Autistic individuals often experience issues or sensitivities to different sensory related stimuli. For the kiddos that we work with at our ABA facility, the most common aversions are auditory related. But, we know from research that sensitivities are not limited to just auditory sensations but also include the other senses: sights, smells, tastes, touch, and even more specific sensory related issues involving balance, interoception or proprioception.
The space that I am going to show you is unique to our own needs in our autism facility, but it focuses on providing a variety of different lights (sights), sounds and textures to stimulate our friends in a safe and fun way, regardless of their sensitivities. Please note that all of the links to amazon products are the actual products that I used to create this space. While I do recommend these products, the links below are paid for ads.
There's no blueprint for creating a sensory room or quiet space because every kiddo is unique with his or her own needs and sensitivities. We wanted to a create a space that could be calming, while also offering a variety of different sensory components that the kiddos could explore in a fun way. The idea was simple, but to tie it together, we first needed a theme.
Tip #1 - Create a theme for your room
This may seem obvious at first, but many sensory rooms / quiet rooms that I have seen in other facilities or schools are mushed and hodgepodged together with random items. picking a theme will give you direction. It will also force you to get creative and really think about the needs of your kiddos.
The easiest way to pick a theme is to build around a single object or concept
The Teepee
We had a teepee that wasn't getting much use in it's previous area.
We were limited on space, so the room that we were designing had to be multi-purpose. I put the the teepee in there with the intention of creating a quiet area for some of our little learners to lie down or nap.
I started looking for something soft for the kiddos to lie down on and quickly found a large flower petal that was honestly perfect. The vision began to expand, I realized that I wanted a jungle theme. The daisy petal cushion was made with a gentle, micro fiber material that would offer a really soothing experience for any kiddo trying to get comfortable.
Tip #2 - Utilize your wall space
Too often we get caught up with what we can add to the floor, that we neglect the massive amount of space on the walls. Continuing our jungle theme, we added a grass wall panel for texture. The material is rough and textured and non-scented. The kiddos have the ability to rub their hands across it or to tug on individual artificial petals. Often times they actually pluck pieces from the walls which we encourage for the find motor strength.
The Grass Wall
The kiddos love to run their fingers through the grass or to pluck pieces out.
With the lights on, the wall is not nearly as neat. We typically keep the lights off in the room, except when we are doing Library.
The panels can be expensive, especially if you are trying to cover an entire wall. When we unfortunately ran out of panels, I decided to move the book case to that wall to avoid having to panel the whole wall. We store other sensory items there, including: a weighted blanket, headphones for library, black light flash lights (I'll explain later), and other items. Over time, the kids do pick lots of pieces off the wall. I will typically stick them back in, but they do fall out occasionally. You can see the missing spaces when the lights are on, but not when they are off.
Tree and Vine Decals
While they do not offer an immediate sensory input, they do bring to life the jungle theme.
In the images above, you can see various tree and leaf decals. Our whole facility is decorated with these decals. They are easy to put on, take up lots of space, and look amazing. Trickling down from the floating shelves are willow leaf decals. We have some plastic vines that hang in various places in the room, but I wanted to also add some 2D representations to bring the theme to a head. These are not nearly the same level of quality as the trees, but they do add an awesome aesthetic to the room. Check out the links below if you're interested in adding a similar aesthetic to your quiet room!
Every aspect of the room must encompass the theme and the opportunity for some sort of sensory input.
On the floating shelves you can see an elephant, tiger and monkey. We rotate different plush, stuffed animals in an our from the shelves to create manding (requesting) opportunities for the kiddos. Because the animals are out of reach, it provides an opportunity for the child to mand. Stuffed animals are also an excellent tactile item to include in any sensory room.
Giant Leaf Canopy
The leaf canopy really transported us into the jungle. It provides a little cover over the teepee and shades that area from some of the galaxy lights that wash over the rest of the space.
Placing lights under or over the canopy can create some really cool effects! We use a green light therapy lamp to really brighten that area sometimes.
Floating Wooden Shelves
It was important for the shelves to be wood, in order to remain on theme. There are two sets of shelves - one holding the stuffed animals (out of reach) and the others holding the books (low and within reach).
As I've mentioned before, it was important for this room to have many purposes. One of those purposes is for a 30 minute Library period.
The kiddos transition inside from recess, grab some water and then make their way into the quiet room.
Library is strategically schedule at this time to offer a cool down in a sensory friendly area. Demands are low, and access to preferred items (iPad) is available.
The kiddos pick a seat (more on that below) and wait for the teacher to take the lead. Typically a choice of 2-3 books is offered, and the teacher will read the whole story.
Normally we have reduced numbers during this time (not 1:1), and that group is lead by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). This is an excellent time to allow staff a break / lunch and to utilize your 97158 codes.
When the story is over, the kiddos get an ipad and headphones and listen to audiobooks on youtube kids. We lock them into the Harper Kids page and they spend the next 10 minutes listening to a preferred story.
These headphones are ultra-durable, comfortable and come in a variety of colors. We've bought 8 pairs so far and they are my go to for kids headphones.
We used these shelves for our stuffed animals. While they are a bit expensive for their size, we liked the rustic look and they were extremely easy to install.
These shelves matched the rustic wooden look of the other shelves and were designed to hold books. They're perfect for what we needed.
Tip #3 - Offer a variety of seating
Keeping in mind that this is a multi-purpose room for our own needs (Quiet Room / Sensory Room), we wanted there to be many different seating options for the children.
Small Flower Petals of Assorted Pastel Colors
We utilized these plush flower as seats during Library (more on that later).
Moonpod
Originally we bought this for our staff room, but the kids loved it so much, we moved it into the Quiet Room. If you are not familiar with Moon Pod products, please check them out! This is not your average bean-bag. It features high-density beads "mimicking the sensation of floating therapy" while also sporting a supportive dual membrane that is both soft and stretchy. You can remove the cover and wash it as needed. The kids LOVE lying on this thing, and it can easily fit 2 children if you are needing them to sit together in close proximity.
Traditional Japanese Shiki Futon Mattress
We wanted to provide something soft on the floor for the kiddos to lay on and possibly nap on comfortably. Children's nap bundle / mats are often extremely thin, cheaply made, and uncomfortable. The purpose of this room was to offer an elevated sensory experience, and this mat has induced many deep slumbers.
Here's our mat with some of the flower cushions mentioned above. The blue and green dots are from one of our many different lights shining in the room.
Tip #4 - Add several different types of lights
A note about fluorescent bulbs: Many of our kiddos are sensitive to the blinding nature of the fluorescent bulbs in our office space. We quickly covered those lights with flame retardant covers / materials. I highly recommend using these covers in any office, classroom or home space in which you're using fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs pulse rapidly, far too rapidly for us to process, and can cause migraines, eyestrains and other issues.
Galaxy Star Projector
This little gadget provides a dazzling visual display of rotating colors and ever changing patterns, mimicking a nigh sky or northern lights experience.
You can see the dots and rainbow waves washing across the walls. The kids love to touch the dots or trace the light back to the source. As you can see from the link below, the projector is shaped like a little astronaut. His head can be removed to move the light in different directions. Children love to manipulate the light and change the colors. We use a 2nd projector in tandem that runs on a timer and has a dozen or so settings to choose from. When the two lights mix, it creates an incredible starry sky combination.
LED Bulbs Hanging from Nylon Fixtures
Possibly my favorite (and many of the children's favorite) part of our quiet room is the ability to change the light bulbs different colors.
Attached to the ceiling tiles are 3 pendant lamp cords with hemp rope. The rope fit perfectly with our jungle theme. We used LED bulbs to light the cord, and plugged them into the wall behind the bookshelf with an extension cord to keep the kiddos from playing with the wires.
Each bulb comes with a remote (4 bulbs, 4 remotes), but they can all be controlled by 1 remote when in proximity.
There are about 12 different colors to choose from, with the ability to dim or to "mood" based on 6 other different settings.
We have a couple of the remotes available on the book shelf so that the kids can change the colors. Many of them enjoy the ability to control the settings, while others begin to tact (label) the color changes.
Black Lights and Neon Painted Critters
To add another activity for the room, and to give the kids the ability to explore lights in a more unique way, we painted stencils of lizards and frogs neon colors and velcro'd them to the walls. The black light reacts differently to the paint than the other lights and creates a spotlight effect that the kiddos don't expect.
The black lights are inexpensive and easy to use, by pressing a button on the back end. We wrapped them in neon tape to differentiate them from regular flashlights, which are often used in our soft gym for other games.
Green Light Therapy Lamp
This cool lamp not only adds to the them by really making you feel like you're in a star lit jungle, but it also reportedly has some healing effects. Many people report that this specific wave of green light is calming and not only can cure headaches and migraines but can also relieve tension and help you fall asleep.
Tip #5 - Create an ambiance with the right sound effects
When creating a sensory room, you want to appeal to as many senses as you possibly can. So far we've mentioned sight (lights) and tactile (wall, plush toys, pillows). To create a soothing, quiet jungle feel, we added a sound machine.
While there are probably hundreds of sound machines to choose from, this one stood out because of the different settings that it offered. To go with our jungle theme, we use one of the 10 different nature sounds provided. There are birds and insects chirping quietly, with the occasional wind or rustling of leaves. It makes you feel like you are really inside of a forest at night.
The sound machine may be the most important product to finish your sensory room because of the versatility it offers. With so many different nature sounds (wind, waves, birds, water, rain, etc) you can create an endless variety of moods for your children to experience.
Start Building Your Sensory Area Today
Every classroom or center should have a calming, sensory friendly area where kids can explore lights, sounds, textures, and even smells or tastes if you can get creative enough.
Our room is ever evolving. We've added a twinkling star branch on the wall to provide a bright white light during reading time. There's a hanging cord of amber lights along the wall that dulls some of the bright colors that some children may be sensitive to. The functions are endless: quiet space, sensory emersion, library, natural environment for learning, color tacting, napping, cool down area for kiddos with problem behavior, etc.
