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Category: Sensory Advice

Our Ten Favourite Sensory Room Items

Posted on 2 August 2024 by jess

 

There’s lots to love about sensory rooms. If it’s not their dreamy mood lighting, soothing soundscapes, or stimulating textures, it’s probably the fact that each one is unique.

Sensory rooms are typically designed around the needs and abilities of the people using them. For example, people with visual impairments have better experiences in high-contrast ‘dark rooms’ that make good use of glowing UV reactive resources. Whereas, adventurous soft play rooms suit active sensory needs, where users need space to release pent-up energy.

Choosing the right resources for your sensory room can be a tricky task. And with over 800 multisensory items in our shop, it can be difficult to know where to start. To help you out, we’ve asked our expert sensory team to share their favourite sensory resources.

Whether they’re in the studio designing or out on the road installing, our team are always testing and exploring the latest and best sensory products. So, they’re the best people to look for inspiration.

Continue reading to discover our top ten favourite sensory room items, or contact our friendly team directly for personalised advice.

 

 

Our Top Ten Favourite Sensory Room Items

1. omiVista Interactive Projector

“My favourite sensory product so far is definitely the omiVista Projector. It’s interactive, fun, engaging, accessible and inclusive for all children and adults. There are over 300+ games that users can interact with; I also like the fact the games are linked to the curriculum so users can learn phonics and numbers as they play.” – Natalie, Senior Project Consultant

 

2. UV Carpet

“I love the radiant retro sensory glow of our UV Carpets 🤩 They’re simple and effective at transforming simple floors into immersive sensory features. They also look great in room pictures!” – Jess, Content Executive

 

3. Hurricane Tubes

“I really like the Hurricane Tubes! They are versatile (suiting homes and hospitals alike), easy to maintain and provide an amazing visual effect.” – Kathryn, Sales Administrator

 

4. Fibre Optics

“Fibre Optics! They offer a beautiful multi-sensory experience. The twinkling lights are so calming, and it’s nice to hold and touch the fibre optic tails as they change colour. They’re easy to clean too, which is handy for hospitals and schools.” – Sarah, Sensory Specialist

 

5. Large Sound & Light Panel

“I love the Large Sound and Light Panel. It’s fresh, modern looking, robust and provides big visuals. It’s quite a unique item, and it isn’t found in many sensory rooms, but it’s a great therapeutic resource. The panel is also very robust and can be adapted to accommodate a reduced ligature design, so it works in a range of settings 😊” – Lauren, Sensory Specialist

 

6. Bubble Tubes

“They’re a classic for a reason. Offering bright and bubbly visual effects, Bubble Tubes are calming, stimulating and perfect for therapeutic sensory sessions. They never fail to bring a smile to my face 🙂” – Linten, Sensory Specialist 

 

7. Vibrating Wall Bumpers

“I’m a fan of the Vibrating Wall Bumpers. They always add a nice splash of colour to a sensory space. They’re handmade by our upholstery team, so they are top quality and easy to install.” – Mike, Sensory Room Fitter

 

8. LED Wall Wash

“I’d have to say the LED Wall Wash. They’re very aesthetic and add a colourful glow to sensory rooms. Who’d have thought something so simple could create such an immersive sensory effect?” – Beth, Fulfilment Manager

 

9. Large Infinity Tunnel with Buttons

“I like it because it’s robust, large and has a good sensory effect.” – Howard, Pre-Contracts Manager

 

10. Safety Padding

“Our safety padding is practical and fun. Not only does it make sensory spaces safe for play and exploration. But it also comes in a wide variety of colours, shapes and sizes so that you can easily create a sensory space that matches your style.” – Cheryl, Upholsterer Assistant

 

kids inside the rhino sensory trailer interacting with a sensory wall panel

 

More Information

What Size Should My Sensory Room Be?

Posted on 27 June 2024 by jess

 

What Size Should My Sensory Room Be? Is a question that our sensory team gets asked a lot. And although it’s a simple question, it’s not quite as easy to give a simple answer back. That’s because sensory rooms come in all shapes and sizes.

Some people will have lots of free space, whilst others might be lucky enough to be building a purpose-built area, but it’s most likely that you’re looking to transform a small classroom or an empty storage space into a brand-new sensory area (which is more common than you’d think).

Typically, we say no space is too small (or too large) for a sensory space. But we understand that you might want a bit more clarity on exactly what the ideal size for a sensory room is.

Carry on reading to find out more!

 

An ‘Ideal’ Sensory Room Size

Ideally – where there are no limits to budget or space – we’d recommend that a sensory space is at least 3 x 4m. This ensures enough room for sensory resources, space to move around and explore, and accessibility for room users and support staff.

If you’re looking to create a social sensory space that can used by multiple people at the same time, we’d recommend using this formula: 3m x (the number of people you’d like to use the room x 1m).

Explaining the 3m x 4m Rule

For example, a teacher would like a sensory space that comfortably accommodates five students at a time so they can run inclusive sensory learning lessons.

So that’s 3m x (5 students x 1m) = 3m x 5m

Once you’ve worked out your equation, you can balance the sides to create an even space, for example, swapping 3m x 5m to 4m x 4m. This works so long as you don’t go under the 3m x 4m rule.

 

Things Aren’t Always That Simple

Sensory rooms can come in all shapes and sizes, from converted storage cupboards to huge halls. The only constant is the magical sensory experiences they provide. So, when it comes to choosing a space for your sensory area, it doesn’t really matter what space you’re working with (our sensory design team is always on hand to help out!).

There are, of course, a few things that you should consider before you choose the location of your sensory space:

  • Accessibility
    • Is the space easy to get to? Wheelchair accessible? Close to where users might be more likely to have a sensory meltdown for easy de-escalation?
  • Your Budget
    • There’s no point in spending all your budget on transforming a larger sensory area if you don’t have the budget to fill the space with sensory resources.
  • Location
    • It’s best to make sure that your space isn’t in a noisy or busy area, as that can disrupt your sensory space’s calm and controlled environment.
  • Sensory Room Type
    • A classic sensory room is adaptable and can work in any sort of space – big or small. Whereas soft play and sensory integration rooms typically need more space (they’re more active and you need more space to move around).
    • Immersive Rooms ideally need to be 3.5 x 3.5m – which will give you enough room to move around and explore your senses. Although they can be squeezed into rooms that are 2.5 x 2.5m.
      • Don’t know what type of sensory room you’d like to create? Get in touch with our design team for advice and inspiration.

 

If You Have A Small Space

Small sensory rooms typically have a cosier ambience and make for perfect chill-out or calming spaces. You can really take advantage of sensory light effects, creating moody dark rooms or brightening up spaces with LED Wall Wash. Smaller spaces also require fewer resources, making them perfect for those who are more budget-conscious.

Small Sensory Room Must Haves:

 

If You Have A Big Space

Bigger sensory spaces create the opportunity for more exciting sensory projects like adventure-filled soft play rooms and out-of-this-world immersive reality spaces. They’re great places for collaborative play, sensory circuits, and inclusive learning classes. Larger sensory spaces are ideal for developing gross motor, vestibular and proprioceptive sensory skills, as they can accommodate therapeutic swings, rocker chairs, and interactive wall projectors.

Large Sensory Room Must Haves:

 

Our sensory experts are always on hand to help you with your sensory project. They’ll be more than happy to share their expert advice so that you can create a sensory space that matches your needs, space and budget. Get in touch for more information 🙂

How To Install A Perfect Sensory Bedroom For Autism

Posted on 20 May 2024 by jess

 

Bedrooms are safe havens for sleep, comfort and relaxation. But did you know that 80% of children with autism struggle to get a restful night’s sleep, leading them to feel tired, irritable, and vulnerable to sensory overloads?

According to the National Autistic Society, one reason why autistic people struggle to sleep is ‘sensory differences’ – e.g. increased sensitivity to light and sounds. Because of this, we believe it’s really important to design bedrooms around your child’s sensory preferences.

Keep reading to find out how you can create the perfect sensory bedroom for autism.

 

Mapping out a bedroom

Mapping Out Your Bedroom

Nowadays, bedrooms aren’t only used for sleeping. They also double as playrooms, study rooms and social spaces. And while it’s great to have a multi-functional space, it can quickly become a chaotic jumble of stimuli.

To combat this, we recommend that you map out your bedroom. It’s a simple and effective way of organizing chaotic bedroom stimuli to create a balanced sensory space. See our top room-mapping recommendations below:

  • Sleep: Keep your bed away from doors (noise) and windows (light), and so one side of the bed runs along a wall (for positioning)
  • Study: If you have a desk, place it under or next to a window to make the most of the daylight (visual stimulation).
  • Play: Make sure toys can be easily tidied away into storage containers. It’s even better if the containers are transparent so you can see what’s inside them.

 

Calming blue bedroom wall

Colours

We’ve spoken before about which colours are best for a sensory room. And our advice isn’t too different when you’re decorating a sensory bedroom for autism.

Neutral, cool colours are best for walls. Greens, blues, and purples are all calming shades that provide just enough stimulation to regulate visual senses. Beiges, greys and darker creams can also create calming atmospheres.

However, you should avoid bright colours (reds, yellows, whites) and patterned wallpapers as they are highly stimulating. They’re more likely to alert your senses, which is the last thing you want to do before winding down for bed.

 

Rhino UK Wall Padding in a selection of calming colours

What about Wall Padding?

Wall padding is a practical way to make your bedroom soft, safe and accessible for those with a higher scope of need.

Our wall padding is tailor-made by our in-house upholstery team and comes in a range of calming colours that look great on sensory bedroom walls.

Our most popular bedroom padding colour is ice blue, but we’re also big fans of lavender, cream and sand. Discover more about our padding colours in our handy colour guide.

 

Sensory projector shining stars on a bedroom ceiling

Lighting

Lighting is an effective way of instantly transforming your bedroom into a relaxing sensory paradise. The soft glow from sensory lights is distracting but not overstimulating, making it a simple tonic for bedtime meltdowns and scary monsters who lurk under the bed.

Simple sensory lighting solutions include:

  • Install LED Wall Wash strips across the tops of bedroom walls to bathe them in a calming sensory glow.
  • Add Fibre Optic Carpet to a wall or a Fibre Optic Curtain around your bed so that you can enjoy their twinkling, starry night effect.
  • Shine a Sensory Projector onto the wall beside your bed to create a slow-moving, distracting dreamscape.

It’s also essential to protect your bedroom against any external light. As a source of light that you can’t control, external lights, like the sun or a streetlamp, can cause unwanted simulation and make it harder to get to sleep.

We’d recommend investing in a blackout blind or blackout curtains so that you can control the room’s brightness.

 

Children exploring their senses inside a sensory den

Sensory Dens

Sensory dens are a simple solution for calming senses and avoiding meltdowns. They provide a personal and controlled environment away from outside stimuli to self-regulate senses and emotions.

Whether it’s a pop-up space or a corner of the room, we think sensory dens are an important element for sensory bedrooms for autism because of the sense of self-confidence they can build in individuals.

Another thing we love about sensory dens is how easy they are to make (see our blog here). We recommend these four items when you’re creating a sensory den:

  • Cosy Cushions: You want your den to be as comfortable and comforting as possible. Cushions are nice to sit on, lie on, and cuddle with.
  • Ear Defenders: They’re super effective at blocking out noise, which can be one of the most over-simulated senses.
  • Fidget Toys: Simple and effective anxiety relievers, perfect for distraction and calming.
  • Soft Lighting Effects: Soft mood lighting can transform dark dens into immersive calming zones. Whether that’s from the distracting twinkle from fibre optics or a calming view from a sensory projector.

We hope that you find the information in this blog helpful. If you’d like more information about our sensory services or our sensory bedroom designs, book an appointment with our sensory team. They can help you plan your room, suggest products suited to your needs and budget, and offer expert sensory advice.

 

Further Information

How To Make A Sensory Room On A Budget

Posted on 23 February 2024 by jess

 

How To Make A Sensory Room On A Budget

Sensory rooms are developmental spaces that provide a calming and controlled environment for people to therapeutically regulate their senses and emotions. They’re typically used by people with autism and special needs, although their calming and relaxing nature makes them helpful for everyone!

Multisensory rooms are a valuable resource for schools, homes or social centres, but they’re often seen as a luxury due to their high price tags. Well, our sensory experts are here to tell you otherwise!

This blog will help you to build a sensory room on a budget. We’ll share our favourite budget-friendly resources alongside lots of creative and charitable ways of turning your sensory room dreams into a reality.

 

Calming sensory room with interactive wall panels

Why Are Sensory Rooms So Expensive?

Sensory room resources usually have a high price point because of the high-quality materials used to make them. Our sensory experts make sure that we only source the best products that create the best sensory effects, last a long time, and are, most importantly, safe.

Buying more expensive products usually means they’ll last a long time, too, reducing your need to repair or replace them, which might save you money in the long run.

For more information about the quality of our sensory products, get in touch with a member of our friendly sensory team.

 

Sensory Room with Tactile Wall Panels

Building A Budget Sensory Room

The best way to create a sensory room on a budget, without losing any of its magic, is to go back to the fundamentals of what a sensory room is. We need to make a space that caters to three key senses: touch, sight, and sound.

Touch: You want something soft to sit on and something to interest your tactile senses.

Sight: Sensory works best in darker environments (blackout curtains & blinds are really useful!), so you’ll want to add some colourful resources that glow, stimulating visual senses.

Sound: It’s best to make sure your sensory space is located somewhere quiet, where it won’t affected by outside noises. Although the space inside doesn’t have to be quiet, we’d recommend adding a sensory soundtrack to create a personal ambience.

 

Inside a pop up sensory den

Choosing The Right Space

You don’t need a big empty room to create a new sensory space. Sometimes, the smallest spaces can have the biggest sensory effect (have you seen our pop-up dark dens?).

So, whether it’s a spare room, storage closet or corner – all you really need is a partition curtain and some cosy cushions to get started.

(Don’t have a spare corner to spare? Have you considered a sensory box?)

 

Sensory projector and bubble wall

What Should I Put In My Budget Sensory Room?

You should always design a sensory room around the person who’s going to be using it. Consider their sensory needs and preferences. If they’re sensory seeking, you’ll want to make a space that’s highly stimulating – filled with lights, sounds and tactile resources. But if they’re sensory avoidant, they’ll need a minimally stimulating space.

What Our Sensory Specialists Recommend

To complement the three key senses, our sensory specialists would recommend four key features for your budget sensory room.

  • A Bubble Tube: Bubble Tubes are a sensory room staple for a reason. Not only do they brighten up a room, but their endlessly dynamic dancing bubbles are distracting, calming and ideal for softly developing visual senses.
  • A Sensory Projector: Sensory projectors magically create bright worlds along walls and ceilings, decorating them in colourfully relaxing light. There are lots of sensory projectors to choose from; some create rainbows, others create constellations – we’re sure you’ll be able to find the right one for you.
    • Our Opti Aura Projector is our best-quality budget projector for larger environments. But the Laser Stars and Ocean Wave projectors are just as good at lighting up sensory spaces in a magically immersive glow.
  • Fibre Optics: With a tactile twinkle and a gorgeous glow, Fibre Optics are a magical multisensory resource. With long tactile ‘tails’ and interactive colour options, Fibre Optics offer users an intimately personal sensory session where they can develop tactile and visual senses.
    • Check out our budget-friendly Essential Fibre Optics. They come complete with their own light source and colour controller so that you can play straight away.
  • Safety Padding: Safety padding is an important sensory room resource. Not only does padding help to make a space safe, but it also adds a cosy layer that’s soft to sit on or lean against. Having soft, stable layers in your sensory room can help users develop proprioceptive skills as they comfortably position themselves.
    • We make most of our bespoke padding in-house – perfectly made to measure to fit your space. However, our Colourful Pencil Padding Set is a quick, easy-to-install, budget-friendly alternative.

 

Girl plays with a Bubble Tube

Our Budget Sensory Range

We know that everyone might not have the budget or space for a big sensory room. So, we’ve assembled a collection of our favourite budget-friendly sensory products so you can create an immersive sensory space with any budget.

Our discount sensory collection includes Bubble Tubes, Fibre Optics, and everything else you’ll need to create an interactive sensory room.

Products in our budget sensory collection are not the same quality as our main sensory collection, which is why we’re able to set lower prices. For more information, get in touch.

 

Further Information

If you have a question or a query, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our friendly sensory team – they’ll be more than happy to help 😊

5 Benefits of Installing a Sensory Room

Posted on 25 January 2024 by jess

5 Benefits of Installing a Sensory Room

Sensory rooms are known for supporting people’s bodies, minds, and emotions. They’re particularly popular with individuals with autism, ADHD and anxiety. You’ll find sensory rooms in schools, social centres and hospitals, but did you know that their benefits are almost universal?

From improving mental health to creating communities – discover our top five benefits for installing a sensory room!

 

Children learn together in the Rhino Sensory Trailer.

  1. Inclusive of All

Although sensory rooms are typically used by people with autism and sensory processing disorders, they can really be used by anyone.

Designed to take you away from the outside world and into a secure sensory sanctuary – sensory rooms provide a personalised environment to connect with yourself and your senses. Spending time in a sensory room can be an effective way to reduce anxiety, practice mindfulness and therapeutically relax.

So, whether kids in school need a break from their desk between classes; Autistic passengers feel overwhelmed by a bustling city airport; or if neurodivergent office workers need space to relax after a stressful meeting – Sensory rooms can be used as therapeutic space to relax and reset.

Inclusive of Wheelchairs & Physical Disabilities

Sensory rooms can also be designed inclusively for all needs and abilities. If that means special ramps, lifts and hoists for wheelchair users or high-contrast environments for people with visual impairments – there’s always a way to make a sensory room accessible.

 

Boy rolls down a corridor on a body roller in a sensory integration session.

  1. Develop Key Skills

Sensory rooms are adept at helping users develop key skills – even as they passively explore the environment. Skills developed can include, communication skills, coordination, concentration, cognitive development, socialisation, focus, motor skill development, balance and calming.

Some types of rooms might be better suited to develop certain skills. For example, a Sensory Integration Room will be better for those who want to develop coordination, balance and motor skills. Whereas a Dark Sensory Room will be more effective at developing concentration, visual skills and calming.

 

A person relaxes in a sensory room, choosing the colours of the bubble tubes from an ipad.

  1. Reduces Anxiety & Promotes Wellbeing

Multi-sensory environments are effective at diverting focus away from anxieties towards soothing lights, sounds and colours. Soft sensory stimulation helps users focus on what’s happening in the moment, so they can spend less time with their worries.

Spending time in a controlled, relaxed environment also gives people the space to decompress and focus on themselves – therapeutically promoting wellbeing.

 

A group of nurses pose with a Sensory Voyager trolley.

  1. Brings People Together

Did you know that Sensory Rooms can also double as welcoming community hubs? Schools can bring their students together to learn, play and socialise. Community centres can have a social space for parents and children to share their experiences and offer respite. While in hospitals, sensory rooms can act as alternatives to family rooms, offering patients and their families space to relax.

Not only that, but sensory rooms can become a source of income. The inclusive rooms can be rented out for parties and special occasions, creating a new funding source that can go straight back into the community.

 

Immersive sensory rooms are great for calming, relaxing and learning.

  1. Benefits Inside & Outside The Sensory Room

A study by Cardiff University found that the positive outcomes that were experienced inside the sensory room, i.e. reduced anxiety, continued after the user had left the room.

This finding has lots of practical uses; for example, in schools, a child who’s spent time with teachers and classmates inside a sensory room might be more open/receptive to them outside of the room. And in hospitals, patients who spend time inside a sensory room before they go in for treatment, may be less agitated and calmer going into a procedure.

 

All in all, there are lots of benefits to installing a sensory room in your environment. If you have any questions or are ready to get started on your own sensory room journey, then make sure you get in touch with our friendly sensory team 😊

 

Further Information

Book: A free sensory room design appointment

Discover: Our multi-sensory room designs

Explore: Cardiff University’s Study: Improving Learning & Wellbeing For Autistic Children

A Guide To Sensory Room Flooring

Posted on 2 November 2023 by jess

A Guide To Sensory Room Flooring

When it comes to designing a sensory room, thinking about what’s on the floor will probably not be at the top of your priority list. But our sensory experts are here to tell you that it should be.

Carry on reading to learn more about different sensory room flooring options, why choosing the right flooring matters and our top sensory floor resources.

 

Base Flooring

Every sensory room needs base flooring. Base flooring sets the scene for your sensory space, like a blank canvas for your design. Because of this, it’s best for base flooring to be plain and practical. We’d recommend using vinyl or carpeted flooring.

Vinyl flooring is great for messy and active sensory rooms. It’s easy to clean and doesn’t absorb water, mess or smells. It also creates space for interactive projection and is more accessible for wheelchair users.

Benefits: Easier to clean, better for infection control environments.

Carpet is better suited for calming and quiet sensory spaces. Its soft tactile texture is easier on hands and feet – reducing the impacts of falls or trips. It’s warmer, too, adding a cosier atmosphere to a space.

Benefits: Adds a softer, cosier layer to a room.

 

Why Can’t I Use Safety Padding As A Base Layer?

We’d consider padding a sensory layer as it works best when it sits flush against vinyl or carpet, helping it stay safely in place.

For a classic sensory room, we wouldn’t recommend a completely padded floor. Padding works best when it’s placed in a focused play/calming area in a room, i.e., around the base of a bubble tube podium, so users have a cosy spot to sit and are protected from bumps/bruises while they play.

Using a mixture of textures on your floor is a great way to divide a sensory room. For example, using a carpeted/vinyl flooring area near the door encourages users to remove their shoes and keep play away from a potentially dangerous area.

Although, if you’re looking to create a safe de-escalation space, we recommend a fully padded floor.

 

Top Sensory Layers & Sensory Floor Resources

Now for the fun part – turning an ordinary floor into something extraordinary! Here are our top sensory flooring elements. Which one is your favourite?

UV Carpet

UV Carpet

Looking for a relaxing retro look? Our funky UV Carpet adds a stimulating glow to sensory areas. Transforming floors into visually stimulating areas for play and relaxation. They’re ideal for playful sensory rooms, calming sensory rooms (where users can passively explore the visual stimulation) and social spaces.

Benefits: Visual stimulation, great at covering large surfaces, easy to clean.

 

Liquid Floor Tiles

Liquid Floor Tiles

Filled with luscious liquid, glittery goo, or out-of-this-world UV slime – our liquid floor tiles provide a perfectly squishy interactive surface to encourage visual, tactile and motor stimulation. Specially designed for active sensory play, liquid floor tiles are wheelchair friendly and ideal for accessible sensory rooms.

Benefits: Wheelchair friendly, interactive, available in different colours and styles.

 

LED Carpet

Touch Sensitive LED Carpet

Our magical Touch Sensitive LED Carpet is a multi-sensory treat. Feel the soft tactile material on your fingertips and watch the twinkling LED lights glimmer. The sensory carpet is a great place for users to lay back, explore their senses and relax.

Benefits: Interactive, calming, soft.

 

Floor Padding

Floor Padding

You can make any space safe with our bespoke, made-to-measure safety floor padding. Available in a range of colours, thicknesses and sizes, you’ll easily be able to remove the worry of nasty bumps and bruises, creating a safe environment for users to release energy and explore their senses.

Benefits: Made to measure, safety-focused, easy to clean.

Fibre Optic Carpet

Fibre Optic Carpet

Create a twinkling galaxy of stars at your very feet. Our soft-to-the-touch, velvety Fibre Optic Carpet is embroidered with hundreds of fibre optic lights that sparkle and shine, creating a beautifully stimulating visual effect. Note: We’d only recommend Fibre Optic Carpet in small sections as it isn’t as robust as some of our other carpets and can wear easily. Because of this, we’d actually suggest you use Fibre Optic Carpets to decorate walls! Get in touch for more information.

Benefits: Accessible for wheelchair users, easy to wipe/vacuum clean, available in a range of sizes.

 

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what flooring you should use in your sensory room. Ultimately, the right flooring can transform your sensory area into a cosy and welcoming space for everyone to explore their senses and thrive.

Our expert sensory team are always on hand to help you plan and design sensory rooms – get in touch for more information.

Back To School: 4 Sensory Tips

Posted on 31 August 2023 by jess

 

Back to school means back to classrooms, which can, unfortunately, create a whole host of unnecessary stress on our senses. Fortunately, our sensory team have put together their top four tips to help you settle into the new school year. Take a read below!

 

Our Top Sensory Tips for Back To School!

  • Talk to Teachers 🧑‍🏫 Speak with your child’s new teacher about their sensory preferences so that they can accommodate their needs from day one.
  • Take a walk to school🚶 Softly reintroducing your child to the school routine will make sure there’s no big shock when term starts. Make the most of the walk, too; play a game of sensory bingo and explore your senses as you move.
  • Make sure school uniforms are comfy 👕 – especially if your child is tactile-sensitive! Put the uniforms through the wash a few times before wearing them, ensuring they’re soft and easy to wear.
  • Get fidget-ready!🖐️ First-day nerves are bound to be around when going back to school. An easy way to help manage this is with a fidget toy. They’re perfectly pocket-sized and can ease anxieties and stress with a couple of pops, twists and rattles.

 

More Information

Creating An Anti-Ligature Sensory Room

Posted on 24 August 2023 by jess

What Is Anti-Ligature?

Anti-ligature, in its simplest form, means that something cannot be used by someone to ligature (bind or tie).

Ligatures pose a risk in many different environments, especially those where people would wish to self-harm. Therefore, it’s important that spaces are safe from ligature risk.

Anti-Ligature Sensory Rooms are specially designed spaces that pose no or very low ligature risk. Sensory Resources in these spaces are typically firmly embedded in walls and ceilings or covered with robust casing so that they’re safe and out of the way, ready for sensory play!

Anti-Ligature sensory room in a mental health environment. With LED Sky Ceiling panels, bubble tube, and soft sensory wall and floor padding.

 

Where Are Anti-Ligature Sensory Rooms Needed?

Even though Anti-Ligature Sensory Rooms are specialist spaces, many environments can benefit from their secure designs.

From SEN Schools that need to protect vulnerable students to Mental Health Centres where patients may be at a higher risk of self-harm. Choosing an anti-ligature sensory room is a great way to ensure safety and comfort.

Suitable Environments For Anti-Ligature Sensory Rooms:

  • Mental Health Centres
  • Hospitals
  • Secure Children’s Homes
  • Supported Living Facilities
  • SEN Schools
  • Prisons

Anti-Ligature sensory room in a mental health environment. Immersive reality room with cosy beanbags and distracting bubble wall.

 

Why Are Sensory Rooms Needed In These Environments?

Sensory Rooms are an asset for ligature-risk settings as they provide a neutral space to find calm, therapeutically relax, and reset.

Classically, sensory rooms are used by children with autism to help rebalance their senses and self-regulate their behaviour.

But sensory rooms have lots of other clinical benefits:

  • Improving Mental Health & Wellbeing
    • Sensory Rooms offer a safe space away from wards, busy classrooms and clinical settings. They’re controlled environments where individuals can customise their experience to suit their needs. Whether that’s dimming the lights, putting on their favourite playlist, or watching Netflix on a big projector screen.
    • It gives people the space to spend time with themselves without the judgement of others – so they can find calm and relax, boosting their mental health and wellbeing.
  • Effective at De-Escalation
    • Whether it’s other people, settings or stimulants, it’s essential that individuals on the verge of an incident can quickly and safely de-escalate.
    • Sensory Rooms offer a neutral space for individuals to release their emotions safely and independently. Soft padding creates a safe and cosy backdrop for physical outbursts; bubble tubes and sensory lights stimulate and distract anxious minds, whilst soft rocking chairs offer individuals a place to actively work out their worries.
  • Reducing Self Harm
    • With a safe space to effectively de-escalate and support their mental health, it’s been found that individuals who have access to sensory rooms are less likely to self-harm.
    • Academics agree that sensory rooms in mental health settings reduce distress and reduce the need for seclusion and restraint (Machingura et al. 2018; Scanlan & Novack 2015; Oostermeijer et al. 2021)

Anti-Ligature sensory room in a mental health environment. With vibrating bumpers, cosy beanbag seating, LED Wall Wash and safety floor and wall padding.

 

Who Can Use Anti-Ligature Sensory Rooms?

  • Patients: To regulate their behaviour, relax, socialise and spend their free time
  • Staff: To work with patients and for their own mental health breaks
  • Families: For visits and meetings

 

How Do You Make A Sensory Room Ligature Safe?

Making a sensory room ligature safe isn’t too hard of a task. It just requires forward thinking, planning and a team of sensory specialists!

With an anti-ligature sensory room design, you need to make sure there are:

  • No Ligature Points
    • House resources in robust casing, or swap out classic products for ligature-safe ones (e.g. swapping fibre optics for LED wall wash lights)
  • Minimal Gaps Between Products & Walls
    • Ensure resources sit flush against walls or the ceiling or are securely embedded into safety padding.
  • Small Perforations In Ventilation Grills
    • Give radiators + electronic items space to breathe without creating new ligature risks.
  • Minimal Joints
    • Create bespoke sensory areas that are firmly fitted and made for use. This may include boxing in resources or designing made-to-measure furniture.
  • Hard-Wearing Equipment That Can’t Be Broken Or Weaponised
    • Our collection of sensory resources is robust and made for tough sensory play. See below which items we’d recommend for anti-ligature sensory rooms.
  • No Obstructions
    • The room doesn’t have any sharp edges or corners – whether that’s done with clever design, safety padding or corner protectors.

If you’re thinking about creating an anti-ligature sensory room in your environment, get in touch with a member of our friendly sensory team! They’ll be more than happy to get you started on your sensory journey.

 

What Sensory Equipment Should I Put In An Anti-Ligature Sensory Room?

When it comes to celebrating senses, an anti-ligature sensory room should be no different to a standard one. Mental Health Sensory Integrations should stimulate, calm and engage all five senses in a controlled and personal manner, safely and comfortably.

It’s crucial to choose robust sensory resources that pose little or no ligature risk and are safe for sensory play.

Our sensory team, alongside the Director of Occupational Therapy at Cygnet, have put together our top resources suitable for anti-ligature sensory environments.

  • Interactive Wall Panels
    • Interactive Wall Panels are highly engaging multi-sensory panels that stimulate visual, tactile, sound and cognitive senses.
    • These can be installed closely to walls or embedded into padding, significantly reducing ligature risk.
  • Interactive Floor or Wall Projection
    • Sitting high on ceilings, our interactive projectors instantly create magical interactive worlds on floors and walls. They encourage individuals to get active and use their bodies and senses to engage with the projected games and activities.
    • Safely kept out of the way, these projectors are an ideal all-in-one sensory aid for anti-ligature sensory rooms.
  • Wall Wash
    • LED Wall Wash strips bathe areas in calming sensory mood lighting. They allow individuals the opportunity to create a colourful environment to match their mood.
    • Sitting flush against the wall and ceiling, they’re kept up high and away from curious hands.
  • Therapy Rockers
    • Offer individuals a cosy place to sit, relax, and work out their worries.
    • Made from robust, zip-free, hard-wearing materials with heavy use in mind.
  • Vibrating Bumpers
    • A soft, padded bumpy wall that vibrates when touched. They’re a great interactive piece of soft play equipment to add to therapeutic environments.
    • Made to measure interactive bumpers provide sustained gentle vibrations that soothe proprioceptive systems and calm minds.

Remember! Every sensory room should be unique. When choosing equipment, it’s important that you choose resources that are suitable for your staff and end users. Get in touch with our friendly sensory team for more information.

 

Further Information

*Not all images in this blog represent Anti-Ligature Sensory Rooms. Some are calming rooms or de-escalation spaces in mental health environments. For more information get in touch with our friendly sensory team 🙂

Our Favourite Vibrating Sensory Toys

Posted on 15 March 2023 by jess

Understanding Sensory Vibrations

Vibrations are a key part of our sensory diet. They provide calming massaging stimulations that are effective in helping us feel more centred and comfortable in our bodies.

Although it can be hard to find vibrations naturally, it’s not every day that we have access to a stimulating sensory room or a luxury spa. So, our sensory team has put together their favourite budget-friendly vibrating sensory toys so that you can access their therapeutic benefits at home or school.

Boy lying on mat

 

Vibration Therapy

There are two main sensory functions of vibration therapy:

  • Calming Vibrations for people who are sensory seeking or hypersensitive to their sensory environment. The gentle rumbles create a sensory focus, which distracts the brain’s sensory need for attention, so you can instead concentrate on other things like listening in school, sitting still when eating dinner, or calming an emotional outburst.

Calming vibrations are key for people who seek movement, pressure and touch.

  • Invigorating Vibrations for those who are hyposensitive and don’t usually get the chance to get active. Vibrations create therapeutic deep proprioceptive stimulation that strengthens muscles, wakes sensory systems, and energises bodies.

This type of massage therapy is vital for older people and those with physical disabilities.

 

Boy in wheelchair

Who Are Sensory Vibration Activities For?

Sensory vibration activities are therapeutically beneficial for most people. Although they’re especially great for:

  • People with Disabilities
  • People with Sensory Processing Disorders
  • Children & Adults with Autism
  • Babies

 

Our Favourite Vibrating Sensory Toys

Vibrating Snake

Best All-Rounder: Vibrating Snake

Our best-selling Vibrating Snake sensory toy is one of our favourite products for helping kids and adults relax.

The snake’s therapeutic vibrations relax muscles and stimulate proprioceptive senses (which is particularly useful for those who are sensory seeking). Vibrating Snake is colourful, flexible, battery-operated and portable, so you can take it wherever you go! Whilst two-speed choices mean you can create a sensory experience that perfectly suits your needs.

Vibrating Pillow

Best Budget-Friendly: Vibrating Pillow

Our super comfy Vibrating Pillow is perfect for quiet moments and therapeutic sensory sessions. Filled with tactile microbeads and equipped with a built-in vibrating massage unit, the vibrating pillow is an all-in-one therapeutic aid.

Massager with Lights

Best Multi-Sensory: Massager With Lights

Our Vibrating Body Massager has three special pads that vibrate, soothing muscles and relaxing minds. The ends of the pads illuminate in soft-coloured lighting, calmly stimulating visual senses – perfect for therapeutic multi-sensory sessions.

Resonance Beanbag

Best Experience: Resonance Beanbag

Part speaker, part beanbag, and a whole sensory treat. Sit back and focus on the soothing vibrations and stimulating sounds emanating from the beanbag, creating a personal and immersive sensory session. Discover an awareness of your body through the vibrations and the physical sensation of the music.

Vibrating Bumpers

Best for Sensory Rooms: Vibrating Wall Bumper

A soft padded bumpy wall that vibrates when touched. They’re a great, fun and interactive piece of soft play equipment to add to any sensory environment.

Vibrating Floor Pad

Best Full Body Vibrations: Vibrating Floor Pad

Our cosy vinyl-covered foam pad has five vibrating discs embedded in its material. Users can lie on the pad and use the handheld controller to match the vibration effects to their mood and comfort levels.

 

More Information

Children’s Mental Health Week 2023

Posted on 1 February 2023 by jess

It’s Children’s Mental Health Week!

And we have a host of spectacular sensory activities ready to boost your mood, support your wellbeing, and celebrate this important occasion.

Children’s Mental Health Week was set up in 2015 by the children’s charity Place 2 Be. Their aim of the week is to highlight the importance of children and young people’s mental health; each year, they attach a theme to the week to help guide discussions and activities. And this year’s theme is Let’s Connect.

 

Feeling Connected To Our Senses

Connections are a great place to start when thinking about our mental health.

Not only do connections help us feel closer to other people, but they can also help us feel closer to ourselves.

I know we love talking about senses, but did you know that feeling connected to our senses is a great way to boost our mental wellbeing?

You might be asking how? Well, think about the last bath you had…

The warm water against your skin, the weightlessness of your body as it floats in the water, the lavender-scented bubble bath that’s made the water smell like a sunny summer garden and created a pool of pretty purple bubbles, and the sounds of your favourite calming Spotify mix pouring out of your phone’s speaker.

You’re feeling calmer, right?

That’s because you’re stimulating and immersing your senses and giving them the input they need to feel energised, restored and relaxed. Once your senses are in balance, you’ll likely feel balanced within yourself too. It’s a simple therapeutic trick.

Although when you’re a child, it can be difficult to use the same tricks.

At a young age, children are only just discovering their senses and figuring out sensory preferences. They’re also usually in sensory environments that they can’t control (i.e. noisy classrooms), making it difficult for kids to feel connected to themselves and the wider world around them. Unfortunately, this could have consequential impacts on their mental health, stress and anxiety, which could lead to a meltdown.

So, to celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week, we’ve created a bite-sized list of sensory activities designed to help kids think about their sensory preferences. Working through the list should help you to feel more connected to your senses and yourself.

Take your time, have a go, a have fun!

 

Children's Mental Health Week Blog

Let’s Connect: Sensory Activities

Smell: Think about your favourite scents. How do you feel when you smell them?

  • Connect with someone else by asking them what their favourite scent is. Ask them why it’s their favourite scent. How does it compare to yours? How would they smell together?

Sight: What is your favourite colour? How does that colour make you feel?

  • Paint a picture using different shades of your favourite colour.
  • Connect with someone who also likes your favourite colour.

Touch: What is your favourite comfort to touch and hug? Is it a blanket, cuddly toy or fluffy jumper? Think about its textures and why you like the feel of them.

  • Go outside and explore nature’s different textures—the rough bark of a tree, the crisp, shiny grass, and the crumbly dirt. Stimulate your tactile senses, connect with nature, and give your mood a little pick-me-up.

Taste: What’s your favourite thing to eat? Why is it your favourite? Is it the way it tastes or a memory that’s attached to it?

  • Cook the meal and share it with someone else.

Sound: What’s your favourite song? What does it remind you of? Why do you like it so much?

  • Make a collaborative playlist with your friends that includes all of your favourite songs, and have an afternoon dance party listening to them all.

 

Children's Mental Health Week Blog

Supporting Our Mental Health

Our senses and building connections are just some of the many different activities that we can do to look after our mental health and wellbeing.

Make sure you look at Place 2 Be’s website for more resources and advice about supporting children’s mental health.

We hope that you have a wonderful Children’s Mental Health Week!

 

Further Information