What is a sensory diet?
A sensory diet can be defined as a list, plan, or schedule of strategies and activities to provide sensory input. Strategies and activities can be created for specific types of input. The 8 types include: visual, auditory, olfactory, oral, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, and interoceptive.
Who uses a sensory diet?
All individuals can utilize sensory diets. They are typically utilized by individuals who have difficult processing sensory input, which can include individuals with diagnoses such as: SPD, Autism, 
ADD, ADHD, anxiety, PTSD, etc. These individuals may miss, seek, be sensitive to, or avoid sensory input. An individual who misses input could require intense input to alert and awaken the body. An individual who seeks input could benefit from being provided input to regulate their body. Individuals who are sensitive to input could benefit from modifications to manage stimulation. Individuals who avoid input could require gradual exposure to build tolerance.
How can I get a sensory diet?
Occupational therapists (OTs) are educated and trained to create sensory diets. If you or your child does is not currently being treated by an OT, you can contact one to schedule an evaluation to assess what type of input is being sought or averted and which strategies and activities to implement. If you are already under the care of an OT, you can consult them to inquire about sensory integration. An OT will create a diet that is personalized to meet the needs of the specific individual being treated.
When/how do I use it?
Sensory diets include when to incorporate the strategies and how to implement them. Strategies are naturally scheduled throughout the day into daily routines and activities. They can be scheduled to
provide or avoid sensory input. Some strategies could be things you’re already doing, and others could be techniques that require training by an OT. Examples could include: brushing teeth with a vibrating toothbrush in the morning to provide oral input to alert the mouth, wearing compression socks throughout the day to provide proprioceptive input to stimulate the muscles and joints, utilizing sunglasses when outside to decrease visual input to not strain eyes putting on noise-canceling headphones during class to decrease auditory input to focus, swinging on a swing during OT to provide vestibular input to organize the CNS, brushing with a Wilbarger brush to provide tactile input to decrease tactile defensiveness, etc.
