Attuning to the sensory needs of children and young people in care
Oct 2024
Written by Billy Black
The 21st-27th of October is OT Week, honouring the vital role of occupational therapists in improving lives across Australia. This year’s theme, “Celebrating 80 Years of Connection,” highlights how occupational therapy has fostered individual and community connections for decades – a crucially important foundation for children and young people growing up in care.
This OT week, CETC hosted a virtual workshop called Attuning to the sensory needs of children and young people in care, presented by two experienced occupational therapists (OTs) from the Victorian therapeutic services team, Jenny Gay and Jess Wright.
The workshop was highly interactive (and fun!), with activities that demonstrated how simple, everyday actions – such as drinking cold water, manipulating toys, or even squeezing our hands together – can subtly affect how we feel in our body. These small sensory experiences shape how we connect to the world around us.
As an adult participant, it was eye-opening to realise what we can take for granted about how children sense and internalise their environments, and what this means for supporting them through the struggles we can’t see, in addition to the ones we can.
Co-regulation teaches self-regulation
A key takeaway from the workshop was that children need consistent co-regulation with a safe adult to learn effective self-regulation.
Many children and young people in out-of-home care have experienced significant trauma and are statistically more likely to have sensory processing differences from their peers. Sensory-seeking children may meet their needs in a way that disrupts class and their relationships, while sensory-avoidant children may meet their needs by withdrawing from daily activities and their important connections.
By taking the time to co-regulate with children and respond thoughtfully to their behaviours, we help them develop a language for their needs and model positive ways to meet those needs.
Shifting our perspective towards therapeutic support
One memorable story from the workshop highlighted a common challenge: an adult who disliked responding to (seemingly) deliberate misbehaviour with positivity and sensory support. “We’re just rewarding naughty behaviour with playtime!” In the reality of daily care, I think many adults can relate. When we’re tired and feeling stressed or unsafe around a behaviour, our instinct is to stop the behaviour as quickly as possible.
Effortfully identifying the need behind the behaviour, providing calming sensory support, strengthening the connection even when they actively reject us – this is hard and slow work! However, spending the energy and patience on consistent co-regulation helps children build self-regulation, leading to long-term gains for both children and adults.
Sensory support isn’t just for responding to behaviour
Another story that stood out in the workshop was of a caring adult who felt that the OT’s co-regulation strategy, a stretching activity, was backfiring: she saw the child was now misbehaving intentionally, to get to do the stretching activity together. This story shows the value of attuning to children’s sensory needs in a consistent and sustained way, not just in times of distress. This stretching activity was clearly a great co-regulation activity for this child, since she was actively seeking it out!
The OT’s suggestion was to create a predictable schedule for this activity, to meet the child’s sensory needs regardless of her behaviour. It’s a simple solution, but one that would be difficult for many children, even without trauma or neurodivergence, to come up with on their own.
Supporting children often includes supporting their caring adults
Providing this level of tailored care to children we work and live with is deeply rewarding, but it’s rarely easy. Children who are fortunate enough to have the support of OTs and other trauma professionals benefit not just from therapy itself, but also the guidance they can provide to help refocus caring adults on the goals that matter, allowing us to watch on as children grow and flourish.
To learn more about OT Week 2024, visit the Occupational Therapy Australia website.
Due to popular request, Attuning to the sensory needs of children and young people in care will return on 02 April, 2025. Click here for details and registration. Alternatively, visit the CETC training page to see our other virtual workshops and learning opportunities for carers and care practitioners.
