Creating a Sensory Room

A sensory room is a place for your child to feel calm and safe, and regulate herself. It's a place she can go to when she feels anxious or overwhelmed. A big part of autism is sensory dysregulation - at some point in the course of the day, the sounds, voices, lights, smells, and the feel of various surfaces will seem too much to bear. The result is a meltdown or a burst of hyperactivity from all that stimulation. A sensory room provides a way to soothe your child's senses and give them space and time to regroup and return to participate in their school or home routines.

The first step toward creating such a room is to understand your child's sensory needs based on observation. Ask yourself these questions as you observe your child:

• Is she sensitive to certain types of noise? What specific ones bother her - loud, whirring sounds such as lawn mower, vacuum cleaner, high pitched sounds such as whistles and sirens, suddenly escalating sounds such as a speeding motorbike or some or all of these?

• Is your child sensitive to multiple voices or tone of voice - again think loud or high pitched, laughter, multiple conversations, fast talking. What type of music does she enjoy?

• Is your child sensitive to certain types of lighting? Fluorescent lighting bothers many children with autism but also think about flashing lights and lights in certain colors. Is she drawn in by certain light patterns and colors? Does she have a preference for certain colors with clothing and toys?

• What types of smells bother your child and which ones is she attracted to?

• Think about touch, texture, and pressure - clothing, seating. blankets, furniture, art materials, hugs, craving deep pressure, anything your child's skin comes in contact with. These are related to her tactile and proprioceptive senses.

• Finally, think about her movement. Does she like swings/spinning/running/jumping? This is related to her vestibular sense.

As you think about these questions, bear in mind that children can be sensory-avoiding in some areas and sensory-seeking in others. A child may be very sound sensitive but may be tactile seeking - this latter aspect might lead her to play with wet slushy mud on a rainy day or get shampoo all over hands the minute you turn your back to do something else. Some types of sensory seeking behavior such as playing with shampoo or chewing on tan bark can be unsafe, so you definitely want to keep these out of your child's reach until she learns to stay safe around them.

As you answer these questions, make a list of things that bother your child, and a list of things that soothe her. For instance, here's a sample list for a child who is scared by specific sounds, doesn't like to get messy, loves to run and jump, prefers fast-paced music.

• Bothered by - ambulance/fire truck sirens, whistles, speeding motorbike, Playdoh, finger paints, eating snacks with hands

• Loves jumping on the trampoline or bed, starts running in her classroom or friend's house as soon as she enters.

So, how would you create a sensory space for this child? I use the word 'space' because it doesn't have to be a room and you don't have to spend a ton of money to modify your house. You can create a calming space based on your keen observation of your child and using a few simple ideas.

A sensory space that meets the specific needs of the above child could have the following:

• cheerful/upbeat music and rugs/carpet to absorb sounds

• "clean" art materials such as drawing, markers for coloring, and colorful paper and scissors for origami

• non-sticky finger foods such as nuts (watch out for allergies), dried fruit, dry cereal bars, and fruit such as banana and grapes that come in a natural "wrapping"

• a trampoline or a soft mattress on the floor to jump on

• an indoor swing or rocking chair

• a reading corner to calm down after jumping

Note that as you fulfill your child's sensory seeking needs, you must also provide a way for her to wind down. Prolonged sensory seeking can make a child very hyper and reach a state of dysregulation that feels overwhelming to her and becomes unmanageable for her caregivers. So, jumping on the floor mattress or swinging is a great outlet but must not be overdone. It must be alternated with winding down breaks such as reading a book or listening to music or a breathing exercise.

Similarly, as you attend to your child's need for sensory avoidance by planning activities with specific materials and control the environmental light and sound inputs, you must also attempt to acclimatize your child to some of these unpleasant situations in small steps. This will ensure that your child can tolerate public environments better and be able to participate in community outings without having a meltdown. For instance, if your child is sound sensitive, your home or your sensory room can be very calming - but do take her to the mall and provide her with noise-canceling headphones. Even though her ears are protected, the crowds and the visual/tactile/olfactory inputs in a mall can become overwhelming. Prepare her for the trip with a social story that tells her what to expect. Make the trips very short to set her up for success. Gradually increase the duration of these trips to build her tolerance.

Finally, your child's sensory needs may change over time. They may become more sensitive to some inputs and more tolerant of others. It is important to monitor this and continue to support their changing needs through environmental modifications (such as a sensory room), teaching them coping skills (knowing what to do when feeling overwhelmed such as counting, breathing, listening to music, going for a walk) and also helping them develop tolerance to increase their participation in activities.