Sensory
A 7-question profile of how your child responds to each sense. Saved, sharable, comparable over time.
When to use this
Use Sensory when you want a concrete answer to 'What kind of sensory profile does my child have?' that you can show a teacher, an OT, or a babysitter. Each domain takes one tap. The result is a per-sense map: seeks, avoids, mixed, or neutral. Re-take it every 3-6 months to see what shifts as your child grows. Use the share link to send the full profile to anyone in your child's circle without an account.
How it works
Seven senses, not five
Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Vestibular (movement/balance), Proprioceptive (body in space), Oral (taste + smell), and Interoceptive (internal body signals like hunger, fullness, needing the bathroom).
Four ways to respond per sense
Seeks (craves the input), Avoids (overwhelmed by it), Mixed (depends on the day), Neutral (no strong reaction). Each option shows a concrete example so you're not guessing what clinical terms mean.
See the full profile
After all 7 answers, you get a one-screen summary with each sense plotted. Useful at a glance. The summary doubles as the export view.
Share via token
Generate a share link from the summary. The link reads the profile only (no other Beacon data). Send to a teacher, sub, OT, or partner. Revoke anytime.
What Beacon stores when you use it
sensory_profiles: One row per saved profile. Re-taking the assessment creates a new row so you can compare snapshots over time. Each row stores all 7 domain responses + an optional share token.
| Column | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| id | UUID | f7a3... Auto-generated. |
| user_id | UUID | your-user-id RLS-locked to you. |
| visual | enum | seeks seeks | avoids | mixed | neutral |
| auditory | enum | avoids Same options. |
| tactile | enum | mixed Same options. |
| vestibular | enum | seeks Same options. |
| proprioceptive | enum | seeks Same options. |
| oral | enum | neutral Taste + smell merged. |
| interoceptive | enum | avoids Internal body signals. |
| share_token | UUID (nullable) | (null until shared) Generated when you tap Share. Public-read via /share/sensory/[token]. |
| created_at | timestamp | 2026-05-16T19:42:00Z When you saved this profile. |
A real example
Avery's profile this quarter. Maya retook the assessment after a noticeable change in tactile responses.
| Sense | Response | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Visual | Seeks | Loves spinning fans, watches lights |
| Auditory | Avoids | Covers ears in noisy rooms |
| Tactile | Mixed | Avoids tags but seeks deep pressure |
| Vestibular | Seeks | Spins, swings, climbs constantly |
| Proprioceptive | Seeks | Crashes into pillows, loves squeezes |
| Oral | Neutral | Standard kid range, no strong pattern |
| Interoceptive | Avoids | Misses hunger / bathroom signals |
What Beacon auto-knows
- Each domain's response in the latest profile.
- If you retook the assessment, the diff vs the previous profile.
- Which senses are seeks-pattern vs avoid-pattern, which is useful for sensory-diet planning.
What Discuss with Beacon adds
- When you Discuss from the Sensory page, the latest profile attaches.
- Beacon can suggest a sensory diet based on seeks/avoids: 'You have 3 seekers and 1 avoider, so the diet should front-load proprioceptive input.'
- Or draft a teacher email: 'Translate this profile into specific classroom accommodations.'
Try these with Beacon
“What sensory diet would help Avery?”
Reads the profile and suggests specific activities by sense type. 'Vestibular + Proprioceptive seekers like Avery do well with 10-minute movement breaks every 90 min. Try: trampoline, wall push-ups, joint compressions before transitions.'
“Translate this profile into accommodations for the IEP team.”
Drafts 8-10 specific accommodation lines tied to the profile. 'Noise-canceling headphones during testing (auditory avoid), planned movement breaks every 60 min (vestibular seek), warning before transitions involving tactile change (tactile mixed)...'
“Avery is going to a birthday party Saturday. What sensory prep should I do?”
Maps the party environment to the profile. 'Loud + crowded = high auditory and tactile load. Pre-load with: heavy work (vestibular/proprioceptive) 30 min before, headphones ready, sensory escape spot identified on arrival.'
“Compare this profile to the one I saved 6 months ago.”
Diffs the two profiles by domain. 'Tactile shifted from Avoid to Mixed. Interoceptive shifted from Neutral to Avoid. The other 5 unchanged. The interoceptive shift is worth flagging at the next OT appointment.'