Engaging in sensory activities for kids with cerebral palsy is incredibly beneficial and important for their development. Children with cerebral palsy struggle with movement, coordination, and sensory processing, which can set them back in their development. That’s why dedicating time to sensory activities for cerebral palsy is so crucial. In this article, we’re going to discuss what cerebral palsy is and how it affects people before sharing ten of our favorite sensory activities that you can try.
What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a blanket term for neurological conditions that affect an individual’s motor function, movement, muscle control, balance and sensory processing. Such neurological conditions are caused by brain injury or atypical brain development before, during, or immediately after birth, for example, a premature or complicated birth, a bleed in the baby's brain or mutations in the baby's genes. Signs of cerebral palsy do not usually present themselves right away. You may only notice a delay in your child’s development when they reach typical growth milestones. Most children begin to display symptoms before the age of three.Symptoms of cerebral palsy vary in severity but can include stiffness or floppiness of the muscles, weakness of the muscles, uncontrolled body movements, and problems with balance and coordination. In more severe cases, symptoms can include fits, seizures and learning difficulties.
Cerebral Palsy Sensory Challenges
Many children with cerebral palsy display symptoms of sensory processing disorder (SPD). They may find it difficult to process sensory inputs and may find sensory inputs over or under-stimulating. Some cerebral palsy sensory challenges include struggling with hearing, smelling, sight, taste, touch, proprioceptive processing, and vestibular processing. Sensory processing disorder can hinder a child’s development, impact how they understand the world, and negatively impact their physical and mental health. So, engaging in sensory activities for cerebral palsy is important for their overall development and well-being.
Sensory soft play provides endless benefits and fun for little ones, and can be especially valuable for kids with cerebral palsy. Cushions, floor pads, wedges, tunnels and beams will help to develop motor planning and gross motor skills, as well as balance and co-ordination. Soft play also helps to promote exploration, creativity, problem-solving and communication. Plus, as soft play provides a very safe environment, you can allow the children to explore without worry.
The sensory benefits of music therapy are well-documented. A relaxing tune can help to calm down someone who is feeling over-stimulated and, vice versa, an energetic track can help to engage those who struggle with under-stimulation. Music can be incorporated into just about any cerebral palsy activity, but starting a dance party with your little one has the added benefit of fostering co-ordination, motor skills and communication. You could encourage them to stomp their feet or clap their hands to the music, or sing or hum along if they know the songs.
Stickers are always a big hit with kids, as they're an effective, fun and budget-friendly way for children with cerebral palsy to develop fine motor skills. Lean into their favorite cartoon characters or Disney movies and let them create their very own sticker masterpiece. If they struggle to manipulate small or more intricate stickers, you could always start by giving them larger, square or circular stickers.
Specialized sensory tools, like bubble tubes, lend themselves perfectly to sensory activities for cererbal palsy. Expertly designed for those with sensory challenges, sensory bubble tubes will help your children learn color recognition, cause and effect, and other key skills. Bubble tubes have many uses and can be used by children with cerebral palsy to relax, improve focus, and learn about colors. The various movements and colors that bubble tubes display creates an engaging and mesmerizing environment, and can help to soothe children who feel over-stimulated.
Kids love Play-Doh, and playing with it is a great sensory activity for cererbal palsy, helping to foster their creativity whilst strengthening fine motor muscles. The possibilities are endless with Play-Doh - kids can break it apart, roll it into different shapes and sizes, and press it back together again. Get the children together for a group session as this can help with socialization, communication and learning about sharing. We also suggest picking up Play-Doh in various colors to help develop color recognition skills, too.
Another fun and creative activity to try is jewelery making. There are plenty of kid-friendly jewelery making kits on the market, so they can try their hand at a snazzy necklace or friendship bracelet. Not only does jewelry making require concentration, but it is also a great activity for building on fine motor skills and co-ordination. As children with cerebral palsy can often struggle with these skills, you could begin with jewelry making that uses larger beads rather than small, intricate ones.
Another specialist sensory tool that we love is the fiber optic Interactive LED Hand Carpet, featuring four brightly-colored hands. By pressing one of the hands, the colors on the carpet will change to match the color of the hand. This fun, interactive sensory tool is great for children with cerebral palsy as it promotes motor planning, hand-eye coordination and the understanding of cause and effect. LED fiber optics are also extremely safe to use and easy to maintain. You can attach the carpet to a wall in almost any space, whether that's a dedicated sensory room, a sensory corner, waiting room, therapy clinic or classroom.
If your child or loved one has cerebral palsy, it’s vital to regularly keep them active and engaged with sensory activities. There are many avenues you can try when it comes to these activities, just remember to keep them fun, focused, and interactive. And, don’t stress if your child doesn’t show interest in a particular cerebral palsy sensory activity; there are lots to try, and you should let them guide the way. For further sensory advice and insight into sensory tools, please take a read of our blog or get in touch with one of our Experia USA experts who will be happy to help!
