We're excited to announce the opening of the sensory room and treatment space at our Stafford campus!
After months of thoughtful development, the APTS Therapy Team has designed a diverse range of sensory input stations aimed at supporting proactive nervous system regulation and mood management.
Our goal is to empower students to learn both reactive and proactive strategies for self-regulation. The space is available to students and staff on a rotating schedule, offering a calming therapeutic environment that promotes well-being for all.
Read on to explore the stations!
Stop, Drop, and Get Rolled Station
- Intention: To provide a soft padded area for students to sit or lay on to receive proprioceptive and vestibular input from the therapy balls.
- Vestibular input (movement) from bouncing on a therapy ball can provide both a calming and alerting experience depending on a student and his/her sensory needs.
- Proprioceptive input (pressure) can provide a calming and organizing effect to students by helping them understand where their body is in space.
Mindfulness Station
Intention: Full body physiological relaxation and calming the mind
- Activities include explicit psychologically calming mindfulness exercises on: Heart and Belly Breathing, Feeling my Strength, Grounding in the Present, Managing Anxiety, Relaxing and Restoring, Engaging my Compassion, Checking In with My Feelings
Swing and Snug Station
- Platform and Suspension Swing: The swings are balanced to provide controlled, gentle, repetitive swaying motions to create a patterned and calming effect.
Body Sock: Provides proprioceptive input to assist our students with self-regulation and spatial awareness by encouraging them to engage in dynamic movements.
Tunnel Pop-Up: Creates multi-sensory experiences for students to feel visually enclosed while practicing their spatial awareness.
Day Dream Den Station
- Intentionally designed for psychological mental dissociation otherwise known as "day dreaming"
- Allows students to day dream, affirm themselves, script internally, imagine hypotheticals, image scenarios, control/watch/request different visual input, and release environmental expectations.
- Activities include the "Dream Jar", "Set an Intention" Jar, Grounding in the Present, Managing Anxiety, Relaxing and Restoring, Engaging my Compassion, Checking In with My Feelings