by PRP Group, on 08/07/2024
When I was a principal, my assistant principal and I took over an unused classroom and built a sensory space in it. We created places where students could move around, and quiet areas where they could relax. Students were able to visit the sensory space whenever they felt they needed to “get some wiggles out” or otherwise regulate themselves.
One of my students at the time had an overwhelming need to move, and recess was not enough. His restlessness would get worse when he was nervous, and he had a great deal of anxiety around reading. Sometimes he would ask his teacher, “Do you mind if I go read in the wiggle room?” In the sensory space, he would prop his book on the handlebars of a stationary bike, and my assistant principal Nichole Schlagel or I would meet him there so he could read to us while he pedaled.
