Ep. 46: Top Tips for Sensory Seekers
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What is a sensory seeker and how is the term defined?
What's up everyone and welcome to Making the Shift.
We're an SLP couple from California with three boys and a passion for finding better ways to support autistic kids.
I'm Chris. You might know me as speech dude. I'm a Neurodivergent High School SLP and the creator of the Dynamic Assessment of Social Emotional Learning, and I specialize in crafting neurodiversity affirming IEPs through my online course.
And I'm Jesse, a sensory integration trained SLP, owner of a top-rated clinic in Los Angeles, and the creator of the Inside Out Sensory Communication Programs for Parents and Therapists. Join us weekly to learn neurodiversity affirming ways to support social, emotional development and regulation in autistic kids.
Are you ready to make the shift?
Hello everyone! Today we are talking about my best tips for supporting sensory seekers. I will tell you, I do a lot of work with parents, with other professionals, and this has gotta be one of the biggest questions I get. It's gotta be one of like the biggest struggles that I see families having is that they have a child maybe who's a sensory seeker and they really feel like they need help. And then of course teachers in classrooms. It can be really hard for them when they have sensory seekers in the classrooms and lots of teachers asking for support there. So first of all, let me just give you a quick reminder of when I say sensory seeker, what I mean, because I think that this term is getting more and more widely known, which is awesome, but also it does mean something very, very specific.
Um and that comes from Dr. Winnie Dunn's framework. If you haven't caught our our episode with Dr. Winnie Dunn, you can go back to it, you could watch it, you could listen to her talk all about these different patterns.
Why do sensory seekers have a high threshold for sensory input?
And Sensory Seeker is one of those patterns. So what makes a sensory seeker are two different components coming together. One is that the child has a high threshold for sensory input. Okay, we can either have a low threshold or a high threshold for sensory input. Sensory seekers have a high threshold. That means it takes a lot of stimulation to activate them. It takes a lot for their nervous system to register it. It takes a lot for them to get bothered by sensory input. They need a lot. So they have a high threshold. They need a lot of sensory input. The other component that makes a sensory seeker when paired with the high threshold is that they're active in their self-regulation. Meaning when something happens, when they feel like they either need some kind of sensory input.
Or I want to move away from a sensory input. They will do that immediately. So child feels like they need to move, they get up and they move. Other kids might sit around, you feel that kind of like bubbling up in your system, like, yeah, I could probably use a break to take a few steps. Talking about myself here. Right. Some of us kind of like are just sitting back and we start to feel like, Yeah, I probably do need to move a little.
How does active self‑regulation shape a sensory seeker’s behavior?
I would probably feel better if I did. But we wait a little while. We act on it later. It's not that we never get up and move. It's that we don't have that same immediate response that someone who has active self-regulation would have. Okay, so a seeker has this high threshold. And this active regulation. When those two things are paired together, that is what makes a sensory seeker. So Because they have a high threshold and active self-regulation, it totally makes sense. The kind of you know, behaviors quote behaviors. We will see from a child, meaning just the things we will observe a child doing, meaning Seekers usually look like the kids who are just non-stop on the go, always on the move. Seems like they can never get enough input.
That's usually how you know parents will describe seeker their seeker kids is I feel like he's just never getting enough. He's just go, go, go all the time. I can't keep up with him. Teachers might teachers might say that seekers are just. uh really hard to, you know, sit down in the circle and do the classroom activities.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is a sensory seeker and how is the term defined?
0:08–2:10
2
Why do sensory seekers have a high threshold for sensory input?
2:10–3:38
3
How does active self‑regulation shape a sensory seeker’s behavior?
3:38–6:45
4
What challenges do routine‑focused environments create for sensory seekers?
6:45–8:43
5
How can parents and teachers introduce novelty to keep a seeker engaged?
8:43–10:09
6
What real‑life examples illustrate what works (and doesn’t) for a sensory‑seeking adult?
10:09–12:03
7
What practical strategies help fill a sensory seeker’s ‘cup’ at home and in therapy?
12:03–13:00
8
How can varied sensory experiences improve regulation, fun, and learning for seekers?
13:00–13:07
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The NeuroAffirm Podcast
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Ep. 123 Not Seeing Progress in Speech Therapy? Start Here.
Ep. 122 Screen Time Considerations for Autistic Kids
Ep. 121 The Biggest Sensory Mistakes SLPs Make
Ep. 120 Why Anxiety is So Common in Autism (And What Actually Helps)