Sensory Needs
- audriechad
- May 23
- 3 min read
Updated: May 27
Building Your Child's Toolkit
How our kids explain Sensory Needs/Systems:
Our bodies have eight sensory systems that work together to help us feel calm, focused, safe, and ready to learn. Everyone's body responds to the world a little differently — some things feel "just right," some feel like too much, and some feel like not enough. Learning about our sensory systems helps us understand what our body needs and how to ask for it.
Our sensory systems:
Vestibular: Helps us understand movement, balance, coordination, and where our body is when we move.
Proprioceptive: Helps our body understand pressure, force, body awareness, and where our muscles and joints are in space.
Tactile: Helps us process touch sensations such as textures, temperature, pressure, and pain.
Auditory: Helps us hear, process, and respond to sounds in our environment.
Visual: Helps us understand and process what we see, including light, colour, movement, and visual information around us.
Gustatory (Taste): Helps us process different tastes such as sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy.
Olfactory (Smell): Helps us recognize and respond to different smells in our environment.
Interoception: Helps us notice and understand signals happening inside our body, such as hunger, thirst, emotions, pain, temperature, or needing the bathroom.
How this supports your child?
Every child's body experiences the world differently. Understanding your child's sensory systems supports greater self-awareness, emotional understanding, and confidence in recognizing what their body needs throughout the day. When kids can identify how sensory input affects their focus, energy, emotions, and regulation — at school, at home, and in the community — they're better equipped to thrive in all of those environments.
How does it help?
When children understand their sensory needs, they can start building practical strategies to support their regulation and participation in everyday activities. Together, we brainstorm realistic, child-friendly ideas that fit naturally into daily routines — like movement opportunities, heavy work tasks, or sensory breaks. The goal is for every child to feel empowered, understood, and more successful in the spaces they move through each day. (Explore more calming strategies in our Regulation block!)
Practice Communicating Sensory Needs at Home with Your Child!
In Kids Signature class, your child has already practiced putting words to what their body needs — sharing ideas with their peers, problem-solving as a group, and learning how to explain what helps them feel regulated and ready to learn. You can keep that momentum going at home by inviting the same conversations: ask your child what they noticed about their body this week, what felt like too much or just right, and how you can support them together.
Ways to continue the conversation at home:
Use the "just right" language — Ask your child: "Does that feel like too much, too little, or just right?" to help them tune into their body
Notice patterns together — Pay attention to which environments, textures, sounds, or activities seem to energize or overwhelm your child
Build in sensory breaks — Short movement or heavy work breaks before homework or transitions can make a big difference
Try heavy work at home — Carrying groceries, pushing a laundry basket, or doing wall push-ups provides calming sensory input
Create a "what helps me" list — Work with your child to identify their go-to sensory supports for different times of day
Share it with their school — The more adults around your child understand their sensory needs, the more consistent their support can be
“My Sensory Needs”
At the end of the class, your child created their own personalized My Sensory Needs letter — a resource to take home and share with parents, teachers, and other important adults. It captures what types of sensory input help them feel calm, focused, and successful, along with simple strategies that can be used across different environments. It's a tool for self-advocacy, collaboration, and building understanding between your child and the people who support them every day.
Want to revisit it together or keep the conversation going? Download the letter below and explore it with your child at home.
A Closer Look at Sensory Systems with Audrie and Ana-Maria Christophilakis, Paediatric OT
Hear from Audrie and a paediatric occupational therapist as they walk you through what your child explored in class — from discovering their eight sensory systems to identifying what helps their body feel calm, focused, and ready to learn. A great watch to help you understand what your child experienced and how you can continue supporting their sensory needs at home.
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