Indispensable People
Making the Gospel Accessible to people of ALL abilities so that they may know Christ, grow in Him, and serve Him with the gifts He has given them.
Indispensable People
Fostering Belonging Through Sensory Rooms
This episode dives into the critical need for sensory accommodations in churches, focusing on the creation of sensory rooms to enhance inclusivity for congregation members with sensory sensitivities. We discuss the impact of sensory overload, considerations for environmental adjustments, and practical strategies for fostering a welcoming worship experience.
• Importance of understanding sensory needs in church settings
• Sensory overload challenges faced by individuals
• Various types of sensory sensitivities to consider
• Strategies to accommodate sensory needs in worship
• Designing effective sensory rooms for church environments
• Practical, cost-effective solutions for creating sensory spaces
• Emphasis on the importance of inclusivity in church ministries
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary, and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and welcome to today's episode.
Speaker 1:We're talking about sensory rooms. Does your church need it? Do you need it in the space that you serve? What is it all about? What does it entail and is it extremely costly? We're going to answer some of those questions today as we dive deep in, but first we want to really talk about what are sensory needs, why are we even addressing them and how do they impact the church? First of all, we want to understand and accommodate sensory needs, because it is vital for creating an inclusive environment within churches.
Speaker 1:Sensory needs can significantly impact an individual's ability to participate in worship community, leading to challenges such as sensory overload, limited participation and social isolation if we don't have some kind of setup or way to help people navigate their sensory needs. So how sensory needs impact the church. Well, first of all, let's talk about the overload and anxiety that can bring through. Bright lights, loud music, crowded spaces, sudden changes in atmosphere can trigger sensory overload for individuals with sensitivities, and this can lead to anxiety, agitation and difficulty focusing during services, and, due to that, we can have limited participation, which can includeming sensory input that causes people with sensory processing issues to withdraw or even avoid church altogether, hindering their ability to engage fully in the total life of the church that it leads to. Feeling uncomfortable in an environment can lead to isolating yourself, whether it be in a space, in the room, in the church, or even by not coming at all, and so the church needs to address or at least have accommodations for sensory needs so that we make sure that people can feel comfortable in this space, so that there isn't limited participation and so that isolation doesn't need to occur. So what are some examples of sensory needs that we need to consider?
Speaker 1:First, let's talk about visual sensitivities. Individuals may be bothered by flickering lights, bright colors or cluttered visuals. Just an example that I will give you Last year, I was putting up a brand new Christmas tree that we had bought, and I was looking at the tree and there's absolutely nothing. I see nothing going on, it's absolutely fine. And my son, noah, kept saying, mom, the tree is flickering. Mom, the tree is flickering. And I'm like, no, it's not, Noah, I don't see anything, I don't see a problem. And then I had taken out my phone to take a picture of it and I see the flickering. I see it happening through the photo lens of my phone and I realized that the sensitivities that someone else feels doesn't mean that I see or feel them in the same way. So might seem just absolutely fine for the way that you're experiencing it, but that doesn't mean it isn't impacting someone else. So we want to consider those.
Speaker 1:Flickering lights, the bright colors, cluttered visuals All of those things can lead to sensory overload. We also want to consider auditory sensitivities. Loud noises, sudden changes in volume or unclear announcements can be disruptive. So, for instance, if you're in a service on a Sunday morning and you're switching from worship to a video, to a microphone, just having your team be cautious and aware of the volume levels for each of those things, so not to startle someone. Those are things to consider.
Speaker 1:Also don't get me wrong, because I love loud worship mostly because I don't want to hear myself sing and I don't want to hear other people sing. I just want to sing and I want to not worry about how I'm worshiping. And so I enjoy not being distracted when the volume is louder, but an intense volume with also harshness in the sound. And I say this because my husband and my son both run sound at my church from time to time and I don't know a whole lot about music and I don't know a whole lot about sound. But from time to time I'll send them a text that says hey guys, it's sounding a little harsh today. Time to time I'll send them a text that says hey guys, it's sounding a little harsh today and there's just kind of like a volume at which it kind of cuts through you and so other people feel differently about that. So here are some ways to combat that. Obviously, you can't have volume that appeases everybody's wants and needs. Again, I said I like it loud. Someone else might be startled by it, but you can provide a disposable earplugs. You can have noise-canceling headphones available, a sensory bag at your welcome center that can be used by someone.
Speaker 1:Another thing to take into consideration is tactile sensitivities, and I think we as the church probably have a lot less that we can do about this. Obviously, a lot of that tactile is going to come in how they're dressed and how they feel. Now, if you're a church that requires or really pushes, you know, a formal wear, this might be something that could be hindering someone you know. They feel like they have to dress a certain way. If they don't feel comfortable in that way, then they have a hard time at church. Not until just a couple of years a year or two ago did my son really wear anything other than sweatpants, and he doesn't like pants with buttons, and wearing a belt is hard, all of those kinds of things. And so, in a listen, as the kids are younger, those elastic pants, they're normal, right, you can get them in khakis and jeans and all kinds of things, and so they're a lot more doable. But as they get into older, youth, young adult stage, those things are less available and if they are, they're not very stylish and so you bring about another situation there. So having a little bit of a more relaxed dress code, if you have one, is probably helpful to that individual who may have tactile sensitivities, be it certain textures of clothing, furniture, textures of clothing, furniture, even the way the hymnals feel all that kind of stuff can cause discomfort. Again, this isn't necessarily a lot of things that the church can really do. A lot of churches now put their words to songs up on the screen, so you don't even have hymnals or you don't have to worry about that. Again, if you have a little bit more relaxed clothing, kind of dress code deal that allows people to wear things that they feel comfortable in, that kind of stuff it kind of takes care of itself.
Speaker 1:So the next is olfactory sensitivities, which is considering smells, right. So strong scents like perfumes or incense can trigger negative reactions. So I would say a lot of things that we and this is something we think about in terms of people having asthma, stuff like that. So it might be something that you've already considered, you know having like smelly plugins or certain cleaning products or you know things without all of those smells, especially a multitude of smells. So consider that as you are working with your cleaning crew and dealing with those kinds of things, and you may have to take that more into consideration when considering youth or kids church so that they provide options or ways to protect those kiddos who might have those sensitivities in that respect.
Speaker 1:So let's go into even more specific strategies for churches, creating a sensory friendly environment. Here's where we get into talking about the sensory room. We may want to consider creating a designated quiet or sensory space. So a quiet space, a quiet room, providing a designated area with low lighting, soft seating, calming activities where individuals can retreat when needed. Calming activities where individuals can retreat when needed, so like when they get overwhelmed or they need just need some space to, you know, regulate themselves and then move back in. And this is really great because, especially during a Sunday morning service, when everybody, for most part, is in the main service, maybe minus kids, you may have more access to space in your room and so it could be in your church. So it could double, or one room could double, as that quiet space. Maybe it's used for Sunday school class or something else at other times, but it could be the quiet space during service.
Speaker 1:Another thing is considering building that sensory room. Now, a quiet space you're going to have. This is for somebody who needs to be a sensory avoider, right, they're getting away from the smells, the touches, the taste, all of the sound, all of that kind of stuff, but a sensory room is where they're looking for. They're a sensory seeker. They're looking for those sensory needs to be fulfilled and so in that space you're going to offer some sensory toys, maybe fidget toys, stress balls, seating that provides some kind of sensory input, like a rocking chair or a chair that swivels, that kind of stuff, and where there can be more lights, so that, if you've seen a lot with, like fiber optic lights or things like that, bubble towers, all that kind of stuff provides different kind of sensory input. Physical movement is really another great thing to think about. If you've ever seen like the exercise balls that sit into the chair, those are really great options. Sit into the chair, those are really great options, providing just different types of seating, like I mentioned with the rocking chair and that kind of stuff, and then the different kinds of lighting.
Speaker 1:All of that you can still, depending upon who the room is geared towards kids, teens, adults. If it's for adults, then you can still be streaming the service in it. If that works for them, you can do give them, you know, a sensory break and do a lesson. If it's for a kid, who maybe can't, the navigation in a regular children's service is too difficult for them so they spend more time in the sensory room. Sometimes we use the sensory room. They go into the typical service, navigate that and then, as we notice things are escalating, then we'll take them into the sensory room, set a timer and then bring them back into the main space after they've regulated. So the sensory rooms can fulfill lots of options. I would also suggest things like Legos and you're going to make some considerations with that, especially for kiddos who put things in their mouth, or adults who may put things in their mouth. Also, with that you could have a light table. You could have a sensory wall where there are tactile things that they can touch and interact with.
Speaker 1:There are lots of options within a sensory space. You can look up sensory rooms and find things that fit your space best. We do and have had to use our sensory room as a shared space before and we've been able to make that work. We did have a hanging chair, we had a trampoline a little mini like exercise trampoline and some things like that and at times you know the shared space might have to move some of those things in and out to make them work, but it is is all very possible and very doable, and here's what I'm going to tell you, because one of the other questions is how much does it cost? You know, because budget is a huge deal. The first sensory room I ever created, I collected items like a beanbag chair, I had a piano keyboard, things like that for free, like I put out a wishlist and people brought in things. But also what I purchased for the room cost me $300. So I was able to do that on a very small base. If you are interested in what more you could put in a sensory room, my email is Corll C-O-R-L-L. Specialtouch at gmailcom and I'd love to send you my Amazon list of what is available out there for sensory rooms.
Speaker 1:Over the time, we have switched, changed, put new things in, changed old things out. Really, it depends on the people that you serve and the needs that they have, and that's where you can focus. But you do not need therapy grade equipment. Yes, that might be wonderful and long lasting, and so maybe the financial investment over time would be worth it. But if that's not in the budget and those things are not possible, there are everyday things that you can collect that can be used for sensory fulfillment and there are cost-effective things that can work and also encourage those who are going to use the sensory room to maybe bring an item that works for them, that they always have or they always use, whether that's their own personal noise-canceling headphones, or if they have tactile something that they typically carry with them, if they have a chewy that they put around their neck and chew upon. Those are all things that they can bring that can help fulfill those needs in that time and also help you to fulfill the needs that they have without incurring extra expense.
Speaker 1:But also put it in your budget. It's worth it. It makes for great impact and accommodation, it allows for people to fully participate in the total life of the church and it assures that they do not become isolated and separated and that they are a part of the body of Christ, because that is what Jesus has meant for them. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I've absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given them.
