In a world with constant stressors and pressure on kids, it’s easy to see how some kids feel stressed out by too much sensory stimulation. Whether your child has a sensory processing disorder or struggles with sensory overload from time to time, meditation is a practice that can help them feel grounded, find their inner calm, and help manage their symptoms.
Sensory processing disorder is the term used to describe the challenges people have relating to environmental stimuli.
Also known as sensory integration disorder, it is characterized by having challenges regulating the senses, as children, and adults, relate to their own bodies or the outside world. Because we are constantly taking in information from all of our senses, children with SPD often struggle in daily life, feeling out of sorts a lot of the time.
This leads to them often feeling anxious, out of control, and may result in emotional outbursts like tantrums and rages, withdrawal from sensory stimuli, or if they are sensory seeking, always trying to meet their need for sensory input. Children who have sensory processing disorders may also have co-occurring conditions like autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, Down syndrome or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Sensory processing disorders look different for every child. They involve differences in the way the child experiences all of the eight senses, and are best diagnosed through consultation with the child’s doctor and a pediatric occupational therapist who has experience with SPD.
A pediatric occupational therapist (OT) can complete a sensory profile assessment for your child. The sensory profile assessment will give you insight into how your child perceives and responds to sensory input in their life in a variety of environments, like home, in school, the outdoors, etc.
The assessment may help you understand why your child has certain sensory challenges and provide you with ways to help your child. This guidance is often called a sensory diet, or a treatment plan, and it offers ways to work with your child to help them best address their sensory needs.
One way to address sensory needs is through mindfulness and meditation. Knowing your child’s sensory profile will help you plan meditation and mindfulness activities that support their abilities to calm themselves in stressful situations.
Before we look at how mindful practices can help, let’s look at the most common characteristics of SPD. Children with sensory processing disorder may present with one of three common sensory processing disorder categories, or a combination:
This category presents as a child being highly sensitive to, or avoiding sensory triggers like loud noises, bright lights, scratchy fabrics, etc. (Think the school cafeteria or the mall, and a wool sweater.)
A child who is sensory over-responsive may:
Under-response SPD is typical of child not noticing sensory input in the environment. They may seem fatigued or disconnected, withdrawn or self-absorbed.
A child who is sensory under-responsive may:
The third subtype often presents as a child frequently seeking sensory stimulation. The child might run, bump into things, jump, touch everything they come into contact with, be overly affectionate, and struggle with other’s personal space and boundaries.
A child who is sensory seeking may:
While there are 3 categories of SPD, children can present with behaviors from all three categories.
Sensory processing refers to the way our brains process sensory stimuli. Sensory stimuli come to us through our eight senses, and it is usually an automatic and unconscious process. We don’t usually even think about processing the stimuli, it just happens naturally and without putting in any effort.
For kids with SPD, it does require effort, and it is usually not easy or automatic.
Visual – Sense of sight.
Auditory – Sense of hearing.
Olfactory – Sense of smell. This is often said to be the most powerful sense, especially as it relates to our ability to detect danger in our environment, like a strong chemical odor, or smoke. There is a lot of neurobiology involved with smells. Some scents take you back to comforting memories, like grandma’s cookies, whereas other smells may trigger fear, anxiety, or a trauma response.
Tactile – Sense of touch. There is a lot involved with the tactile system, including feeling pain, whether we, or an item, is hot or cold, different textures (smooth or rough, wet or dry, ) whether pressure or touch is light or firm.
Gustatory – Sense of Taste. This refers to many things: the way something tastes, its temperature, and its texture.
And the three lesser known, but still very important senses:
Interoception – The sense of being aware of what is going on inside your body like your heart rate or breathing. It relates to whether you feel hot or cold, thirsty, hungry, needing rest, needing to use the bathroom, feel nauseous, itchy, etc. It can also relate to the emotions you are feeling.
Proprioception – The sense of being aware of your own body and where it is in space. It relates to muscles and tendons and joints. It is the system that allows you to walk without looking at your feet, or hold a spoon and move food into your mouth. This system has a lot to do with how grounded you feel where you are.
Vestibular – The sense of your body that relates to movement, balance, and coordination which is controlled by the inner ear, or eustachian tubes.
Kids with sensory processing disorders can absolutely meditate, and it’s really good for them. Meditation has many benefits for kids with SPD. The caveat is that meditation and mindfulness should be presented to them in ways that support the way they relate to the environment.
As mentioned, it is good to work with your child’s OT to understand their sensory profile. Once you have a plan to work with their sensory needs, you can introduce meditation practices that are best suited for them. Regardless of what sensory challenges your child has, they will find meditation and mindfulness practices that are appealing to them. It’s all about finding what styles work for them.
Kids with SPD often find themselves stressed by things that don’t bother others, making them often highly anxious, out of sorts, unable to self-regulate, and full of big emotions that often lead to tantrums, outbursts, and a lot of tears. They may tire easily, withdraw from the world, and struggle to participate in their day to day life.
This is why meditation can help kids cope with sensory overload. These practices teach kids how to be in the present moment, aware of different environmental stimuli without judgment, and without having to change anything. The “without judgment” and the “without having to change anything” are key components to meditation and mindfulness, and very important skills for kids with SPD to develop.
Any meditation practice is suitable for children with SPD, but it is important to make the meditation and the environment aligned with the way the child learns best. Teaching meditation to a child with SPD will greatly depend on the child’s sensory profile. With the input from your child’s OT, you can create a meditation space and meditation practices that best meet their needs.
Invite your child to develop a sense of mindfulness throughout their day, whether they are at home, outside, in school, or somewhere else. Practice, or model, showing them how to be mindful in a variety of settings. The following are some ways to encourage them to do this:
⭐️ Tip: Want to teach your child visualization? Try listening to Pictures in the Sky
⭐️ Tip: Up on Peppermint Mountain is a guided story meditation designed specifically to help kids who are feeling overstimulated calm down through the power of scent meditation.
⭐️ Tip: Listen to Deer and the Crystal Cave, a guided story meditation where children learn how to practice focus meditation with an object.
⭐️ Tip: Introduce your child to mindful movement with Deer’s River Walk
Meditation and mindfulness give kids with SPD skills to help them navigate childhood and their entire lives with greater peace and calm. With less stress and anxiety, kids with SPD may feel more connected to their senses and the world around them which in turn makes them feel better in whatever environment they are in.
Wee Meditate teaches meditation and mindfulness to kids with disabilities like Sensory Processing Disorder. In our storybook world, kids learn meditation with Dragon and his forest animal friends. Wee Meditate has content in a variety of lengths and styles to appeal to all children. Start your Wee Meditate subscription and give your child the lifetime gift of meditation.
*All Wee Meditate audios and meditations have an option for background music or no music, so your child can always feel comfortable while meditating.
