The sensory room at the library actually made me a believer

I took my daughter to the downtown branch last Tuesday because they added a quiet room with dim lights and weighted lap pads, and I figured it would be a gimmick. She sat in there for 45 minutes without stimming to calm down, which never happens in public spaces, and she even asked to go back the next day. Has anyone else found public sensory areas that actually work, or are most of them just a chair in a hallway?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan54527d ago

One good session doesn't really prove much, honestly. My kid had a great day at a museum's quiet zone once and then next time it was a total meltdown over the carpet texture. Libraries slap a "sensory" label on a room and call it a day, but half the time the lights still buzz or someone leaves the door open. Weighted pads are cool and all, but 45 minutes is not a pattern, it's a Tuesday. Come back in a month and tell me if she's still asking to go. That's when I'll start believing.

amy_foster5627d ago

You make a fair point about the 45 minutes not being a pattern, and I used to think exactly that way. Honestly, I was the one rolling my eyes at sensory rooms for years, figured they were just a quiet corner with a sign. But then my own kid had a really rough stretch at the grocery store and we tried the library's space out of pure desperation. She sat under the weighted blanket for maybe 20 minutes and then actually asked if we could come back again the next day. That's never happened with anything else, so for our family it was enough to change my mind, even if it's just a Tuesday.