Sensory Space at Primrose Helps Regulate Emotions with Sight and Touch

A new sensory space in teacher Crystle Regulbuto’s room in Primrose Elementary School helps students regulate their emotions through touch and sight and with a sound-activated lightboard.

Occupational therapist DeAnne Chin called it “a sensory-friendly space” where students with special needs who are feeling overstimulated may receive sensory input to help calm them. It was created with a grant from the Somers Education Foundation.

Pads vibrate when pressed. A bubble tube and a curtain of fiber optic strands emit oscillating colors. A sound-activated board that lights up with colors “encourages speech and language,” Regulbuto said.

Students can fall or jump onto a thick, foam-filled crash pad or slip into a swing made of smooth, stretchy material that cocoons a user as he or she sways or spins. 

“I always want to be on the proactive end of their sensory needs,” Regulbuto said. “To give them the things that they need in that moment is key.” Regulbuto and Chin were assisted by Somers High School senior Sarah Hanford, who helped as part of a Girl Scouts project. They are establishing protocols for the space to train colleagues throughout the school in its use at a November professional learning day.

They thanked the education foundation for its funds, the district for building the walls for the space and the custodians for installing the equipment.

“There were a lot of hands and a lot of love that went into this,” Regulbuto said.