When Brendan Smith needs a break from his bustling kindergarten classroom at Collins Lane Elementary, he spends a few minutes in the school’s new “sensory room.”
Brendan has autism, and his mom, Amy, says time in the sensory room helps him pay attention when he returns to class. It keeps him calm and focused, she said, and has contributed to making new friends this year.
“He wouldn’t do as well in school if he didn’t have sensory time,” she said, as the 5-year-old rolled in a ball pit nearby, a huge grin on his face.
“It’s the foundation that helps him be successful at everything else.”
The dimly lit room with pale blue walls holds a bevy of tools teachers use to help kids who have a tough time with the loud voices, bright lights and swirling movement of a typical classroom.
It’s a therapeutic space designed to soothe and calm kids who feel too much stimulation from the world around them, or provide more for kids like Brendan, who seek it out.
There’s an inflatable backyard pool filled with brightly colored plastic balls – kids with autism like to feel the weight on their bodies by burrowing in the pile, Smith said.
“And it’s safe for them to do that,” she said. “They can roll around in it, and that’s important because kids are rough and tumble.”
The room includes a rocking board and a giant swing to give kids a sense of balance, a cushioned “steam roller” that presses on their bodies as they squeeze through it, and a scooter on wheels for gliding around the room.
Students can touch strips of Christmas garland or foam drawer liner, pop bubble wrap and jump on an exercise trampoline. A stereo plays soothing sounds from the corner.
So far 15 kids use the sensory room regularly, Principal Sharla Six says. The eventual goal is to allow all Collins Lane preschoolers to spend time there to boost their learning and make them calmer and more alert, she says.
“Developmentally, this is good for any kids who just need help responding to stimuli,” she said, including kids with ADHD or other conditions.
In addition to the five senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch, Six says the room also addresses two lesser-known ones: proprioception and vestibular input.
Proprioception is the feeling of deep pressure or a hugging sensation – applied correctly it can calm, relax and soothe high-energy kids. Vestibular input is a sense of movement, balance and gravity.
The school spent about $2,000 to convert a classroom into the sensory room, paid for by the Parent-Teacher Organization and school district funds for special education.
Occupational therapist Julie Estill helped plan for the room and pick the items that went into it. Teachers have also bought items on their own to add to the room, Six said, and they swap things out to keep kids interested.
Kari Hyatt, a special education teacher and chair of the department, says kids typically spend 15 minutes in the sensory room. They have a set schedule for visits, but can also earn additional trips.
Every child is different, so a therapy that works with one may not be effective for another. Smith says it can be a matter of trial and error to figure it out, something her son has been working on since age 2.
Using the school sensory room for a total of an hour a day is an extension of the work Brendan does with a private occupational therapist in the evenings. The series of activities is called a “sensory diet,” Smith said, and eventually he will learn to judge what he needs on his own.
“Just like your body needs food to be healthy, that’s what a sensory diet does for my son,” she said. “It’s a diet for his nervous system and gives him the nourishment he needs.”
Smith says she would like to see more schools open rooms to benefit kids with sensory issues. Besides helping them focus in the classroom, she sees it as a way to build independence as they grow older.
“I’m hoping that it catches on and other schools pick it up,” she said.
“You don’t have to have an official diagnosis to benefit from this – we all have sensory issues, some just more than others.”