Creating spaces in your home that make you feel good is how most of us decorate, right? We are often drawn to items that make us feel happy, that exude positive energy and stimulate peace. If not any of that, we select decor that is easy on the eyes.
Think of a sensory room as being just that. Sensory rooms are great for a child’s development and provides them with a space to feel peace and decompress when they are feeling anxious or overwhelmed.
Creating a sensory space in your home for your child with special needs can easily be done on a friendly budget. You probably even have most of the items used for the space in your home already.
Before you get started, remember to keep the needs and abilities of your child in mind to have a better blueprint of what you should add to the room. A child that requires more assistance may not have the same items in their room as a child with more mobility.
You don’t have to add all the elements at once, the space can evolve over time. Create a room that makes your child feels excited, yet calm. Remember to have fun creating it.
Lighting
Lights are a huge part of a sensory room. You can use strands of Christmas lights and disco lights. These lights create the perfect ambiance to get the space ready. Lighting can immediately change the mood and create an ambiance of stillness and peace. Lava lamps also are great. Remember, glow-in-the-dark stickers and other fun items are great to add to your design as well.
NOTE: Blinking lights or lights with rapid movement are fun. However, if your child is prone to seizures, be sure to ask for advice from a healthcare professional.
Swing
Instead of buying a swing that requires installation and hardware, buy a hammock that comes equipped with a stand. These are great and can be found online or during the summer in the lawn department.
Sound
Be creative. Hook up a speaker and play a calming playlist from your mobile device or tablet through Bluetooth. If you’d really like to add an educational, calming element, download Vooks and stream children’s storybooks directly to your child’s TV or tablet. This is great for children who may have vision impairments or have are unable to turn the pages or read. This will allow the child to hear stories being read to them to stimulate them and encourage literacy. Keep the volume low to keep the room peaceful.
Movement
Buy a small trampoline or medicine ball (you may already have one from that time you thought you’d use it to exercise). Jumping around is a great way to relieve stress and promote activity.
Tactile Wall
This is a space where you can become really creative using items from around your home. One popular idea is gluing CDs on the wall with the shiny side up. Another idea is creating a busy wall or busy board. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest to help you get started.
Stimulating scents
Keep the room smelling Zen with essential oils. A simple diffuser is great or any other apparatus to emit the aroma.
Sensory bin
Water Beads, pom-poms, beans, cotton balls, colored pasta, etc., are a short list of ideas that can be included in your sensory bins to stimulate all of the senses. We have five easy ideas to get you started.
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