A recently completed sensory room at Harold McCormick Elementary School is now helping enrich the educational environment for students with sensory processing disorders and other students who benefit from its use. Some students require an environment with increased or decreased stimuli, which the sensory room provides.
HME parent Ellie Light donated the funding and many supplies for the room, which is the second in the school system following the addition at Elizabethton High School. The room includes a small trampoline, a crash pad, a weighted blanket, a swinging chair, calming lighting and many tactile activities. Students with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and others with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) use the room, including students who participate in the Extended School Program.
“The kids are responding really well to it and really enjoy the swinging and jumping, which appears to calm them before they return to class,” said Savannah Taylor, the school’s occupational therapist.
She explained that SPD occurs when a person’s brain does not organize sensory signals and is unable to respond effectively so they avoid or seek sensory stimulation. She said sometimes, settings like classrooms, school assemblies or lunchrooms can be overstimulating and cause these students to become aggressive, to react with inappropriate behavior or to try to avoid or escape the situation. Sensory seekers will
“The sensory room helps to provide therapists, aides and/or teachers a sensory friendly space to take a child into for calming or learning activities,” Taylor said.
Sensory seekers, she said may seem to fidget or to be over-active, and in this case they require increased amounts of input to regulate their nervous systems.
“The sensory room will provide visual, auditory, vestibular, proprioceptive and touch/tactile activities that will promote calming and regulation,” she said. “The idea of a multi-sensory room has been around since the 1970’s, but is a newer concept for the school settings in this area.”
The generous contributions of Ms. Light and the volunteer hours of school staff brought the room to life. Assistant Principal Penny Nave, Ms. Taylor, extended resource teachers, resource teachers, speech and language pathologist Samantha Wampler and members of the maintenance staff played pivotal roles in the deconstruction, painting, and reconstruction of the room.