Sensory tables offer multiple benefits for any child but are especially therapeutic for children with ASD. The diverse mediums and textures, as well as the various approaches required for interacting with the sensory table’s contents, foster multi-faceted engagement and growth.
While the standard list of signs and symptoms of ASD may be boilerplate, each child with ASD is unique. The six sensory table benefits listed below are all relative to the child and their needs. Still, the ability to customize sensory tables means parents and therapists can create tables that best serve the individual child.
Children with ASD are often highly sensitive, and that includes strong preferences and aversions to textures and sensations. So, you are sensory table can work in one of two ways:
You can intentionally use a medium that your child loves to touch and interact with on the table. This provides them with a comfort source. The material could be clay, sand, or a soft velvety fabric.
Now, in addition to your child having the ability to work with a medium that they love, you also have a space where they can go if they are upset or if need to occupy some time. Better yet, this soothing developmental tool is outside of the realm of technology and screens - which have their own risks and benefits.
In a supervised setting with therapists, parents, or caregivers, your child also has the opportunity to work with materials that may be more trigger than soothing.
By exposing the child in small doses to the textures or sensations that cause heightened aversions - or even meltdowns - we can help them become more tolerant (and even accepting) of some of them.
Home, school, therapy center, and playground sensory tables are also places where you can help your child work on their language skills. Incorporating 3-D versions or other visual representations of letter symbols, common words to recognize, and so on, your child can begin integrating language and communication skills you practice in life with their sensory table experience.
Some children with ASD have a hard time making friends or connecting with other people. They may need to work on how to take turns, share, or participate in 50/50 conversations without monopolizing them. The sensory table offers a place where all of these can happen.
When the sensory table is used in the home or the classroom, it can become a natural gathering place for others, which means that siblings may have a chance to hang out together without any forced agenda. Again, children with ASD are still children. And all children (and adults) enjoy sensory play.
In therapy, we use the sensory table to role-play various social scenarios (like sharing or taking turns). Or, while a child is contentedly engaged with sensory play, we can practice the art of conversation - teaching clients with ASD to learn to ask their peers questions or to answer in shorter sentences rather than ignoring topics the client isn’t interested in or going on and on when their peer shows signs of boredom or irritation.
As children continue developing relationships with their sensory table, their neural pathways continue opening up. This cognitive development is displayed via creativity, imagination, and problem-solving.
If you think about the table as a controlled microcosm of their world, it offers a safe space for them to see cause and effect or the natural outcomes of their actions. Mistakes can happen there (as well as successes) without any of the dramatic or overstimulating consequences or outcomes that may occur in the real world.
Sensory tables for children with ASD also help to develop their fine motor skills. Integrating movement into a child with ASD's life is always crucial because regular movement and exercise help with muscle tone as well as both large and small motor skills.
However, the very nature of sensory tables, which requires focused movement and manipulation of various objects or materials in a smaller space, helps a child focus fine muscle coordination in their hands and fingers (dexterity). Things like scooping or pouring sand or water from one cup to the other or sliding objects from one specific point to another also help with developing hand-eye coordination.
We mentioned this in number one when we talked about sensory integration. In this day and age, more and more children are being handed screens and technological gadgets as a way to calm or soothe them. While this is fine in small doses, it is not a sustainable or healthy long-term option.
Their sensory table becomes a safe place for children to go when they are overwhelmed, overstimulated, or having a heightened response. If your child spends lots of time with a grandparent, a babysitter, or another caregiver, it might be worth setting up a sensory table in their home.
Using the tips provided below, you may also be able to create a travel sensory table (see below) that can come with you when you're out of town or in unfamiliar environments.
While you can purchase sensory tables online with everything included, you can also create a DIY sensory table using things you probably already have around the house (or can easily procure from family and friends if you put out a wish list).
You can get sample sand from many local landscape companies. Bring home several different types - from larger pebbles or gravel to fine beach sand. See which sizes and textures your child prefers, and then you'll know which to focus on for your table and the goals. Add some measuring scoops, spoons, and other containers from home, and children can scoop, pour, and mix to their heart's content.
Water tables are another way for children to experience water in all forms, from splashing, scooping, and pouring to experimenting with the ways it fuels on our hands versus our arms versus our faces. Small hand pumps can be used so children can crank water out, and you can also create maze-like barriers so children can weave floating objects through waterways and tunnels.
You can make moon dough at home. There are several different recipes, most of which include things you already have around the house, like conditioner and cornstarch or baby oil and flour. Depending on your and your child's preferences, you can include food coloring to add color and biodegradable glitter for a little sparkle. The result is a silky, moldable sand that is great for both sensory stimulation and creativity.
If your child happens to be a science buff, they'll also appreciate trying different recipes until they find the one they like best.
Using bins that contain magnetic numbers or letters and a magnetic board down on the table, you can create a sensory table that allows children to practice what they're learning. In the beginning, they may simply enjoy the action and experience of sticking magnets on and off the table or making various color patterns or variations.
However, this can also be a way to practice sounds or early reading and writing skills by giving children physical three-dimensional examples of the letters they’re learning. Magnetic numbers work in the same way, which can help children with things like learning their address or essential phone numbers to practicing math.
If you're working with a behavioral therapist, there's a good chance they'll have plenty of suggestions for you about what would work best for your child's sensory table. However, this is also an excellent opportunity for your child to have some agency and creating their own version.
Once you have a table and location in place and have experimented with a couple of different options, have them get on board with customizing the table and the mediums that make the most sense for who they are.
Finally, don't forget to scour thrift stores or garage sales for hardcased suitcases or briefcases. These can make excellent travel sensory tables, providing a resource for car trips, vacations, or while running errands.
The Autism Response Team (ART) uses applied behavioral analysis to provide valuable assessments and craft personalized suggestions, therapies, and resources for children with ASD and their families. We have seen firsthand how sensory tables can support children in multiple capacities - including joy-filled moments with family and friends.
Contact us to schedule an assessment or to learn more about how we can support you and your household. Research clearly shows that early intervention achieves better outcomes for the vast majority of children with ASD, so it's never too early to gain the support you deserve.
