Sensory rooms are becoming more common in schools across the country. For young people on the autism spectrum, sensory rooms are designed to have a calming effect that reduces anxiety and improves focus. They are specifically designed to create an immersive sensory experience for young people who become overwhelmed by their surroundings. 
One young person states "I think they should have them in every school in the entire world. Because people need it more than ever." 
Some of the benefits of having a sensory room facility in a school includes - increased concentration, mental and physical calmness, sensory improvement (touch, sight, hearing) and improved social exchanges with classmates. 
Another young person claims "before we had the sensory room, sometimes we would get so stressed out that we just needed a break, and now the sensory room is here, it just calms us down and it feels so relaxing. And when you're done, you're ready to work again."
On one of our previous projects with St Brigid's College in 2019, we focused our project on the success rate of one of the only Autism Unit's in the North West and how young people progress as a result of the staff members' efforts at the unit. However, at this point in time they didn't have the sensory room facility. This project can be found here.
In this video, young people from the Autism Unit at St Brigid's College describe what a sensory room is in their own words and how this space benefits them during school hours. 

The film was produced by young people involved in the Headliners project in Derry/Londonderry, including Tyler, Aaron, Conor, Jayden, Evan, Matthew, Aiden, Kevin, Freddie and Conor. 

This project was supported by St Brigid's College and the film was made possible through funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.