Crash pads are a wonderful sensory tool! Offering children the opportunity to experience proprioceptive input with squishes, jumping and crashing, as well as tactile and vestibular input through rolling, crash pads are one of our favorite pieces of equipment.
Often used in sensory integration treatment and recommended for home use, crash pads are available for purchase through various therapeutic websites, but we love making our own. Whether your child is experiencing sensory processing difficulties due to diagnoses such as autism, or you’re just looking for a way to provide sensorimotor fun, here’s DIY instructions on how to make a sensory crash pad. Time for some crash pad sensory fun!
All you really need to make a great crash pad for your child is a bunch of soft materials to crash into and something to stuff them all inside. For this version, here are some materials to collect:
If you don’t have any sewing experience at all, you may want to enlist the help of a friend or family member that does. It doesn’t take expert-level skill, but can be time-consuming if you are completely unfamiliar. The process, however, is quite simple.
There are a variety of activities your crash pad can accommodate to help offer sensory input and/or work on your child’s motor skills, including:
No matter which activities you choose, making your own crash pad is a fun project for you and your child! Looking for more sensory fun? Stick around!