I strongly urge all schools to include a dedicated space to help meet children’s sensory needs, as these rooms can be used to carry out both therapeutic activities and multisensory lessons.
When used therapeutically, multisensory spaces can help to develop a young person’s concentration and assist them in developing how they process various sensory stimuli and also increase their ability to self-regulate their emotional and physical responses to their environments.
Additionally, visiting a sensory room is very helpful if a young person begins to experience sensory dysregulation (becoming overwhelmed by sensory input). Sensory dysregulation often manifests in over-stimulated behaviour or in a lethargic manner—something which is difficult for the child and often results in behaviour which is challenging for others. Although it may not be the best idea to take an already upset child into a more stimulating space, a proactive use of sensory rooms can prevent young people from getting to this crisis point, as these spaces are often happy and calming locations for them.
Sensory rooms can also be used for multisensory lessons, which use as many senses as possible by incorporating smells, objects and sounds into a session. When learning, everyone has a ‘hierarchy’ of senses which suit them best—for example, this could be sight, hearing, touch or smell. Multisensory lessons cater to everyone’s preferred learning style, producing an inclusive lesson where all pupils are engaged and are open to learning more, helping the acquisition, retention and recall of skills and knowledge as well as preventing the one-dimensional learning experience of simply sitting at a desk taking notes. Learners of all styles benefit from different sensory experiences in the classroom, including engaging more with their non-primary senses.
How to build a sensory room
There are a myriad of options when choosing the best way to include a sensory room at your school—do not be concerned by budget restrictions, as some creative thinking can cut costs dramatically!
Although there are schools with the budget to build a top-class, robust sensory room provided by a specialist company, this is certainly not the only way to provide a space that meets the sensory needs of young people. A sensory space can be created almost anywhere using low- cost resources: for example, a table can be draped with a dark blanket and a small selection of items kept in a box and attached to the underside of the table—the young person can simply go under the table and use the items in the box. Additionally, there are some excellent, inexpensive and hassle-free pop-up tents that can be used to create portable sensory areas: again, with a selection of items to provide an immersive sensory experience.