Designing a padded sensory room for individuals with autism and other mental health conditions requires careful planning and consideration.
When beginning the process of planning a de-escalation Sensory Room, it is important to consider patient safety, protection from risks of self-harm, room configuration, and the selection of appropriate sensory equipment, if required.
Padded spaces are currently used in many applications, including healthcare facilities, schools, and mental health institutions. Due to increased demand, we’ve expanded our custom padding department to manage more requests and invested in research and partnerships to make the spaces as safe and welcoming as possible.
Our experience designing padded rooms includes many different design and manufacturing elements, allowing us to create welcoming spaces for users. Below is a breakdown of some popular features and how our team can design almost anything your home, facility or institution requires.
Assessment and Consultation
Kicking things off, we’ll first conduct a thorough assessment of your unique needs, preferences, and sensory sensitivities and requirements. This is usually accomplished by either on-site visits (although not always necessary) and detailed measurements and pictures of the proposed space. Where applicable, our team will also consult with healthcare professionals, therapists, and educators to understand the specific requirements.
Once this information has been gathered, we’ll move on to the next phase which will be recommending specific padding solutions and other possible additions.
Choosing Your Padding
With all of the pertinent information on-hand, we’ll recommend the best padding solution for your unique situation. Whether that be a traditional wall pad, a fire-rated system or our state-of-the-art seamless padding we’ll break it all down for you and provide our reasoning behind those recommendations.
In addition to the type of padding, it’s important for operators, owners and managers to include all other specified equipment that is to be found inside the sensory space. This can include soft lighting, soothing sounds, tactile surfaces, and aromatic diffusers.
Following that, we have a wide range of potential color options for our customers to choose from. We can customize color selections across different walls and spaces that work with chosen lighting and other calming color combinations often used to promote relaxation and reduce overstimulation.
Testing, Refinement and Training
Once the room is designed and installed, we always recommend owners and/or operators conduct thorough testing with the individual(s) to ensure it meets their needs. This is a great time to make necessary adjustments and refinements based on feedback from patients, students and other users.
Following a successful trial, it’s always a good idea to provide training and education to caregivers, teachers, and therapists on how to use the sensory room effectively and safely. There is nothing more important than ensuring that the space not only meets the needs of those it was designed for, but that the implementation of it goes off without a hitch as well. Proper education and training goes a long way in supporting patients and students as they transition into a near calming and sensory space.
As part of the training program, many facilities will soon establish a regular maintenance and cleaning schedule to keep the room hygienic and safe for use.
In closing, the process for designing a new sensory padded room is relatively straightforward and choosing the right partner is the first step in ensuring the installation and implementation goes smoothly. We always recommend that all operators regularly evaluate the room’s effectiveness in meeting the individual’s needs and make adjustments as requirements change.
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