How to make a sensory space at home (DIY)
- Posted by spectrum
- On November 24, 2022
- 0
Parents often have questions surrounding how they can create a therapeutic sensory space at home. This blog post includes resources that are favoured by our teams experienced clinicians to support your child’s sensory needs.
What is a sensory room?
A sensory room is a safe and non-threatening space for children to go that provides a sense of calm and comfort for when they need a break. They assist children to learn to self-regulate their behaviours, which ultimately improves their focus, promotes optimal arousal, and reduces challenging behaviours.
The purpose of our senses.
Senses allow us to perceive and understand the world around us. Each of our senses uses its own detection system to gather and respond to information from our surroundings, where it is then processed and interpreted by our brain.
What the 8 senses?
- Sight
The body part that we use to detect sight is our eyes.
Sight is the ability for our eyes to use our visual system in order to focus and detect images of light, colours and brightness.
Examples:
Learning to read, write and count, as well as interpret and perceive our physical environment around us
- Touch
The body part that we use to activate our touch sense is our skin (tactile receptors).
Touch is a diverse sensory system spread out within all major parts of our body. It includes our skin, hair follicles and pressure receptors.
Touch allows us to differentiate different surfaces (hard or soft) and stimuli (hot or cold). It also allows us to categorise whether the object/ surface is safe to touch for future.
Example:
When touching a hot stove for the first time, our somatosensory sense will activate and remind us not to touch it the next time.
- Taste
The body part that we use to activate our taste is our mouth.
Taste is the ability to detect taste of substances such as food and minerals and make us aware of various flavours. We receive tastes through sensory organs called ‘taste buds’.
Examples of basic tasters are:
- Sweet-
milk chocolate, strawberries
- Bitter- dark chocolate, spinach
- Sour- lemon
- Salty- chicken salt, potato chips
- Umami- miso soup, broth
- Hearing
The body we use to activate our hearing is our ears.
Hearing is ability of our body to perceive sounds by detecting various vibrations through the ear.
The auditory system is broken down into following:
Localisation: Where does the noise come from?
Differentiation: Is it ‘log’ or ‘lock?
Interpretation: Is the sound a school bell or mobile phone?
Memorising: Remembering the sound and storing it in our brain
- Vestibular
The body part used to activate the vestibular are our eyes and inner ear.
The perception of our body in relation to gravity, movement and balance. The vestibular system measures acceleration, g-force, movements and head position.
Example:
Walking across a balance beam and remaining upright, entering an elevator and keeping your body still whilst the elevator is moving.
Swinging on a swing or ride and feeling gravity pull or push.
- Smell
The body part that we use to activate our sense of smell is our nose.
Smell is our ability to detect a scent, chemical, odour and/ or molecules in the air.
Example:
- Smelling
perfume
- Differentiating the different smells of herbs
- Smelling when something is burnt
- Interoception
The internal system where the internal physical and emotional states of the body noticed, recognised, identified, and responded to.
Ability to understand and feel what is going on inside our bodies.
Examples:
Awareness of when to use the toilet
Awareness of hunger or thirst
Awareness of internal body temperature (hot/cold)
- Proprioception
The body part that we use to activate our proprioceptive sense includes our muscles, joints, and tendons.
Proprioception allows us to know exactly where are body parts are, how we are positioned in space and how to plan our movements accordingly.
Examples:
Clapping our hands together when our eyes are closed
Writing a sentence using the correct amount of pencil pressure
What does a sensory room help with?
Time spent in a sensory room helps children improve their visual, auditory, and tactile processing, as well as fine and gross motor skills. They provide the opportunity for users to get excited by their surroundings or relax if they are in need of calming input activities to ease their nervous system. A user can tailor the space suit their own needs, wants and dislikes.
Who are sensory rooms useful for?
Sensory spaces are useful for children who have difficulty focusing which is especially common for those who have ADHD.
It does NOT need to be a whole room
It can simply be a space set aside in a corner of a large room.
How do you create a safe sensory space?
To prevent and minimise the risk of harm and injury designate an area that is safe, controlled and free of obstacles. Ensure that you clear the space of any sharp objects, harsh lighting, and loose cords.
DIY sensory rooms on a budget! Creating a sensory room at home – items to include:
Equipment is designed to encourage the person to concentrate on the activity/task that they are doing at that moment.
- Bean bag chair
- Therapy balls
- Weighted blankets
- Tunnels
- Trampoline
- A stuffed animal or favourite toys
- Books to read
- Fidget items that allow for repetitive movements
- Therapy sensory swing
- Play/foam matts
- Crash mat/pad
- Calming music
- Ball pit
- Large Pillows
- Tepee, fort, or tent
- Slime
- Kinetic sand