The Sensory Wellbeing Hub at Lane Tech College Prep High School is a small space with big ambitions: to improve the lives of people who live with sensory processing challenges. The Hub aims to help students with autism and developmental disabilities recover from sensory stressors and refocus on classroom learning. While the concept of Sensory Rooms is not new, empirical data to explain how those with disabilities interact with the built environment was not available when we embarked on this project. Prior sensory rooms were built on a premise of engagement. Early in our research, after interviewing over 30 experts in the field of sensory disabilities, we came to understand there were many theories on what types of environments would be beneficial to those with sensory disabilities. Opinions varied widely—some encouraged sensory seeking, cause-and-effect engagement; others explained we must first “do no harm” and provide a respite environment. We collected and analyzed all information and ultimately aimed to answer what had not yet been answered. If given options for the gamut of different types of activities, from active to passive, what would our students prefer? We aimed to create an adaptable environment that could change easily to provide more of what our students desired, and less of what proved to be underutilized. All this and on a restrictive budget a public-school system could afford and easily replicate. The design solution and research findings will be offered open source for others to learn from and replicate.
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