COLUMBUS, Ohio—When you walk into this space at Reynoldsburg High School Summit Campus, you quickly realize it's not just any space.
- Students across the Reynoldsburg school district worked all summer to create a multi-sensory environment for their special needs classmates
- The room has many textures, colors, and interactive pieces that make students with special needs, like autism, Down syndrome and anxiety, feel calm and comforted
- Several weeks in, students and staff say they're already seeing the difference it's making
It's a handcrafted, designer learning room with many textures, colors, and interactive pieces —all created by students for students with special needs.
"The first day we showed this to them, all the kids were ecstatic of just walking in here. And it was just like their brand-new world they get to escape to during the day if they're having a bad day," said John Carroll, student.
Students from all of the high schools across the district worked on the project all summer, talking with special education experts, researching, designing, and developing a multi-sensory environment that was calming and comforting.
With it being the first year that the special education program is at the school, it now gives students the chance to take what they've learned in classes like science, and continue that learning here, but in a calmer atmosphere.
Chief Academic Officer Jocelyn Cosgrave says it was all about helping in the development of those with special needs like autism, Down syndrome, or even anxiety.
"Research tells us that when students have a space where they feel comfortable and they can calm their body, then their minds will work better," said Cosgrave.
So, things like the swing, linear balancing board and lighting using fiber optic cables, were key.
"We actually found with our research...with autism kids or any other special needs kids, that having a single axis to focus on is more beneficial for them than having multi-axis. So, like, if this actually went left and right and back and forth, that would be way too much and over-stimulate them," said Cosgrave.
"Students with disabilities can uh...or special needs can use this and they can interact with it,” said Grant Boone, student. “So, it has light, but then they can also wrap it around themselves and be like in it or use it in different ways."
Different ways that would help them focus on their sense of direction without feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
Now, several weeks in, students and staff say they're already seeing the difference it's making.
Students are especially excited as they've been able to apply what they've learned in other classes here.
But most of all, they're just glad they got to be a part of making someone else's world a little better.
"Moving anywhere can be hectic and annoying and maybe a little scary. And so, creating something...we're welcoming them here...it was super cool to be able to say we want you here. We're glad you're our classmates," said Boone.