Written by Mike Price, OT
A sensory swing provides a soothing and safe environment to calm senses that have been overly stimulated, or provide stimulation to facilitate system regulation.
Sensory swings are tools therapists have relied on for years to assist children with SPD, ADHD, or Autism, but any child can benefit from the increased attention span and improved coordination that sensory swings provide.
Utilizing deep touch pressure therapy and proprioceptive input, the Soft Taco Sensory Swing for Children and Adults by Take a Swing enters our list at number 5.
It comes in Junior size for those up to 120 pounds, and Adult size for those up to 220 pounds, and is a great sensory swing for Autism. The user’s weight is distributed evenly to provide comfortable support. This sensory swing replaces overstimulation and anxiety with calm and comfort. By swinging, stretching the fabric, or spinning in the swing, this device offers impactful proprioceptive input. Being enveloped in comfort provides a regulation tool for a user who is feeling overstimulated and overwhelmed and just needs a nervous system reset.
Both sizes are made with soft fabric that is also durable and rip-resistant. They come with wood dowels for installation. The Soft Taco Sensory Swing is easy to care for and washable, so it is easy to maintain a healthy environment even when it’s utilized by multiple users.
This super comfortable swing is one of our top choices because it offers sensory, proprioceptive, and tactile sensory input. Kids can retreat and relax, or learn about body awareness in a fun way. It’s easy to set up and start using right away, so family members don’t have to wait to enjoy its benefits.
Providing linear and rotational swinging, number 4 on our list is the lightweight high-back Variable Axis Sensory Therapy Swing for Special Needs by Southpaw Enterprises. It has an adjustable seat angle to keep users who don’t have well-developed posture control or motor skills seated safely. It can be ordered with a length adjustable footrest, and its optional Safety Rotational Device adds the rotational movement to this seat swing.
This swing has been recognized for several of its attributes, and was included in, “5 Best Vestibular Therapy Tools to Improve Balance & Dizziness.” For users at any developmental level, this swing provides vestibular and proprioceptive input that helps develop skills like spatial awareness or the ability to analyze distance, speed, and placement relative to the environment. This valuable therapeutic sensory swing for autism helps develops perception. Users can be positioned comfortably in vertical and horizontal planes.
The cover is washable in cold water and it folds up for easy transport and storage. It can safely accommodate users of 200 pounds.
The multiple configurations of this sensory swing landed it on our list of top 5 choices. It provides a lot of positioning options, not just in relationship to the environment, but in relationship to properly positioning the user to be safe and comfortable. Horizontal, vertical, seat angle, linear swinging, rotational swinging all contribute to a fun and therapeutic user experience.
For promoting spatial awareness and providing deep touch pressure, the Indoor Sensory Compression Swing by Harkla earned the number 3 spot on our list.
This swing is designed with children who have Autism, SPD, and ADHD in mind, as its deep touch pressure diminishes sensory overload and lowers anxiety and stress, replacing those feelings with calmness and emotional control. The back-and-forth, side-to-side swaying creates vestibular input to help foster spatial awareness and the body’s ability to detect it. An optional 360-degree Swing Swivel can be ordered so your child can spin and add another level of activity and fun to this swing.
This sensory swing is strong and durable as well as stretchy and compressive, delivering the feeling of a hug or a cuddle for the user. It can safely hold up to 200 pounds, and comes with hardware to attach it directly to all ceilings, no matter the height. It is a cozy private space that kids will enjoy using for playtime or downtime.
The personal retreat this swing creates is very flexible depending on what the user needs most. It can facilitate efficient homework time, provide a safe time-out space to get re-balanced, teach spatial awareness, or just be a fun swing for play. Parents love it, kids love it, and we know you’ll love it too, which is why it finished in the top 3 of our list. For a flexible multi-featured sensory swing, your kids will get lots of use out of this.
The A-Swing Frame and Platform Swing by Southpaw Enterprises enters our list at #2. This swing is designed to assist sensory integration therapy for children. This swing can help a child with sensory processing disorder by providing a consistent and comfortable vestibular input. In an overwhelming situation, your child can feel a soothing, swinging motion.
This swing is great for a therapist that travels to their pediatric client's house, due to its portability. The frame has a collapsible design that allows it to be easily transported. Stowing is also a breeze, as it fits in most cars. This swing can also be used
The frame is built to hold up to 300 pounds. The round, carpeted swing that is attached to the frame is a great size for children, but it might be too small for teenagers. Southpaw offers many compatible swings, that can easily be hooked on and off of this frame. For example, the Bouncy Platform Swing.
The multi-activity Rainy Day Indoor 4-Piece Swing Kit by Play Away Toy Co took the top spot on our list because of its versatility and the huge range of activities it can accommodate.
It comes with a support bar, trapeze bar, strap swing, and net swing to generate all kinds of fun activities that provide stimulating exercise. The trapeze bar, strap swing, or net swing are suspended from the support bar, which on its own can be used as an exercise aid. This swing sets up in doorways between 29 and 36 inches wide and it can safely hold users up to 175 pounds.
Whether working out some energy on the trapeze bar, gently swinging in the strap swing, or enjoying the calming cocoon-like comfort of the net swing, this device will provide your kids with hours of fun and comfort.
The myriad of possible activities that span a wide range of benefits landed the Rainy Day Indoor 4-Piece Swing Kit in the top spot on our list. It delivers sensory input, promotes the development of body awareness, allows for exercise and the release of pent-up energy, and provides a calm quiet space too. With all it has to offer, this swing kit is the most versatile option on the market. If your child likes to swing, needs to be active even when the weather requires staying indoors, is sensory-seeking, or would benefit from some balance and spatial awareness development, this kit will be a great addition to your home.
Linear movement is usually calming, while circular movement is more stimulating. If you are using a sensory swing in a quiet zone, a back-and-forth swing with gentle, limited movement would be a good choice. If you are placing it in a sensory-stimulating environment, a rotational swing would be appropriate.
If a child needs additional work on balance and posture, or under responds to vestibular input, a swing that allows for more dynamic movement would be a beneficial choice.
To support the proprioceptive system and help the muscle and joint receptors function, extra deep touch pressure can increase spatial boundaries and body awareness.
To work on hand-eye coordination and motor skills, a flat base swing allows the child to sit, kneel, stand, or lay facedown while planning motor tasks.
With standalone and ceiling-mounted swings available, your best choice might depend on whether you own or rent the space where the swing will be used, how movable or portable you need it to be, and what kind of area you have available to accommodate a temporary or permanently placed sensory swing.
About 1 in 54 American children are on the Autism spectrum, affecting more than 3 million Americans. Children with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) struggle to filter and organize the sensory input they receive. This stresses the nervous system and can cause sensory meltdowns. A sensory swing is a tool that can soothe or stimulate as needed. Overstimulated senses by calming the “fight or flight” response through sensory input like cuddling and swinging, or can provide the sensory stimulation being craved to balance the nervous system.
Sensory swings stimulate the vestibular system (tells us if we’re moving, how fast we’re moving, and what direction we’re going) and the proprioceptive system (tells us our location, movements, and actions). Body awareness, visual skills, balance, and coordination are all supported by the vestibular system. When the input from this system isn’t processed correctly, a sensory swing can help a child make sense of movement.
There are many benefits to sensory swings.
Sensory modulation is the ability to take in, sort, and respond to sensory input. When a child is out of balance, and over- or under-stimulated, sensory modulation is compromised. By spending time in a sensory swing, whether because of sensory-seeking or meltdown behavior, the input provided from the swing’s movement and dedicated space assists in achieving sensory modulation. This results in increased self-awareness, spatial awareness, situational awareness, alertness, and level of function.
Some sensory swings come with freestanding frames, some come with slings that can be put into use inside or outside hanging from tree branches, and some hang from doorways and ceilings.
A doorway support bar is easy to install, easy to remove, and it’s portable, while able to accommodate most 2-point suspension swings. Keep in mind your space and environment so you ensure you get a sling that not only fits your child’s needs, but also fits into your home.
For kids with sensory needs, SPD, ADHD, or Autism, sensory swings are a very useful tool for improving sensory processing. This, in turn, helps kids get the sensations they need for system regulation or helps them calm down when overstimulated. With the multiple features provided by our top 5 best sensory swings, you can be confident you’ll find a model that will fit your individual needs and serve the user well.
Co-Founder of Rehabmart and an Occupational Therapist since 1993. Mike has spent his professional career working in multiple areas of Occupational Therapy, including pediatrics, geriatrics, hand therapy, ergonomics and inpatient / outpatient rehabilitation. Mike enjoys writing articles that help people solve complex therapeutic problems and make better product choices.
