Sensory Play and Gross Motor Skills: How Occupational Therapy Helps Kids Regulate and Move

Many children struggle with balance, body awareness, or sensory regulation—and it affects more than just how they move. These challenges can impact focus, emotional control, and learning. Occupational therapy uses fun, movement-based activities like therapy balls to improve coordination, core strength, and sensory processing. At OrbRom Center in Phnom Penh, we help children gain control of their bodies—and their confidence—through purposeful play.

Why Gross Motor Skills and Sensory Regulation Matter

Gross motor skills involve large muscle groups that help with walking, jumping, sitting upright, and playing sports. Sensory regulation helps children process and respond to the world around them—like noises, lights, and textures.

Children with autism, ADHD, or developmental delays may:

• Fall frequently or bump into things

• Struggle to sit still or stay focused

• Become overwhelmed by certain sounds or sensations

• Show poor posture or low muscle tone

These issues can make school, play, and social situations difficult. Occupational therapy targets these areas using movement to improve both physical and emotional regulation.

The Role of Sensory Tools in OT

Therapy balls, swings, crash pads, and obstacle courses are not just fun—they’re essential tools. A simple activity like balancing on a ball challenges a child’s:

• Core strength

• Coordination

• Vestibular system (balance and spatial orientation)

• Proprioception (awareness of body in space)

At OrbRom Center, our therapists design customized sensory programs that help children get the input they need to feel calm, focused, and in control. Whether a child is under- or over-sensitive to sensory input, we help them build the regulation skills to succeed in daily life.

Movement Builds the Brain

There’s a strong link between movement and learning. Physical activity supports attention, memory, and behavior. That’s why occupational therapy doesn’t happen at a desk—it happens on the floor, in the ball pit, or balancing on a giant green ball.

We also work closely with parents, teaching them how to use sensory-friendly activities at home to improve routines like bedtime, school prep, and transitions.

Support That Grows with Your Child

If your child has difficulty with movement, balance, or sensory processing, it might be time to explore occupational therapy. Our team at OrbRom Center offers compassionate, individualized support that makes therapy feel like play—while building real-life skills that last.