Sensory products for young children on the autism spectrum

People on the autism spectrum often process sensory stimulation differently than others, which can be overwhelming and distressing to them. Many children with autism may be hypersensitive (over-responsive) or hyposensitive (under-responsive) to sensory stimulation such as touch, sound, sight, smell, and taste. These sensory differences can impact their behaviour, attention and ability to focus, and have social interactions. Sensory products can be a powerful tool to help these children navigate the environment around them and regulate their emotions.

 

A garden can stimulate all senses and children with autism can benefit from this controlled stimulating environment. Herbs and perfumed flowers will stimulate their sense of smell. Experiment with different plants to achieve a variety of textures and stimulate the touch, succulents, ferns and velvety plants are great for that. 

 

Create a designated corner of edible plants and flowers, fruit bushes and vegetables for children to taste. A garden is naturally colourful and stimulating, so be careful when choosing your plants, introducing too many bright colours in one space can be overstimulating and stressful for some children on the spectrum. Another way to stimulate their sight is to add signs through out the garden, as non-verbal communication can be easier to autistic children to process.

 

Lastly, to stimulate their hearing, you can introduce water features, wind chimes or even chose tall plants that will make interesting sounds when the wind blows, such as tall grass and bamboo.