A Sensory Healthy Morning
Billy is a 7 year old boy who loves outer space.
He knows a lot about outer space. Billy is very active but he gets irritable very easily. He doesn’t like loud sounds, but he makes them all of the time. Billy likes things to be “his way” and he often gets argumentative about getting dressed in the morning. His mom is trying to find some fun activities they will both enjoy and will make their morning routine go smoothly help him live a sensory healthy lifestyle.
Billy’s morning routine:
Billy sleeps under a weighted blanket (just 3 pounds because he weighs 60 lbs). It helps him sleep better because the weight provides proprioceptive input, which has a calming effect on the central nervous system and helps with sensory processing. When he wakes in the morning, his mom has his sunrise clock set to slowly wake him through a light that gradually comes on rather than a jarring alarm clock. Billy’s alarm clock is across the room. He has to walk across an “asteroid field” of bean bag chairs and climb up a lunar step stool to reach the alarm on the top of his dresser.
Billy has already started getting some proprioception and he’s only been up for 2 minutes. His body is starting to feel awake, but he is calm and organized. This is because his mom thought about the flow of his day and how he can start the day in a relaxing way.
He climbs down, and heads to the bathroom. Billy’s mom knows that the sounds of the bathroom are tough for Billy. She has placed rugs down on the floor to mute the noise. The lights are on a dimmer switch to allow him to adjust them to the level of his choosing. He uses the toilet which has a soft seat rather than a cold, hard one. Billy looks at his Planetary Report subscription from The Planetary Society (Bill Nye really is cool!). He flushes (his mom flushed for a few years because of the loud noise, but Billy has found that as he got older, worked on his heavy work activities that he is able to tolerate the noise now).
Billy checks his “to do” list.
Billy is a good reader, but has trouble remembering all of the steps. His mom has made him a laminated list of steps he needs “to do” before school. He moves to his bedroom to get dressed. He jumps on his rebounder for a few minutes while listening to his favorite songs. This helps in perk up a bit. His body is feeling ready to put on his clothes. Billy hates to wear jeans, so today he has a nice pair of cotton pants with an elastic band (he finds buttoning to take too much time). He picks a soft t-shirt, seamless socks and sneakers with “no tie” lock laces and he’s off!
Breakfast time and he is offered a icy strawberry smoothie which he drinks through a boba straw. It is hard work, but he likes it. He eats scrambled eggs with hot sauce on top in a tortilla. Yum. he’s starting to feel awake and ready for school. (He sits in a rocking chair and relaxes while reading.
Check the schedule again and it’s time for packing his backpack. He has a list of what needs to be in there and he double checks that has everything he needs. Books, lunch, sports water bottle, notebooks, extra sweatshirt for deep pressure on his legs when he is in class, fidgets to help his hands when teachers are talking, ear pods for listening to music on the bus, chewy snacks to keep him going. Yup! He’s ready!!
