What is a Sensory Room?

Where children and adults with learning difficulties can experience things that can help them understand the world they live in. Their world can be very different from ours and everyday things in our life can seem strange and hard to understand to a person with special needs.

For example, you may press a switch on the wall and the light in the room will come on. To us this is normal and we don’t even think about the event. A person with special needs may not notice the switch, may not understand what it does and may not associate the light coming on with the action of working the switch.

The purpose of a sensory room is to allow someone to focus on a sensory item (that may be a large push button or a projected image or tactile surface or a sound). The room is designed to remove all distractions from the outside world and may be in a darkened environment. The person can be encouraged to carry out a simple action, for example; touch a large button. The result of this simple action can activate a dramatic effect that the they cannot miss e.g. The whole room could begin to change colour. Through simple tasks and dramatic rewards the client learns that they can make things happen and the seeds are planted to help them control their own lives. Sensory room equipment

Sensory rooms contain many different pieces of equipment that allow the client to use their different senses. Sound systems that can play music, reproduce their voice etc. Lighting effects that can grab attention, encourage movement or move when they speak, tactile surfaces that react when touched. The list is endless and the equipment selected for your sensory room, will depend upon the needs of your clients and you teaching or care methods. Every room is different.

Additional facilities that can be added to sensory rooms include floor and wall padding, impact-absorbing floor tiles, seclusion furniture, softplay equipment, big screen projection, waterbeds and interactive sensory surfaces, name a few.