In the past, students with conditions such as autism and anxiety would try to get through the school day in spite of any sensory dysregulation. Nowadays, many schools are providing a sensory room or space to accommodate these students.
“We created a sensory space for all children to use last year,” explained Tom Burke, principal of Forest Lake Elementary School in Wantagh, New York. “We saw that there was a need for children to use a space to calm down and escape some of the anxieties that they might face during the school day.”
Thanks to federal grants and private funding, schools can now offer students struggling with sensory overload somewhere to go for relief.
Susan Randazzo, Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services in the Rocky Point School District, and Megan McGuire, a behavioral specialist, also of Rocky Point, noted that their schools have a sensory room and that it was “created to provide a calm, supportive space for students who may become overwhelmed by noise, lights, or other sensory input during the school day. The sensory room allows students, especially those with sensory processing needs, to take a short break, regulate their emotions, and refocus before returning to class.” They added, “The goal of the space is to help students manage stress, improve concentration, and support their emotional well-being, ultimately making the school environment more inclusive and accessible for everyone.”
In both cases, school staff and members of the school district are instrumental in proposing the idea for sensory space or room, as well as creating it.
In Rocky Point, features of the rooms include: “a lighted ball pit, interactive lighted wall panels, crash mats, trampoline, swings, climbing equipment, canoe-style pressure vessels for deep pressure input, tactile wall tiles, gel floor tiles, and a sound wall,” according to the district.
While all students are allowed access to the sensory rooms in these schools, teachers have been trained to notice when a student may benefit from spending time in such a space. “This room is open to all. The students are in there regularly,” Burke, of Forest Lake Elementary, explained. “They use the occupied/vacant signs to indicate the use of the room. Typically, they spend about ten to fifteen minutes in the room. Sometimes, students have specific scheduled time in the sensory room. Some students are given the choice, many request it as needed, and many of the adults are trained to recognize whether the sensory room is an important place to visit at the time.”
In Rocky Point, both Randazzo and McGuire have shared the guidelines for using the sensory rooms which are in place. “Students access the sensory room based on individual need rather than open or unstructured use. Some students attend on a scheduled basis, typically prior to instructional periods that require sustained sitting, attention, or regulation,” they said. “Others access the space responsively, as part of a regulated support plan. The typical duration is approximately 8–10 minutes per session. Access times are generally predetermined and individualized, rather than student-selected, to maintain the therapeutic and instructional purpose of the space.”
They added, “Students do not have unrestricted or on-demand access to the sensory room. However, staff may offer access when signs of sensory dysregulation are observed, and some students are taught to appropriately request sensory input as part of their self-regulation or communication goals. All access is staff-directed, supervised, and goal-oriented, and the sensory room is not used as a means of avoiding instruction.”
The sensory rooms at both schools have been stocked with items for the exact purpose of sensory dysregulation. At the Forest Lake School, Burke provides the following description: “The room is dimly lit (if that is what a student prefers). There is a small rock-climbing wall, flexible furniture, Legos, sensory tools and more that helps the students regulate themselves. We use student input as needed. Students can suggest items that we can add to our sensory room.”
Such rooms have not only sent the message to neurodiverse students that they are seen and recognized, but it has also resulted in positive outcomes. “I have heard nothing but the best things about the sensory room,” Burke reported. At Rocky Point, Randazzo and McGuire agree the rooms have helped improve student performance. “Students typically return to the classroom calmer, more organized, and better able to engage in instruction especially when the sensory room is used as part of a broader regulation plan,” the district officials said.