Where the Wild Kids Are

Supporting your Active Child (with special mention of Sensory Seekers)

Two years ago, a friend changed my life when she asked if she could do a sensory evaluation on my son. I’ve known this friend since we wore matching green pleated skirts on the middle school cheerleading squad. (Go, Irish!) That was a “few” years ago… These days, my friend is a highly respected Pediatric Occupational Therapist so I jumped at the opportunity to have her expertise.

I had been struggling to articulate what was different about my son. My best (and only half joking) description was that my life was a lot more “Lord of the Flies-y” than I had ever imagined. But when I told others that my son was constantly on the move, they replied, “He’s a boy.” When I said he didn’t sleep at night, they said, “Give him some physical activity.” When they saw us going from park to park and from bike riding to running to climbing to jumping, they said, “He’ll sleep well tonight.” I felt like a jerk when I said, “No. He won’t.” The truth was that he didn’t sleep well any night. In his life.

My son’s amp definitely goes to 11 (if you don’t get that, please watch This is Spinal Tap and prepare to laugh until you cry). So the many hours of vigorous physical activity each day were just the norm for us. Yet instead of getting tired, he kept getting more ramped up. For a long time, 11 seemed his only setting.

My friend was the first person to diagnose my son with a Sensory Processing Disorder and, more specifically, as being a Sensory Seeker. Once I read about it, a lot fell into place. A Sensory Seeker (and this is my lay-mom’s definition) is a child who craves vigorous physical activity and sensory stimulation, but for whom it does not have a regulatory effect. Now, after years of Occupational Therapy and several other interventions (including Healing Touch massage therapy and Nurtured Heart parent training) he is much more able to recognize and regulate his internal engine. He can still go to 11 but he can also bring it back down (most of the time). It makes our life a lot more livable. 

If you suspect that your child has a Sensory Processing Disorder (which is often found alongside other issues such as ADHD/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Autism) I recommend talking to your pediatrician about having him/her evaluated by a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. A professional can help in many ways and can also teach you how to design home activities that are most beneficial to your child.

For these last couple of years, I have been on the lookout for ways to support my son’s therapy in the home. Having a home gym (we call it our Wild Room) is actually fun for any kid. But I wanted to set ours up in a way that imitates the Occupational Therapy gyms – but in a smaller space and budget. 

The first thing that I purchased for our Wild Room was an indoor trampoline. We have used this one heavily for almost 3 years and it is still in great shape. It is just the right size for our space – 7 feet in diameter is big enough for two and it has a safety net, yet is compact enough for indoor use.

As much as my son loves the jumping, it can lead to overstimulation for him. I often incorporate the trampoline into an obstacle course that may involve carrying an object through the course (preferably something weighted, for the grounding effect) or having a goal for each round of the obstacle course. I’ve even gotten him dressed by having him put on one piece of clothing with each round. 

I later added the Milliard Crash Pad inside the trampoline. It is an at-home version of the crash pads used in OT gyms. The foam inside is angular to provide a lot of firm sensory input. (This is not something you want to lie around and watch TV on, but it has the feel of a foam pit without the mess). I put this five-foot pad on one side of the 7-foot trampoline so we have room to jump and then to crash into the pad, all within the safety net of the trampoline. For my son, the combination of jumping with the full body impact of crashing is very regulating. He even gets snuggly after doing this for a while. (Pro tip: after buying one of these, contact Milliard at the end of any month and tell them Mom Flies Solo suggested that you request “extra floofiness.” They will send additional foam at no additional cost and it will make it feel more like the crash pads in the OT gyms.)

My son and I both love the Harkla sensory compression swing. I first used this type of swing in an aerial yoga class and found that it is also fun for adults (and good stretching). It is large enough and strong enough to have both of us in it, sitting or lying. And the swivel hanger means that my sensory seeker can have the spinning he craves without it getting too dizzying. (He has to propel himself to keep going, whereas before the swivel he was able to twist the swing up and let go to spin himself rapidly out, which could overstimulate him).

Undearneath the swing and extending up the wall, I place a padded gym mat similar to this one which protects heads and bodies while swinging. It also allows us to do some yoga moves, tumbling and creative play (and doubles as a stage).        

I often connect these areas of the room with stepping stones, which keep him using his proprioception. And I keep plenty of creative toys in the room to go straight into fine motor activities or manipulatives like play-doh. Starting him on the gross motor activities and working toward the finer ones helps him to gradually find his internal equilibrium.

From there, I set a visual schedule to incorporate a variety of activity types while still offering my son choices. If you want to hear more about that, please subscribe below. You will also get my free guide, “When You Lose Your Sh+!”

I would love to hear how these ideas spark inspiration for your own home.

Until then, keep it neurospicy!

_{Note: this article contains affiliate links that support this blog.}

_{For more information and an interview with a Pediatric OT, see “When Life Gets Lord of the Flies-y” on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Below are the resources that Angela Fulkerson Folczyk discusses in the podcast:}

_{https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/about-spd}

_{https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/identification-of-spd}

_{Dr. Lucy Miller: Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with sensory processing disorder. (Mom Flies Solo’s Aff Link: https://amzn.to/3JlbXMf)} 

_{Carol Stock Kranowitz: Out of Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child has Fun (MFS Aff Link: https://amzn.to/3ZONoP0)}