After a year of fundraising, prepping, painting and building, Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services’ new sensory room opened at the end of August.
The room, complete with padded floors, a ball pit and a light-up bubble tube, is designed to give students a place to be calm or burn off excess energy for a few minutes before returning to the classroom.
“The last few nails went in at the end of August, finalizing the installation of the larger pieces before school had started,” Michelle Bake-Murphy, communications and fundraising manager at Woodview said.
The room was officially unveiled to donors and sponsors on Tuesday afternoon, during Woodview’s hybrid annual general meeting and fall fair. In total, the room cost more than $25,000 to put together, most of which came from various sponsors.
Parents of Woodview students are ecstatic about the room, and say the improvements to the space are having impacts at home as well. Samantha Humphrey’s daughter Amelia attends Woodview, and has been in the room several times.
“The ball pit is her favourite, she loves things that are tactile, so anything to touch and throw is like her favourite thing in the world,” Humphrey said. “The swing is probably her second favourite.”
Volunteers, donors, and Burlington Ward 1 councillor Kelvin Galbraith were happy to test out the ball pit as part of the grand opening at the Flatt Road facility as well.
Amelia is non-verbal and uses an iPad and specialized devices to communicate with parents and teachers. She was prone to tantrums when having difficulties expressing her thoughts, but since the opening of the sensory room, Humphrey said, her behaviour has improved substantially.
The room’s blackout curtains help a set of projectors display stars and night skies onto the ceiling, so students can gaze up while on the giant swing that hangs in the middle of the room. A large rocking chair in the corner gives a space to lounge, and a wall installation with all sorts of materials and textures provides a tactile experience.
Representatives from Burlington Helping Burlington were on site to help with the opening of the room, and to surprise Woodview with a donation of $2,500.
“It was a year ago this week that we began the fundraising campaign at last year’s AGM, and it has been an incredible journey,” Bake-Murphy said.
Woodview Mental Health and Autism services opened its doors in 1960, and supports more than 5,000 children, adults and families in Brant, Halton and Hamilton.
