Creating a sensory friendly Play or therapy room for a child with Autism

Do you know what your child will be using yet? If you are new at this I would recommend clearing out a closet and designating it for these items- if you end up not needing the space, you will have a nice clean closet! We were able to completely fill a 5x 6 ft closet with these items. The mats can be stored behind a couch if there is one in the room (depending upon the type of mat) some can be folded (not all) some can be slid under a bed and some can be incorporated into the overall design of the room and left in place.

Personally I leave out a floor mat and have a 6 inch mat secured to the wall with velcro- you can also arrange the velcro in such a way that you can remove the mat from the wall and replace it with a picture with corresponding velcro on the back, making it only a semi permanent fixture!

We keep the nesting barrel out and when not in use it is somewhat like a table for displaying stuffed animals. We opted for a door mount swing as opposed to a free standing one and are awaiting approval from our homeowners association for a built in in the yard. Balls get irritating! They care easy to arrange nicely, but an excited child or even dog often leaves you tripping over them- we got a rubbermaid ball organizer with rubber straps on the front- I would worry about strangulation with smaller or more profoundly affected children, but this organizer can also be wall mounted out of reach!

I try to group the items together by desired effect and have mini stations but the challenge is that this is a central area in our home, it should be comfortable for everyone and a place that the child enjoys going! This room is also my "office" and my son's study area.

Avoid white except for ceiling, trim and doors! Off white can be ok, but I would recommend a color. Whites in general tend to be a bit harsh. In this room, you would want something cheery, warm, but not distracting. We have not painted this room yet in this house as we only recently moved, however in the next few weeks we will be painting it a rich bluish gray, we found one that feels warm which is challenging with grays. We added the bluish to it to make more stimulating. We will actually be using a "Stargate" theme- my husband loves stargate, my son loves anything like it....

I recommend sticking with blues, greens, rusty colors etc but might avoid red- only because it is known to make moods more intense- if the child becomes angry, regaining control may be more difficult. Yellow is tricky- some kids get hyper. Gray (cool gray) is known to reduce distraction but does not offer much stimulation- it would be a great choice if the equipment and furniture is brightly colored as it would help to balance the amount of visual stimulation. It is ok to use more than one color, but keep it reasonable! The design should not be too busy- if you do stripes be sure that at least one of the colors is very broadly striped. We have done murals in the past- a simple city skyline at the bottom 3 feet of the wall, buildings and trees only.

This room should be stimulating, but not distracting!

Kids love themed rooms! If they are receiving therapy in this room or learning, it should be a place that they want to be. If they enjoy Thomas the Tank engine for example you could easily and affordably get some 2-4 oz cans of paint samples as a home improvement store and using masking tape- create a track- maybe like a chair rail height.... get creative, but don't spend your life's savings on the theme, kids with ASD keep their obsessions for a long time, but they may flip like a switch or instead of character trains become obsessed with real trains.

Papier mache knick knacks help as well- they are close to free if you have the stuff around the house. Light switch covers can be an affordable way to accent a theme as well. We use a lot of my son's toys as decor to save on costs- it was hard to get him to learn to put them away as a display, but now he enjoys it and takes pride in rotating his special exhibit pieces!

Using clear storage bins to put away toys can encourage speech. Make sure that you either buid a shelf out of reach of the child or that the bins are difficult to open. The purpose of the CLEAR storage bin is that the child can see what they want but they can not just grab it. They must communicate their desire in some way, whether sign, speech or an improved effort at either. Just act like you do not know what they want, point to other storage bins and say "this one?" and if they scream say "no, not that one" If they smile when you get to the right one- say "yes, this one!"- keep modelling and take a little longer "finding" and retrieving the box each time, gently prompting them to try the words themselves. If they do not smile or give some indication of what they are looking for, bring the totes closer to them (do not open them) and encourage any appropriate response whether a smile, a clap, sign or speech before giving them the toy.

As they learn what you are trying to make them do, they will get better at it- the words themselves will still be challenging, but some form of communication is more likely to occur.

Both offer different benefits and it really depends upon your child and your existing floor. If you have room for both go for it! Textured rugs may bother the child- if they do, get a very small one and secure it in a walkway. This way they will not be forced to spend much time on it but will be exposed to it regularly- the goal being desensitization to that texture. Try to ensure socks or shoes in the beginning, then advance to bare feet when walking over it!

If the child likes the texture of the rug, try to keep it in an area that they will be spending time like fine motor practice area or floortime.

The padded tiles are great too! They offer little sensory challenge and are comfy.

If you already have furniture in the room and don't want to make changes then just try to be sure it is arranged in a practical way allowing for areas in which to do Wilbarger brushing and joint compressions (a place the child can lay) room for floortime activities, space for jumping and rolling, crashing etc and an area for the child to sit and practice writing (once the child is compliant the floor is no longer ideal- a desk at the proper height with a chair that promotes good posture will be necessary).

If you have furniture that you are willing to modify, paint or refinish you should pick a color that will be somewhat stimulating but not "loud". A fun way to handle the furniture colors is white furniture with different bold colored knobs or handles for each type of activity (blue handles on the piece for fine motor, green on the piece for educational, red for speech etc...) if you are using open shelves you can even paint the side of the shelf facing out the corresponding color! This helps the child understand their routine more easily and can be incorporated into their schedule (red time slot for speech time etc.).

If you have a couch- slipcovers are a great way to make the room more fun. I have even gotten solid colored slipcovers in the past and sewn on characters from old sheets or clothes! This helps the child truly feel that this is a room they want to be in without creating chaos. The other benefit to slipcovers (aside from protecting the couch) is that you can then remove them if you need the room to be a bit more "adult" for an evening or if the child changes to a new favorite theme!