Sensory processing is our ability to organise and make sense of information we receive through our senses. Children and young people with autism can find this challenging and can be under sensitive or over sensitive to sensory stimuli. This can lead to difficulties with attention, organisation and managing emotions.

A range of activities can provide the sensory input an individual needs to be regulated i.e. focused, organised and calm.

These activities generally fall into two broad categories – those which help to alert/organise/focus and those which calm/relax. Some activities can be included in both categories as they can result in different responses for different individuals.

Sensory activities can be timetabled into a child/young person’s day or used as/when required.

We have selected some activities below that have been popular with children  that may be fun and helpful to do at home .