SFGate

maridali Ooops! Here are the shelves he currently has in his room...

decoenthusiaste Except for the kitty-corner table and lamp in the corner, the arrangement is good. He will sleep better if he can see the door from his "bed." This might be something to think about when he is able to transition to an actual bed. He might actually miss the tent! Try the red shelves either side of the window and add more red accents - a valance, floor pillow or bean bag chair.

carole if he is safe and happy in his tent,build on the theme,bring in more outdoors and find a bed that can be a tent for a while longer ,let him sleep under the real bed and than slowly grow up with him in to the bed without a cover,or higher up with the tent still covering him,dont rush it,the most important thing is that he sleeps well and grows big and strong,one day he will let you know he is ready to move on or up!!

maridali I really appreciate these ideas. The part about the shelves, the use of the color red, and having a bed that incorporates the tent -- all stuff I hadn't thought of!

Any other ideas for the walls around the tent? If I get rid of the side table for the books and the lamp, what would you recommend instead?

Ironwood Builders When my daughter and son in law bought their house, one wall of the living room was painted a deep red. The rest a bright mustard yellow. My grandson, mildly autistic (wicked intelligent but socially challenged), went bonkers. The color red set his mind afire and really ended up tormenting him. His parents fought more too. I told them it was time to paint..my daughter had picked out some beautiful sea greens and earth tones. iIwent and bought the paint and we painted for hours...now things are calmer... I had always thought that color can be a powerful attack on the senses. I now know it to be true.

rawketgrl Wow I have a family member who has seizures, and he also used to sleep in a tent! He is well controlled with medication but still occasionally has them. Please consider a bed (not bunk beds), with a canopy, think camo cover and earthy greens and blues. Very calming a restful. Also the wood floor may be ok (my relative is also really sensitive to chemicals) but add a throw rug with a thick pad under it next to bed, just in case.

My relative (he is 40) says he feels best in a cave, don't we all. He painted his room green, built himself a wood platform canopy frame bed (it has no sharp edges) and stretched a chocolate brown canvas over the top and down the head and foot of the bed. He put curtains down the sides on dowel rungs (which are hand rails) and he can draw the curtains if he wants to. It is really cool and most of us want one. I found one kind of like what he built, but his is very sturdy and he added molding to the top to hide the dowels.

I think he also added blackout panels to his curtains and has put noise reducing panels up. He says when he sleeps on a regular schedule and reduces chemicals and grains he does better and has reduced his meds quite a bit while staying seizure free. Good luck and have fun with the bed, I am sure your son will enjoy helping too. :D

Andrea Prasch Wow listening to some of these comments people have made such great points! Color defiantly affects mood and bright colors can be agitating. Earth tones are best! Think spa. Also I love the canopy idea but a bed closest to the floor is best with all young ones. :)

carole best i suppose to find a multi-funcional bookcase or box-seat,and make sure it is attached safely to the wall,or a storage-unit along the wall,how old is your son??do you need storage for toys or homeworkstation??have attached some images,but not sure what you are looking for??

maridali Thank you all so much! Yes, my son has autism and developmental delays - he is 9 years old. His mattress has always been on the floor for safety. My vision (future) for his room includes the Ikea Mandal bed (see image) -- a platform bed. He has a separate play room with a desk, so his bedroom is more of a restful and reading area than anything else. I do think the impact of color is very important. These ideas are wonderful -- and probably helpful for others in similar situations!

Jayme Hobbs Wondering about a hardwood floor. Carpet is softer and safer. I am also an RN, have some experience with patients, etc...Not to interfere, just making a suggestion. Also, the mattress on floor or very close to floor is a good idea. & there are low beds made..But even edges of furniture can be an issue.. The bed could be a low bed with removable side rails at night...pads on floor around bed when he is in it. Does he wear a helmet? I think u are on the right track with the low, platform bed idea...

maridali Thank you for your recommendations. Yes, he wears a helmet, and mostly uses his room to sleep (inside tent, surrounded by cushions) or sit on the sofa to read. I will put a padded rug over the wood floor. I agree about all the soft edges for furniture as well. As far as moving to wood floor, I really want to be done with the stained carpet and the off-gassing that comes with new carpeting.

Cancork Floor Inc. I've just sold a cork floor to a family who's teen is autistic. I have a son with autism and I used to run
EEGs for clients with Epilepsy...so we had a good chat! The mum asked me, "What would you suggest for someone with challenges?" My answer: "A floor with a low visual presence". The teen chose his cork floor...and low and behold, it is one without any "visual" issues! Nothing "pops" off of it. The pattern is structured but unobtrusive...the whole floor flows from one area to another. Nothing for the eye to "get hung up on".

Remember, wood floors echo. My little boy has huge sensitivities to sound. He also has strong colour sense and is very definite about colours he allows and which ones he doesn't. Perhaps showing pictures together with swatches of colours/textures to see if he will show a preference. His sense of "right" will do just fine.

Just some suggestions. Under your wood, please use a thick, high end cork underlay. If you can't go cork on top, at least go cork on the bottom. This will give you as much sound absorption as you can without shelling out $5/sf on solid rubber flooring! A little rest for those sensitive ears!

Here is the floor the teen chose for his basement!

hparks74 Maridali you may want to research the psychology of paint colors. Sounds strange I know but it really truly exist. There is a reason hospitals stay in the sea green and blue and nursing homes are never yellow.

buttrfluttr Maridali, I am goosebumped reading this thread! My 15yo son is autistic and being investigated for seizures. I cannot tell you how many different beds we have been through with him since he graduated from cot. Singles, doubles, low, high, with storage under, without, even a loft bed a few years back before we knew of seizure possibility. With each bed has been a honeymoon period then the mattress inevitably ends up on the floor. It's there now. I was sitting in his bedroom this morning on his mattress trying to work out what to try next and while I want him off the floor the obvious thing is to keep him as close to it as possible. I have been drawing up plans for a platform bed and feeling I'm finally on the right track.

auroraborealus I have worked in mental health for years and would suggest you ask him how he likes to see his things in his personal space. Some prefer to see everything all the time for reassurance and others prefer a see everything and then see nothing approach, i.e. HUGE closet doors. This control of organization helps the brain remain calm. Some people are better with color and others not: ask him. You are doing your child a tremendous favour by offering choices. Another note: a mattress on the floor cannot have boogeymen, dirty socks, or underwear under it. You may choose to add a box spring without legs for the same effect but a little higher. Cork flooring would be a quieter choice for his room. Let him decide what to put on the walls. You can always shut the door, but this is his sanctuary.

rinqreation Build him a padded niche bed, a safehouse, a cave, whatever name you can give it. Get him involved, he might have some wonderful ideas. Pick soft colors and materials, earth and water tones, whites, soothing and calming. No deco, just large drawers under the bed, a worktop inside a cabinet, so when sleeptime comes, everything can be closed and away from view. Special people can't block out stimuli, so let's help them feel safe.
Note: a matress needs to ventilate, so a bed base is quite important, especially when he gets older and starts perspiring.
Note 2: one of my friends (now 25) has adhd, his wife had the whole interior painted white (with pine floors) so he could relax. He's much calmer now and thus coping better with daily life.

carolins Have you thought about lighting? Colour changing mood light could perhaps be good for him http://www.mathmos.com/colour-changing-lights-led-mood-lights-6496-0.html

Here's a colour guide that tells you what the effects of various colours are. I'd stay away from the red ;-)
http://www.pinfographics.org/ig/a-color-guide-for-designers/

Good luck with your son. Love the tent.

maridali Wow, everyone, thank you SO MUCH! I think you've all hit very important aspects of a room for my son. He is non-verbal, so showing him options may help me get some ideas. He's usually not sensitive to noise, but I'm sure the less, the better. Ditto with visual stimulation. I will also investigate colors some more, to find a suitable and beautiful combination. Although I *love* the niche bed, the beauty of the tent is if he is sitting and falls back, it's only a soft landing for him. The vision of a spa, cave, sanctuary -- all of that is very inspiring and will help guide my direction. Thank you all again so much.

maridali buttrfluttr -- thank you so much for sharing the experience with your son! I know one thing I want to get mine (eventually) is a natural organic latex mattress, to get rid of the off-gassing of a regular mattress. His has never left its plastic bag (I don't know whether that is good or bad) -- but I'm sure my son got less toxins because of that --or at least I think that. Please let me know how you proceed!