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50 %u00a9 Elklan Training Limited 2025Elklan Supporting Gestalt Language Processing %u2013 a Total Communication ApproachThe term %u2018sensory diet%u2019 is used to describe the input of senses needed for a child or young person across the day to support their emotional regulation and learning. A %u2018sensory diet%u2019 can be recommended by an occupational therapist where a child or young person is observed to be sensory seeking or sensory avoidant. Sensory seeking means they are seeking out a sense such as showing they need to move or look or smell, or taste or touch or make a noise. Sensory avoidant means they are over responsive to senses and may avoid senses such as noise, touch, looking, smells or taste.An occupational therapy assessment of sensory integration will investigate how a child or young person processes sensory information and if they can be over-stimulated or understimulated by their sensory environment. If a non-speaker is showing adverse reactions to sensory information or showing a need to climb, run, spin, bang rather than carrying out a task they may be showing, through their behaviour, a sensory need. It is important that everyone supporting the child or young person recognises how a behaviour communicates a sensory need. It is also important that the AAC available to be used for the non-speaker allows for communicating a sensory need. A sensory choice board can be put in place if appropriate.An example of a choice boardIf an individualised sensory choice board is produced to support a Gestalt Language Processor, then remember to use a sign, symbol or written text to directly represent their gestalt. If for example they specifically like to sing %u2018Twinkle Twinkle Little Star%u2019 as a calming auditory seeking strategy and their gestalt is %u2018twinkle twinkle%u2019 then %u2018twinkle twinkle%u2019 should be written with the star symbol rather than the word %u2018singing%u2019. If they like to listen to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in a specific video with auditory and visual input then a screen shot of the specific Twinkle Twinkle Little Star video would be needed as the picture accompanying the %u2018twinkle twinkle%u2019 option.