Foods and Kitchen Activities for Oral Sensory Seekers

Are you or your child an oral sensory seeker?  Here are some tips on how to approach food  to help make eating more enjoyable and safer!

Sensory seekers are those who under process sensory input and therefore seek it out.  When kids or adults are under responsive to food in their mouth this means they may not be able to feel or taste certain foods. This makes it difficult for them to maneuver these foods in their mouth and effective chew and swallow.

Am I or my Child an Oral Sensory Seeker?

Here are some indications you or your child under processes sensory input.

• over stuff food in mouth
• find leftover food in mouth
• messy eaters (often have food on their mouth that they are not aware of)
• food dropping/falling out the their mouth
• prefer foods that provide sensory feedback (see below)

Foods Oral Sensory Seeker May Prefer

• crunchy foods
  • raw veggies
  • raw hard fruits: apples
  • frozen fruits and vegetables
  • crackers/snack foods
  • toast
• Cold food
• Hot food
• sour
  • vinegar based or pickled foods
  • lemons/limes
• spicy foods

These foods often provide that sensory feedback this kids need to process that they have food in their mouth and therefore may be better able to sense it’s there and successfully chew and swallow it.

Foods Sensory Seekers May Not Prefer

• soft foods
• mushy foods
• bland foods

Helping Sensory Seekers Better Tolerate Non Preferred Foods

• Add in spices
• Mix softer foods with a crunchy or hard food
• Have them drink mushy puree food like apple sauce or smoothy it through a straw
• Serve the preferred texture (i.e if kids don’t prefer soft cooked vegetables ok to serve raw)
• Add a sour sauce to a bland food
• Toast bread to make it harder/crunchy
• Cover food in a crispy breading ( i.e breaded chicken or fish)
• Serve food with a spicy or sour dip

Kitchen Activities for Oral Sensory Seekers

• taste tests (compare two foods: taste, texture)
• blind taste tests (guess foods by taste and feel)
• blowing bubbles in different consistency liquids
• play/interact with food with all of their senses (look, smell, touch, listen, taste)