SFGate

danjou Oh, please help me! I've been posting for weeks and I get no responses, even to say sorry for not having any ideas. I've broken it down to a very specific and common question of one room's arrangement. I've been answering others. I'd really like some help and I know many other families would benefit from it when they search for sensory room ideas, too. Pretty please!

Dytecture Hi danjou, this is such a specialized area of design it pays to get a professional opinion. Basically you can start by dividing the sensory gym into different zones as the diagram attached. I would suggest the climbing wall going to the lower right hand side of the room so it's not the first thing people see when they walk in. The T.V. is in the middle of the room with seating and play spaces in front. Other activity areas can be placed as you see fit, but I've grouped them as I see they are related to each other.

Good Luck.

ronsap57 You have supplied a lot of information about your wants but nothing about the size or scale of the room. Also, how many children's will be using this room.?Need to know the dimensions of each wall. To many unknowns to be able to design something this involved . Maybe that's why no one has responded. Hope this helps.

danjou Doh! Thank you for pointing that out! I removed the measurements when I colored it. Here it is again with the numbers. I'm so excited to look at what Dytecture suggests. I was thinking the same place for climbing wall and TV, so that's good to know.

I have professional help in choosing which equipment, how to hang it correctly, which products to buy, and in putting it in, but the planning/placement is totally up to me so I'm grateful for ideas from people who have an eye for planning. I'm one of those people who puts the furniture in and moves it all around until it works correctly. That doesn't do so well when most of the stuff can't be moved around easily once put in place!

The room is intended to be used by one at a time usually, two with the Wii or swings, with the occasional 4 or so, especially with the Wii.

taragberner Hi! I'm new to Houzz, but am welcoming the vast ideas for my future home.
I have 5 children under 9 yo , who are very active monkeys. We plan to do an indoor rec room in our 8 foot high basement. I was thinking of indoor swing (tire or fabric), thick soft rope with knot at the bottom to climb & pull up. Rings. Monkey bars across the ceiling & down one wall -- similar to my kids' gymnastics where they climb up thick dowels to a certain point. I hope to carry that across the ceiling. A rock wall doesn't seem like it would fit in my 8 foot room, neither does a slide.
I also love the idea of a thick rope spider web (we have this at our zoo). I'd love a zip line (? safety)
This is also our extra bedroom so we're thinking of a murphy bed.
I'd love to see pictures as you start your project.

TanCalGal Interesting. I found this article: it helped me understand your needs / wants. http://korkatblog.com/playground-equipment-autism/
I would not have one room devoted to these items. I'd place one item in each room of my house. Some of the items will be outgrown quickly, other items can be added later as needed.

danjou We finally got the room sorted out! We definitely want to keep all of the active equipment in one place and not encourage moving throughout the house. For kiddos with sensory issues, it is often a benefit to have a well-defined and enclosed space for sensory work. The freedom to move all over can be overwhelming and chaotic, which defeats the purpose. The only separation I'd do would be calming activities in one place and active ones in another.

The basement sounds fantastic, taragberner! We have slightly taller ceilings, but not nearly as much floor space. You can check out my ideabook for some inspiration. I look forward to following your progress!

Here's what we've settled on. One image shows the swings stationary and the other image shows them moving.

When you walk in from the bottom of the image, to the left in the corner is a Limikids Olympian indoor gym (colored brown) which has ladder, rope, rings, and chin-up bar and a mat (colored blue) underneath it. To the right (colored aqua) is a standard swing. The projector (light grey box) is ceiling-mounted and projects onto the bottom right wall for the Wii. The wall will be smoothed and painted with projector paint, which means we don't have to worry about wiimotes going through a screen.

Behind the wii space is a trampoline (blue). The right wall (colored green) is a rock-climbing wall with two ropes (lavender). Mats (colored yellow) are on the floor beneath the rock-climbing wall.

Moving up and around the room, a freestanding heavy bag (magenta) for kicking and hitting, the treadmill (dark grey), and then a stack of floor cushions in the corner (multi-colored) which can be used for sitting or sensory work/crashing. Lastly, the Airwalker swing is in red, then underneath the bar beside it is lockable storage to hold things like weights and exercise mats and the treadmill key.

This gives us a good balance of sensory activities, safety equipment, open space, and maintaining the walkways between the four open points in the room. Some things we took into account include not wanting very active play near the windows, wanting the treadmill and a swing to have a view of the "screen," and not wanting children to crash into each other if they were using different activities. The only place we were unable to avoid that is the standard swing which partially occludes the Wii space, but the second swing does provide an alternative.

eztia Invite you child's occupational therapist, adapted physical education teacher, physical therapist/physiotherapist, speech-language pathologist, and this year's teacher to you home. You have an excellent selection of equipment for proprioceptive input. It sounds as if you have decided what you want to do and have already installed it. Even so, your child's educational team may be able to help you with any little tweaks, and you will show them what is available at home for your child so that a similar piece of familiar equipment can be used at school when your child needs calming or some stimulation. You have done a very complicated plan for a child with complex needs, and have done it very, very, well.

danjou Thanks, tipi!! I wish advice for such home gyms were much more common. I hope others are encouraged to make home gyms when they see my plan. The OT's advice on equipment and placement was crucial for making it what will benefit our family most. I've asked the ST for advice twice and just got amazement. :)

The room currently has the swings, cushions, treadmill, Wii, and trampoline along with a balance board and all of our weighted equipment. I'm really looking forward to having the climbing gym and the climbing wall!

eztia Yes, the climbing gym and wall will be fun to add. Might even be a good idea that they are coming later, so your child has something to look forward to.

I am a retired speech-language pathologist (CCC-SLP, USA) who worked in multi-disciplinary pediatric settings for most of my career. Knowlege and application of Sensory Integration Therapy methods were a necessary component of my day-to-day therapy sessions.
If your ST is not knowledgeable in this area, have your occupational therapist help him/her to obtain the "How Does Your Engine Run" materials, and continuing education in sensory integration.

Best of all outcomes for you and your family. :)

danjou Thanks! I'd never heard of that program. I've only had recommended The Out Of Sync Child and The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. I found on my own Raising a Sensory Smart Child and The Everything Parent's Guide To Sensory Integration Disorder. We've done the Astronaut Training program and Wilbarger Brushing Protocol and I don't remember what all else. Our sensory diet regime has been crazy at times to get it all in, but it consistently comes down to needing LOTS of proprioceptive input several times a day, appropriately stimulating (coming out of an activity that required concentration) or calming (going into one). The sensory diet stuff just doesn't work as well as a child grows.

From what I'm reading about the "How Does Your Engine Run" program now, it looks exactly like my normal approach and the very reason I am so determined to have a home gym. It is empowering to have all the tools one needs at one's disposal to make one's own decisions! (And it is a waste to try to force activities we all know don't help.) My whole goal is getting to a point of self-regulation. Our OT really emphasizes the sensory diet and forced obstacle courses. I really emphasize opportunity and education. It makes for a much less stressful family and a happier kid! It's reassuring to see that there are whole programs out there which are based on the same philosophy I have. Among the many therapists I've met over the years, you're the first to express it.

Thank you so much for sharing that recommendation with me! I think I'll get the book and after reading it, pass it on!

eztia Happy to be of help.

pamelajean I'm inspired to up the sensory opportunities in my own home for my ASD kids! We have a smallish rec-room... might be able to fit in the swing and a mat though. Cool ( :

mollythecollie I like what all you have done. I'm glad you will have lots of cushions and mats available for when you put up the climbing wall or gym. How is your child enjoying the sensory room?

daughterofelvis Have you ever looked at a snoezelen room? Check them out on line. They will give you lots of ideas. Check in your area, you may be able to visit one. Also, consult an Occupational Therapist for whomever the sensory room is for. The occupational therapist can prescribe what they call a sensory diet (not food~but rather a diet of sensory). Also read the book "Out of Sync Child", a great resource. Good luck! Sounds great.

danjou Yes, I've seen snoezelen! They were an inspiration for creating our own at home. We need the vision and sound input to be minimized while the proprioceptive input is maximized. This is one area we're trying to improve as the large room now has quite an echo, which creates sensory overload.

The trampoline was quickly ruined with the rough play, so that was a bust. The swing is a major hit. The treadmill is as well. The projector is great. We have it displaying directly onto the wall, which is a fantastic setup. The Wii poses a problem as it is out in the open, which isn't good for the crashing times and it's taken a beating as a result. We're planning to move the hardware into a closet to avoid that issue. Still working on those logistics.

We added a basketball goal, but it wasn't used as much as we expected. Once it was moved outside so others could play as well, it was used more often. We believe the echo of the ball bouncing was overwhelming.

The crash pad with cushions is indispensable for us. I don't know what we'd do without it! Lots of pillows and blankets are all piled up there and it is used very often for both calming and active play.

We really need to get the cuddle swing or some sort of small, dark, quiet, tight calming space. The space is too large and loud right now and there's no retreat from it. It is used for quiet play, such as building toys, when the house is quiet, but as soon as there's activity, the building toys are strewn across the room and chaos ensues.

The climbing wall is fully planned, but currently on hold while we address the issue of the room being overstimulating. The wall won't be used if we don't do that first. We're planning a curtain across the large entrance, but are still thinking through other inexpensive, safe, and visually pleasing ways to cut down the echo. That's the current update! :)

daughterofelvis If you stretch a textile type material over a large wooden frame and hang it on the wall, it may absorb some sound. Curtains may also work. I stumbled across this site looking for an example. I have no idea if they work:http://www.sumopix.com/en/photo-on-canvas. Also try this site also if you are up to making your own: http://acousticsfreq.com/blog/?p=62

It is wonderful that you are trying to incorporate so many wonderful things in your Snoezelen room. By the sounds of it, there are some well loved children in your home. You are an inspiration to other families.

Have you ever heard of Stickids? It is a program used to make sensory diets. Perhaps your OT is familiar with it and could help develop a sensory diet that is not too complicated.

All the best!