Providing the right sensory products for your school
Providing the right sensory products for your school
Schools can be a busy place with a lot of activity and noise. For some children, the stimulating environment of a school can make it a problematic and stressful place at times. Building a sensory room in your school is an effective way to provide a safe and calming place for learners with autism spectrum disorder and other special educational needs.
What is a sensory room?
A sensory room offers a focused environment intentionally created to support the sensory needs of a student and to enable a student to participate in learning. As well as being alternative environments for children with sensory disorders, they also provide a therapeutic space for facilitating other types of interventions. Here at GLS, we’re here to show you how you can explore your school’s needs and provide the right sensory products.
Although a multi-sensory space is mainly focused on helping children in a therapeutic way, they are also ideal for learning, stimulation, relaxation, and fun.
Other benefits include:
- Improves mood and reduces aggression
- Encourages social interaction
- Helps to increase verbal & non-verbal communication
- Improvement in their self-esteem.
Start with a comfortable space
Adding some comfortable floor cushions and having a soft floor creates a comfortable space where students can’t hurt themselves. This encourages a sense of safety for them as well as their learning and creativity. Our beanbags are perfect, as all you need is a few placed around the room – big enough for at least 2-3 children. They can be moulded into four different seating positions making it ideal for each individual and their chosen activity.
Visual effects
Sometimes students need something fun to look at. Those with sensory deficits sometimes have trouble organising their vision – processing the colours, shape, movement etc. To help with this, we have the aurora northern lights projector. This fascinating light show projects onto the walls and ceilings, with multi-coloured LEDs. Perfect for visual stimulation, this helps with a student’s processing of colours and the contrast between shapes and movement, while also creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Another useful product is the light up chameleon. Just like a real chameleon, it changes its colour to match the surface it sits on. Not only can your classes see it first-hand, but they can engage with it and place it on different surfaces to see it match its surroundings. Perfect when deciding the right sensory products for your school.
Sounds & smells
Music is a great way to set a calm environment. Have your teachers pop on a CD or connect to our wireless classroom speaker, put on some relaxing music and let it lessen any stress and redirect behaviours your classes might have. Music can even help individuals process and organise their thoughts, helping them to develop how they respond to their environment.
Or place these reflective sound buttons around the classrooms and let them play with and hear the vibrations and sounds. The mirrored surfaces provide a distorted fish-eye lens reflection which is fascinating for your students to observe.
An additional product that can be used is a windy playground set. With this, students can interact and listen to them and let it reduce stress, uplift their mood, and promote relaxation. Perfect for tactile and auditory stimulation. Be sure to include products for the outdoor areas too.
Smells are also a great way to reduce stress. One example is using scented candles or essential oils – making sure they’re not too strong. Ensure none of the students in your school is allergic to any essential oils before doing this. So be sure to check with all your staff. Using scents can encourage relaxation, alertness, and concentration.
Tactile fun
From strengthening their fine motor skills to helping students with autism feel soothed and calm, the benefits of touch and texture can be powerful. The hairy tangle is a perfect example. It twists and turns like a regular tangle, but it is coated in stretchy rubber spines – making for a great tactile experience. Appealing to both visual and tactile sensory needs, this therapeutic stress reliever and fidget resource encourage a calm mind and steady behaviour.
And if your classes want something a bit different, there’s always our squishy mesh ball. Providing these for your classes is not only great for tactile needs, but it is also perfect for visual stimulation. Once squeezed, the glittery squishy ball bulges through its mesh netting. Students can shake it, and this activates LEDs that illuminate the liquid, creating a shimmery effect.
A perfect alternative to the traditional stress ball, with never-ending advantages – making it the perfect sensory product for your school.
Relaxing space
Finally, when setting up your sensory spaces in your school, be sure to provide sensory products for a relaxing area. Have blankets, cushions, lounging pillows as well as sensory floor tiles. These durable tiles provide a visual and tactile experience that promotes movement to explore the ever-changing colours. It shifts and swirls at the slightest touch, making them ideal for the classroom.
Some children like having their own space and being on their own, so having a relaxing corner with lots of multi-sensory equipment will ensure this caters to all the children’s needs.
Setting up sensory spaces can be challenging but by following these steps, you are ensuring every child in your classroom has the option for a time-out and some stimulation. It provides a safe space that combines stimulating activities and equipment for each sensory need so that the individual can either, choose or be guided to the right sensory stimulation for their needs.
With Easter coming up, be sure that you have the right products for your school. Follow our tips for bulk buying Easter crafts and get prepared.
