Sensory-Friendly Design Enters the Classroom
October 4, 2018
By: Blythe Bernhard
Source: Disability Scoop
As more students with special needs enter school systems nationwide, educators are increasingly designing their classrooms to boost behavior and academic performance.
Sensory-friendly design focuses on controlling the sights, sounds and smells that can be under- or overstimulating to students with autism or other developmental disabilities. A few schools have been built for this purpose, but any classroom can be retrofitted to improve its sensory environment, experts say.
“Surprisingly, you don’t need an elaborately designed, high-tech building to support a child’s sensory needs,” said Nicole Eredics, a California-based educator and author of “Inclusion in Action,” a book about creating welcoming classrooms for all students.