Creating Sensory Spaces for Wellbeing

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In today’s fast-paced world, having a calming retreat is essential for individuals who may experience sensory overload, including children and adults with autism, ADHD, sensory processing challenges, or anxiety. Sensory spaces provide these much-needed areas of refuge, offering tools to regulate emotions, improve focus, and promote overall wellbeing. Whether you’re a therapist designing a clinic, an educator enhancing a classroom, or a parent creating a calming corner at home, sensory spaces can make a significant difference.

What is a Sensory Space?

A sensory space is a carefully designed environment that provides sensory input to help individuals regulate their emotions, behaviors, and sensory processing needs. These spaces are often used to support children and adults with sensory processing challenges, such as those with autism, ADHD, or sensory integration disorders. Sensory spaces can include calming elements like soft lighting, weighted blankets, and gentle music, as well as stimulating features such as textured surfaces, bubble tubes, and interactive activities. The goal is to create a balanced setting that promotes relaxation, focus, or engagement, depending on the individual’s needs.

The Importance of Sensory Spaces

Sensory spaces are vital for individuals with sensory processing challenges as they provide a safe, controlled environment to meet unique sensory needs. These spaces are essential for promoting emotional regulation, reducing anxiety, and fostering focus and engagement. These spaces are more than just calming zones—they empower individuals by offering opportunities to explore sensory experiences in a controlled, therapeutic manner. Whether it’s the soothing glow of a bubble tube or the tactile engagement of sensory-rich objects, these elements foster relaxation, learning, and emotional balance. By offering a mix of calming and stimulating elements, sensory spaces empower individuals to better navigate their environments, enhance self-awareness, and build skills for independence. For children in therapeutic, educational, or home settings, these spaces are a critical tool for supporting holistic development and well-being.

Therapro’s Plug-and-Play Sensory Solutions

At Therapro, we understand the importance of accessible sensory solutions. Creating a sensory space doesn’t have to involve extensive renovations or large areas. Products like the Luminea Corner, SENcastle All-In-One Sensory Room, and Luminea Bubble Tube Kits offer practical, ready-to-use options for therapists, educators, and parents.

The Luminea Corner, a compact yet impactful sensory environment

Luminea Corner: This innovative solution combines sensory integration with skill development through its compatibility with the Luminea app. The app enables dynamic interaction with the bubble tube and fiber optic lights, offering a customizable light display that can be used to work on fine motor skills, visual perception, and speech goals. This dual-purpose setup not only creates a calming sensory retreat but also transforms the space into an engaging therapeutic tool tailored to individual developmental needs.

The SENcastle: Perfect for small spaces or as a cozy corner within a larger sensory room, the SENcastle All-In-One Sensory Room provides everything needed to create a calming and engaging environment for self-regulation and relaxation. Its centerpiece, a captivating light column, integrates visual and auditory elements to stimulate multiple senses. Additionally, the SENcastle includes weighted, vibrating, and tactile pillows that target the tactile, auditory, proprioceptive, and visual senses, making it a compact yet comprehensive solution for sensory integration and therapeutic support.

SENcastle all in one sensory solution
Luminea Bubble Tube Kit

Luminea Bubble Tube Kits: These versatile kits are designed to adapt to a variety of spaces, with three distinct base options that cater to different sensory and therapeutic needs. The simple protector module provides a sleek, minimalist design that safeguards the electronics while maintaining easy access. The square base offers a sturdy seating area, allowing users to sit comfortably and view the bubble tube from multiple angles, ideal for group or one-on-one sessions. The corner base is perfect for maximizing space efficiency, enabling users to interact with the bubble tube from a seated or floor-level position while enjoying a cozy, immersive experience. Each of these options ensures that the bubble tube is both functional and accessible, providing visual stimulation to support sensory integration and therapeutic goals.

Tips for Designing Your Sensory Space

  • Adapt to Your Space: With Therapro’s modular options, even small spaces can become sensory havens.
  • Prioritize Accessibility: Ensure the sensory tools are easy to access and interact with for users of all abilities.
  • Maximize Comfort: Incorporate soft seating, cushions, or mats to create a welcoming environment.
  • Incorporate Multi-Sensory Elements: Combine visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli for a holistic sensory experience.

Make the Most of Your Space with Therapro

At Therapro, we understand the challenges of designing sensory spaces. That’s why our solutions are thoughtfully designed to be effective, user-friendly, and adaptable. Whether you’re a professional or a parent, our sensory tools provide the perfect foundation for creating spaces that enhance well-being and promote regulation.

Explore the Luminea Corner, SENcastle, and Luminea Bubble Tube Kit to get started on your sensory space journey. Together, we can create environments where individuals feel calm, supported, and ready to thrive.

Celebrating Pediatric Physical Therapists

Gross Motor

October is National Physical Therapy Month, a time to spotlight the incredible benefits of physical therapy (PT) across all ages. This month, we want to focus on and celebrate pediatric physical therapists, their invaluable work, and the impact they have on the lives of children. With over 4,000 pediatric PT practitioners in the U.S., their expertise, commitment, and compassion shine brightly in the healthcare landscape.

Understanding Pediatric Physical Therapy

Pediatric physical therapy is a specialized practice dedicated to addressing movement disorders, developmental delays, sports injuries, and orthopedic conditions in children. Utilizing evidence-based practices, pediatric PTs focus on:

  • Posture and movement analysis
  • Functional mobility training
  • Balance training
  • Dynamic bracing
  • Electrical stimulation
  • Parent training

Pediatric PTs work in various settings, including neonatology, early intervention, schools, and both inpatient and outpatient facilities. Their primary goal is to enhance a child’s physical function, address impairments, and help them reach their fullest potential at home, in school, and within their communities. Through PT, children gain increased strength, flexibility, and independence, while preventing the progression of movement issues.

Importance of Early Intervention

Monitoring a child’s physical development and the value of early intervention cannot be overstated. Early detection and treatment can prevent more serious issues down the line, leading to benefits such as improved mobility, enhanced motor skills, and better overall health.

Role of Family and Caregivers

Family members and caregivers, including educators, play a critical role in a child’s therapeutic journey. By collaborating with pediatric PTs, they can help integrate therapy gains into everyday activities. For instance, a therapist may recommend that a child practice moving from sitting to standing through an activity like picking up toys from the floor while squatting, then standing to place them in a toybox, promoting both skill development and play.

Passion of Pediatric Physical Therapists

Pediatric PTs are uniquely trained to engage with children through play-based and enjoyable activities. Resources like pediatricapta.org offer insight into the specialized training and techniques employed by these professionals. They incorporate age-appropriate and motivating activities—think balance pods, obstacle courses, yoga, and more—to ensure therapy is both effective and fun.

Two Yellow Balance Pods used by physical therapists for balance activities
Liquid Floor Tiles used by pediatric psychical therapist for obstacle courses and balance activities

Transformative Success Stories

The impact of pediatric physical therapy is profound. Take, for example, a 3-year-old referred for PT due to postural instability and low muscle tone. After six months of focused therapy on core stability and strength, the child demonstrated remarkable progress, experiencing less fatigue in the classroom and successfully participating in an obstacle course with peers. Such transformations illustrate the power of dedicated PT intervention.

Final Thoughts

National Physical Therapy Month provides a fantastic opportunity to recognize the essential contributions of pediatric physical therapists to children’s growth and development. By sharing knowledge, resources, and inspiring success stories, we can encourage parents and caregivers to advocate for their children’s health.

At Therapro, we proudly honor the dedicated professionals in pediatric physical therapy who work tirelessly to help children develop the mobility skills they need to reach their full potential. Let’s celebrate their hard work and the positive changes they bring to countless lives!

Guest Blogger: Filomena Connor, MSOT Retired

Challenges of Low Vision in Children

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Definition and Impact:

Vision is the interpretation of what an individual sees. The visual system includes the following components: acuity, binocularity, fixation, and visual tracking. Low vision is a condition characterized by reduced vision that cannot be fully corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery. “Challenged vision” seems to be a more descriptive term for this multi-faceted diagnosis because low vision seems to imply decreased visual acuity whereas challenged vision is a broader term and implies how vision problems affect visual perception. However, for this article, the term “low vision” will continue to be used to be inclusive of the many difficulties that are more inclusive than only visual acuity. Low vision may manifest with a number of problems including blurry vision, decreased depth perception, poor reading skills, discomfort sustaining visual attention, headaches, and more. Low vision can severely affect children’s ability to learn, develop social skills, and participate in daily activities.

The Vision Council is an organization that aspires to be a vision care leader in “enabling better vision for better lives.” Its mission includes promoting growth in vision care through advocacy, education, research, and consumer outreach. In June 2024, The Vision Council published a report: Focused inSights: Patients with Low Vision. Results were based on two Focus Groups representing participants with low vision (adults) and primary caregivers of children with low vision. Children were diagnosed, primarily by optometrists (41%), typically when a child began school. Symptoms included: blurry vision, light sensitivity, inability to see in low light, and struggles with reading. From there they were referred to other providers including low vision specialists, occupational therapists, and assistive technology specialists.

Developmental Challenges for Children with Low Vison:

Children with low vision often face developmental delays, particularly in motor skills, visual-spatial tasks, and academic skills including reading and writing. These challenges can lead to difficulties in reading, writing, and navigating the environment. The lack of visual cues can also hinder their social interactions and ability to learn from their surroundings. Low vision can lead to emotional and psychological challenges, such as frustration, anxiety, or social withdrawal, which are common in children dealing with impaired visual functioning.

Educational Needs for Children with Low Vision:

Education for children with low vision must be tailored to their specific needs. This often includes the use of assistive technologies, such as magnifiers and screen readers to support their learning. Schools provide individualized education plans (IEPs) to accommodate these children effectively. Additionally, teachers can arrange their classrooms to avoid visual overstimulation for all students. Incorporating movement into a teaching activity, like pairing up with a classmate to throw and catch letter beanbags to learn letters works on learning letters while using bilateral skills and spatial skills.

Ultra Dome magnifier
Ultradome
Raised Line Paper
Highlighter Strips on a book page
Highlighter Strips

Therapeutic Interventions for Children with Low Vision:

Vision is considered more than optical clarity or muscle and nerve functioning; it examines vision development and is influenced by what the child sees along with their physical actions. Occupational therapy, vision therapy with a behavioral/developmental optometrist, and a vision professional with specialized training can help children with low vision
develop compensatory skills. These therapies focus on improving the child’s ability to perform daily activities, enhancing their remaining vision, and promoting independence.

The June 4, 2024 Therapro webinar recording: Getting and Keeping Your Child’s Vision in Sync and the September 10, 2024 webinar, In-Sync Child Activities to Help Kids Develop and Enhance Visual Processing Skills by Joye Newman, are available to watch on demand. Joyce Newman provides a wonderful overview of how vision develops, components of the visual system, symptoms of dysfunction, and suggestions for treating them. Therapro has materials Joye recommended to address vision issues.

A Year Of Mini-Moves For The In-Sync Child; movement activities to support vision
A Year Of Mini-Moves For The In-Sync Child
The In-Sync Activity Cards Book; activities to support vison development in children
The In-Sync Activity Cards Book
Growing an In-Sync Child: Simple Fun Activities to Help Every Child Develop Learn and Grow
Growing an In-Sync Child

Parental and Caregiver Support:

Parents and caregivers play a vital role in supporting children with low vision. This support includes advocating for appropriate services, creating an accessible home environment, and helping children develop self-care and independence skills. Family involvement is crucial in helping children adapt to their visual challenges. Family is a crucial component of the
child’s team. Consistent carryover of teachers’ , therapists’, and vision specialists’ recommendations optimizes a child’s visual skills and visual development at home, school, and in the community.

Summary:

Early detection, intervention, and support are crucial to managing the impact of low vision on a child’s development. The quality of vision affects a child’s intellectual, emotional, behavioral, and social growth and development. Working as a team with teachers, therapists, and vision
specialists will empower parents and caregivers to support their child with low vision effectively.

Guest Author: Filomena Connor, MSOT-Retired