Post Avenue Unveils New Sensory Room
This November, Post Avenue preschoolers started exploring the school’s brand-new sensory room. Filled with sensory friendly components including textured wall fixtures, colorful gel tiles, glitter mats, and a foam ball pit, the sensory room is an ideal place for students to rest and transition from one activity to the next.
The sensory room is the result of three years of fundraising and planning. Several components of the room were made possible through to a grant from the Hambrick Foundation. The Post Avenue team looks forward to seeing students learn and grow in a space dedicated to supporting their development.
“This special space is designed to engage the senses through light, sound, touch, and movement —creating a calm safe, and nurturing environment for children of all ages and abilities,” said Sheri Dvorak, Program Supervisor. “We’re excited to share highlights of the fun and meaningful activities that take place in the room.”
School administrators and teaching staff began having sessions in the room on October 27 to observe how the students responded to the sensory-friendly options.
“If there’s something that they can do with their therapy session there, they are able to use it,” Sheri said. “OT, PT, even speech can go in, set up, and work on different things. They can bring items from other rooms in, or work with what we have in the cabinets. We’re introducing items just a little bit at a time as we figure out how to best work with the room.”
Now open to the clinical team, teachers, and any student who may request it during the school day, the sensory room is becoming a familiar destination. As students have familiarized themselves with the presence of the sensory room, some have started gesturing at its door when they walk past it in the hallway.
Teaching staff and the clinical team welcome students in when they find it’s helpful to self-regulate, relax, calm down from a challenging moment, or support them to better participate in their next activity.
During a physical therapy session, Kathleen Acuti, Physical Therapist, led a student through different activities in the room.
“Ready, set, jump!” Kathleen said, assisting a student as he worked his way through a colorful path of gel tiles. “We’ll practice jumping and then we’ll go in the ball pit for one minute.”
“One minute,” the student responded, excited to complete the task in anticipation of his reward of ball pit fun.
As the session continued, the student worked his way through the room. He played in the light box, then identified himself in the distorted mirror hanging on the textured wall. He worked on fundamental skills like naming and object identification while strengthening his gross motor skills – using the space exactly as it was intended.