What is a Sensory Room?

Published April 22, 2022

Sensory rooms are found in many places: schools, homes, clinics, workplaces, nursing homes, and even museums. Sensory rooms are designed to help people with sensory issues through objects, music, and special lighting, and have tremendous benefits for persons with sensory processing disorders. 

One group that may significantly benefit from sensory rooms are those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Centers for Disease Control reports that 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with ASD. 

What causes sensory overload?

Sensory integration is the link between the brain and our behavior to things we touch, hear, see, smell, or taste. For most people, sensations in everyday life are processed, and sensory integration is not noticed. For those with autism or other developmental disorders, the brain processes the sights, noises, and smells in an everyday setting dysregulated. The person may overreact to the stimulus, and the situation may cause a lot of distress and be emotionally upsetting. In other cases, the brain may underreact to stimulus.

There are other more profound sensory responses outside the primary 5 senses: tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive.

Tactile is a touch experience, including detecting hot and cold temperatures, pain, moisture, or different textures.

The vestibular sensory system regulates balance and movement and sight and sound.

Proprioceptive impacts the muscles and joints and describes senses regarding several body functions, including hunger or needing to go to the bathroom.

An unusual response to these senses is called a "sensory processing disorder." They can cause: fighting, meltdowns, acting out, rocking, or hand-flapping or spinning.

Sensory rooms

"Sensory room" is an umbrella term for therapeutic areas that promote positive change and self-organization. Sensory rooms are designed to help calm people with special needs and focus on themselves. With the help of specially designed objects, equipment, and surroundings, individuals learn to regulate their reactions and develop coping skills for situations where stimuli would typically cause an adverse reaction. The equipment and objects allow them to better process sensory information.

Sensory rooms provide several benefits:

  • Create a safe space
  • Provide opportunities for calming the nervous system or making it more aware
  • Improve communication
  • Enable prevention and de-escalation strategies
  • Promote self-care
  • Nurture individuals' independence

What do individuals do in a sensory room?

  • Listen to music
  • Pet soft materials
  • Bounce on a therapy ball
  • Watch changing lights
  • Slam balls against the floor

Ideally, sensory rooms are tailored to an individual's needs. In schools, if multiple students benefit from sensory rooms, multidisciplinary teams should collaborate to build rooms to serve the students' needs best. Sensory Rooms can also be made in the home.

How to Build a Sensory Room at Home

The first question to ask is: what does my child need?

Some children may need to work on movement or balance; others may need to work on fine motor skills. Other children may do best in a calm environment, while others require different sensory inputs or textures. All sensory rooms should be relaxing, so the individual can re-focus and become energized.

Where should I make a sensory room?

You do not need a separate room to build a sensory area; it can be a quiet area in a larger space, devoid of distracting noises − people talking, television, etc. However, a separate room provides broader flexibility and adaptability to the individual's unique needs.

What should I have in my sensory room?

Hard flooring is not recommended; quality foam tiles for the floor are better. For a small sensory area in a larger room, you may want to consider having a blackout curtain to divide the sensory area from the rest of the room.

For separate larger rooms, you may consider:

  • Bubble Wall
  • Swing
  • Inflatable Pea Pod
  • Light Covers
  • Steamroller Squeeze Machine
  • Crash Mat
  • Liquid Tiles

For both large rooms and smaller areas, you may consider:

  • Solar 250 Projector
  • Bubble Tube
  • Fiber Optic Sensory Lighting Kit
  • Squeezer
  • Crash Mats
  • Rocking Seating
  • Wobble Boards
  • Exercise ball
  • Interactive Wall Panels

Sensory Rooms can be an essential part of a child's development. They need not only be in schools; they can even be made in designated areas at home. Advocating for, and considering the addition of a sensory room provides many benefits for individuals with sensory processing disorders.

 

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