The function
Sensory behavior is a nervous system that's been drinking from a firehose for hours — lights, sounds, textures, transitions — and finally hit its limit. It looks like a tantrum. It isn't one.
What works
Turn things down before you use words: dim lights, drop your voice, offer a heavy blanket or quiet corner. Build a preventative 'sensory diet' — heavy work, movement breaks, quiet time built into the day. An OT-informed approach (or an actual OT) can be life-changing.
Parenting styles that help
Low-demand parenting, OT-informed strategies, and neurodiversity-affirming approaches. Regulation before expectation. Environment is treatment.
What backfires
Adding more input — brighter lights, more talking, more explaining. 'Snap out of it.' Punishing the meltdown that the environment caused.