life in a negative way. SPD is typically seen in kids with Autism.

This can look like:

• getting incredibly irritated or distracted by tags, stitching in clothes, certain fabrics (feels like burning), bug bites, flashing lights, sunlight, certain smells, listening to someone chew or breath
• aversions to personal hygiene routines like showering (air or water on bare skin), washing hair, brushing hair, brushing teeth, haircuts
• not being able to focus on one voice in a room (inability to block out background noise) – this may look like not listening/not paying attention
• feeling overwhelmed in crowds

This can result in:

Outbursts, meltdowns or shutdowns where…

• so much energy going towards trying to process sensory information around you
• as a result you get exhausted quickly
• being tired reduces your ability to manage overwhelming situations well
• you become more and more short tempered as you reach your tipping point
• add in extra sensory input like someone trying to get you to join in, try harder or telling you off for bad behaviour… 
• how do you feel? 
• how do you react?

Different Sensory Stimuli that can be either overwhelming or what we seek to feel calm:

Find this printable in Little Wooden Toybox’s Sensory & Emotional Regulations Pack

Sensory and Emotional Regulation Pack

47 pages | Digital Download | $19AU

✅ stay calm & well regulated
✅ get organised
✅ gain independence
✅ make home life calmer and happier 💖

Training Bites Library:

Advocating for kids who see, process and experience the world differently with ‘bite size’ pieces of information to help teach and understand a variety of behaviour, education and life skills topics.