In the past several weeks I had the opportunity to visit a number of DMR day habilitation centers and a few of them had sensory rooms. In the end the decision of choosing a program for the family I was working with depended on more important variables than the presence of a sensory room, things like the staff to participant ratio, the frequency of community experiences, and the overall level of appropriate activities available across the program's schedule.
The sensory room I saw were nothing like the advertisements you see in the catalogs like those for Snoezelen or SpaceKraft. Part of the problem was a half-hearted effort. A bean bag chair, some mylar hanging mobiles, an unbreakable mirror or two, a CD player, a lava lamp and a string of holiday lights and the room was done. There was very little that was inviting and magical like the rooms in the catalogs.
Of course, the reason the rooms I saw don't look like the rooms in the catalogs is that to create a room like in the catalogs, using products from those catalogs means spending the entire teaching and administration budget for the next year. Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to explore others options to lower budget sensory rooms beyond the lava lamp and the holiday lights.
Here are links to some products that are under $100:
- LED Light Strips and Pods
- 54 inch bubble tower
- Laser Show Machines
- Liquid Light Projector
- Fiber Optic Lamp
- Black Lights and Accessories
- Jumpolene
- Mathmos Lights
- Color Change Light Panel
- Fiber Optic Sphere
- Beanbag Chairs (including white ones)
- Sheepskin Rug
- Aroma Mist Fountain
- Soothing Sounds Mood Clock
- Mini-Bubble Wall
- Mood Lights
- MP3 Light Cast
- White Umbrella
- Disco Ball
Here are some ideas of how to set up and things to do in a sensory room:
- Tutorial on Interacting in a Multi-Sensory Enviroment
- Activity Corner Ideas
- How to Set Up a Sensory Room
- Sensory Room Article
- Sensory Idea Sheets
- Sensory Training
- Creative Construction
- How do I set up a sensory room in my classroom?
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post - it was very helpful for ideas. Next obstacle.. obtaining the materials!
- Mona
Good sharing, Special Children Society of Ampang (SCSOA) is a centre that cares for children with special needs to equip them with the skills necessary to be a part of society, recently Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Malaysia funded a sensory room, it is a safe space for children who are intellectually and developmentally challenged and comes furnished with multi-sensory equipment from the UK, see detail at:
Deletehttp://kidbuxblog.com/ronald-mcdonald-sensory-room-heightens-the-senses-of-the-developmentally-challenged/
Best Regards,
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Links are not working
ReplyDeleteWell, the post is five years old. Perhaps I will write a new version over break. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if you could update! I work in a center-based SXI school and with a local donation are looking for ideas to spend the money on. Many of the paras agree that a sensory room for our students' use would be great. We are on a limited budget, so finding some items and ideas on the less expensive side is really important. I was excited to find this site, however quickly disappointed when the links were no longer valid.
yes, please!! This is a great idea for a sit, if you still have the websites & products, please update. Thank you for writing this.
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate this as is! My son has tourette's, ocd, adhd, sensory, etc. Our current psych is focusing on breathing techniques for relaxation and it just doesn't seem to help. This stuff looks right up his alley. Thanks for all the great ideas!
ReplyDelete