Sensory-Based Coping Strategies for Children with Anxiety

​Here are some sensory coping strategies, put together by our Occupational Therapist, Sarah Bianco, which can help children calm their nerves and which serve as good coping mechanisms. 

​Proprioceptive Calming Tools:

• Pushing and pulling exercises (e.g. tug of war, tearing paper and rolling them into small balls, sit ups and push ups)
• Pillow fights or punching a pillow
• PlayDoh activities
• Squeezing a stress ball
• Hugging a soft toy tightly
• Pressing hands together 

Vestibular Calming Tools:

• Bouncing on a therapy ball or jumping on a trampoline for 5 minutes
• Laying flat on a therapy ball and rolling forward and backwards at a slow pace
• Going out for a short walk/jog in the school corridor. 
• Movement exercise activities in between homework activities (e.g. jumping jacks, jumping on the spot)

Oral-Sensory Calming Tools:

• Blowing bubbles or a pinwheel
• Chewing gum or crunchy foods (e.g. nuts, banana chips, cereal)
• Deep belly breathing exercises and Lazy 8 breathing exercises

Tactile Calming Tools:

• Searching for small toys in a sand tray
• Colouring mandalas can be a relaxing and mindful activity
• Playing with fidget toys (e.g. tangle toys)

Auditory Calming Tools:

• Reduce the noise by turning down the volume of televisions and radios
• Play calming and relaxing music at a low volume

Visual Calming Tools:

• Dimming the lights / drawing the curtains
• Using sensory calm bottles (can be made at home)

 
We hope you like them and find them useful! :)