How to Clip Fingernails of a Child With Sensory Processing Issues

Taking Basic Steps

• Although it's a simplistic approach, you can try cutting your younger child's nails while she is in the bathtub or after she has just finished a bath or shower. After being in water, finger nails are softer and easier to cut. The warm bathwater also may help to soothe and relax your child as you work. Use baby nail clippers for smaller children and cut smaller pieces of the nail. The task may take several bath sessions, as your child may only remain calm long enough to let you cut a nail or two each time.

Practicing the Technique

• Practicing what your child fears can help him become accustomed to having his nails cut. If your child is old enough to cut his own nails, offer positive reinforcement to build his confidence. To a child with sensory issues, not knowing what to expect causes anxiety that can get worse if he isn't prepared. If your child sees a situation as a negative experience, his reaction may be to avoid it, cautions developmental neuropsychologist Kristen Herzel, in an article for Autism File. Those on the autism spectrum often have problems processing sensory information, according to WebMD. Practice can help alleviate your child's fears, as he masters the skill and begins to feel more in control of the situation.

Encouraging Manipulation Activities

• Expose your child to different activities for tactile input and stimulation. The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired suggests allowing your child to play in sand and with a variety of materials, such as shaving cream, finger paints, beans and rice, so that she feels varying textures against her hands. Roll a small item, like a penny, into play dough and then let her manipulate the play dough until she finds the coin. Addressing your child's tactile hypersensitivities in this way can help make routine grooming tasks, like nail-cutting, easier.

Using Brushing Therapy

• Occupational therapists sometimes use the Wilbarger Protocol as a therapeutic tool for treating children with sensory disorders. Similar to a deep massage, brushing therapy stimulates a child's arms, legs, hands and feet and can benefit kids who are overly sensitive to touch. It's the touch, not the nail cutting, that kids don't like. Brushing helps the brain get used to the sensations that touch causes. Although a trained occupational therapist can teach you how to perform the therapy at home, you should not use brushing without first consulting with your child's pediatrician. Brushing and other sensory-based therapies should be used as one aspect of a child's overall treatment plan, the American Academy for Pediatrics recommends.