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Following are ideas of activities compiled from the Occupational Therapy Pediatric List Serve. The occupational therapist and the classroom teacher can choose selected, appropriate items from this list to design a sensory diet for children with sensory processing disorders. The activities listed are considered "naturally occurring activities," which means that they can be easily incorporated into the child's daily routine within the school environment.

Keep in mind that programs for children with sensory processing disorders should be carefully monitored by a skilled occupational therapist. These activities are not to be used with every child, but should be specifically selected for each individual child, without exception.

1. Place chairs on desks at end of day or take down at beginning of day
2. Erase or wash the chalkboard
3. Help rearrange desks in the classroom
4. Help out the janitor with emptying wastebaskets, mop the floor, etc.
5. Fill egg crates (small ones that kids can carry) with books to take to other classrooms. Teachers could ask kids to move these crates back and forth as needed
6. Help the gym teacher move mats, hang them up, etc.
7. Chewy candy breaks, such as licorice, fruit roll-ups, Starburst or Tootsie Rolls (this addresses the janitor's "no gum rule") or crunchy food breaks, such as dry cereal, vegetables, pretzels or popcorn
8. Sharpen pencils with a manual sharpener
9. Cut out items for display with oak tag
10. Have students carry heavy notebooks to the office or from class to class
11. Wear a weighted backpack when walking from class to class. Parents can put a notebook, book, or books (depending on the size of the child) into their backpack each day for the ride or walk to school. One therapist suggested that "you might want to be careful about adding weight to backpacks as it could result in low back pain." It might also be contraindicated with diagnoses such as Spina Bifida. Maybe weight could be added elsewhere such as in fanny packs
12. Carry books with both hands hugging the book to yourself
13. Have child pass out papers/objects to class members
14. Wash desks or chalkboard/dry erase board
15. Push the lunch cart or carry lunch bin to the cafeteria
16. Staple paper onto bulletin boards
17. Run around the track at school
18. I have had several teachers successfully use beanbag chairs in their classroom, allowing kids to use them' during silent reading time or to lay over or under them during independent work tasks to get a change in position and the benefit of consistent pressure input. More of a passive mechanism, but definitely helpful for several of my students
19. Prior to seat work, have child pinch, roll, pull theraputty or squeeze balloons filled with flour
20. Give child firm pressure on shoulders
21. Have student move several packs at a time of Xerox paper from the storage area to the school copy center
22. Use the Ellison cut-out machine. Students can collect orders from teachers (who provide the paper and use these cut-outs for bulletin boards, etc.) and then presses out the number of pieces required under the supervision of an adult. This very heavy work is a great strategy for organizing behavior
23. Climbing activities (such as playground equipment)
24. Swing from the trapeze bar "~
25. Push against a wall
26. Fill up big toy trucks with heavy blocks, push with both hands to knock things down
27. Sports activities involving running and jumping
28. Have the child color a "rainbow" with large paper on the floor in a quadruped position
29. Play "cars" under a table in classroom where the child pushes the car with one hand while creeping and weight bearing on the other hand
30. Open doors for people
31. Quiet squeeze toys such as the cow, fondly named by everyone as "Moo" (squeaky squeeze toys are frowned on by our teachers). Kids can be taught to squeeze Moo or the likes of him on their laps under their desks so as not to disturb the class
32. Sip from water bottle with straw
33. Chair push ups
34. Animal walks (crab walk, bear walk, army crawl)
35. Rice play, koosh balls, water play, jello play, theraputty
36. Mini trampoline
37. Stack chairs

Feel free to print and share this information with your child's teachers and therapists.

Remember to mention Special Needs Awareness.org