August 2021 Parenta magazine

The importance of
sensory bags
A sensory bag is really an umbrella term that means a collection of items that children can either
use to stimulate their senses, isolate them or soothe children in distress, and within this article, we
have used the term ‘bag’ to encompass other objects such as jars, bins, or even whole rooms. You
could use a cardboard/plastic box that is full of items that children can touch or play with; it could
be things that make different noises at different levels, or it could be ways that children can learn
how to manage their balance and motor skills such as objects to climb or crawl under.
All children need sensory input to develop
fully, but for some, these objects can be a
lifeline.
In recent years, you may have noticed a
burgeoning of information about sensory
play, sensory issues, and the importance
of meeting the challenges of children who
have sensory needs. There is no doubt
that there is more awareness of the issues
such as sensory processing disorder,
which according to The Sensory Processing
Disorder Foundation, affects at least 1 in
20 children’s daily lives in the US 1 . There
is little incidence data and research in the
UK but another population-based study 2
suggests that 1 in 6 children experiences
sensory challenges sufficient to disrupt
their academic, social, and/or emotional
development.
The concept of Sensory Processing
Disorder (SPD) has been talked about in
clinical circles since it was first described
in the 1960s by occupational therapist, A.
Jean Ayres, PhD, although it took until the
late 1990s and the publication of Carol
Stock Kranowitz’s “The Out-of-Sync Child”
before clinicians really started to diagnose
the condition.
What is sensory processing?
Sensory processing is how we all make
sense of the world – our senses take in
information from the world around us and
our brains then translate the data allowing
us to respond and react accordingly. It is a
“subconscious and automatic neurological
process that occurs in every person at all
stages of life”. If you touch something hot
for example, your sense of touch will relay
this, along with a pain signal to your brain,
which will then respond telling you to pull
your hand away quickly. It usually happens
in milliseconds and for most people,
this process works well, keeping them
protected and feeding them the information
they need to move on and process other
more intellectual or conceptual ideas.
Our eight senses are:
• Visual (sight)
• Auditory (sound)
• Taste (gustatory)
• Smell (olfactory)
• Touch (somatosensory)
• Proprioception (muscle and joint
movement)
• Vestibular (balance and head
movement)
• Interoception (our sense of basic
primary functions like needing the toilet
or feeling hungry
People with sensory processing
impairment/disorder, may have difficulty
with one or more of these, and their
sensory processing may not develop as
efficiently as it should. The child can then
develop behavioural and social difficulties
that can affect many daily activities such as
getting dressed or walking down a street,
which can then affect their experiences
at nursery, school, and their academic
achievement.
For sensory modulation disorders, children
struggle to tolerate the level of sensory
input that others do, so they may be
oversensitive to some things, or actively
seek out other sensory feelings to fulfil a
sensory need. Many people who have
normal sensory processing often find it
hard to understand or empathise with
people who have disorders, dismissing
their distress as them being ‘fussy’ or
unreasonable. However, most of us can
understand the distress of hearing nails
scraping down a blackboard, or having an
itch that we just can’t scratch. Everything
else seems to take second place, and if
we wanted to focus on other things (like
learning or schoolwork), we would have to
either stop the input (i.e. the nails on the
blackboard), or be soothed and satisfied
(like the itch). Now imagine your world
was full of things you either couldn’t stand
or couldn’t be satiated by, and you will go
some way to understanding the problems
that children with sensory disorders face
every day.
This is where sensory bags, bottles, jars,
and bins can help as they can provide
stimulation or be soothing to the child.
The important thing to remember here
is that the individual needs of the child
should always be taken into account
and practitioners must have a good
understanding of each child’s particular
needs in order to meet them. That said,
children with sensory needs may not
have all received a full diagnosis or have
a sensory activity profile/plan in nursery,
so there is something to be said for
experimenting and seeing what works best
with each child.
Remember that sensory stimulation is not
just for the children with sensory disorders
too. All children need sensory inputs from
a variety of different items and they will
need you, the practitioner, to help them
understand them.
Benefits of sensory bags
Using sensory items, children can:
• Build neural connections within the
brain
• Develop fine motor skills handling and
manipulating objects
• Learn social skills by sharing or playing
• Be calmed and soothed
• Fulfil sensory needs
• Maintain their focus and attention
• Practise skills (mark-making e.g. in
sand, paint)
• Develop language skills and
vocabulary – especially if they receive
input from early years practitioners
who can label objects, adjectives and
feelings
• Develop maths/science skills by
manipulating objects, measuring or
counting for example
Sensory play
Sensory play is any activity that also
stimulates a child’s senses, and can help
them find their own sensory regulation
levels but it doesn’t need to be limited to
items you can put in bag. Playing music
counts too, as would messy play or playing
in the sandpit, and an all-time favourite of
jumping in muddy puddles also engages
many senses.
Make your own sensory bags
We have run different articles over the
years that give you advice on how to make
sensory bags, bottles, pathways and even
sensory corners, rooms, and outdoor areas,
some of which are relatively expensive
and some of which are very cheap or can
be made from recycled materials. They
can be anything that is filled with items
that stimulate any of the 8 senses. What’s
important is that the children in your care
have access to a range of sensory things
to ensure that they develop their senses
well or have therapies and interventions
that can address any needs that they have,
and remember, it is often the practitioners
interacting with the child that brings the
most benefit.
More information:
• https://www.spdfoundation.net/index.
html
• https://www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.
uk/services/occupational-therapy/
learning-disability/sensory-processingand-learning-disabilities/
• https://otsimo.com/en/sensoryprocessing-disorder-definition-types/
• https://www.thechaosandtheclutter.
com/product/sensory-bins
• https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/
sensory-bags-for-children-importanceand-easy-diy-crafts/#What_Are_
Sensory_Bags
References
1. Ahn, Miller, Milberger, McIntosh, 2004
2. Ben-Sasson, Carter, Briggs-Gowen,
2009
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