Special-needs students at Pleasant Grove Elementary in Greenwood, Ind., now have a place to go when the stresses of school get to be too much. A specially equipped classroom called “A Little Wiggle Room” was officially dedicated this week at the Center Grove school.

The space, also called a sensory-integration room, gives children with autism and other sensory problems a place to regroup and release anxious energy. In return, they are then able to focus better in the classroom.

“The whole point of therapy with these kids is it looks like a fun room, but it’s a work room,” said Cindy Price, the mother of a Pleasant Grove first-grader with autism and the driving force behind the Wiggle Room.

The brightly painted room features a table of bins full of things such as pebbles, water, sand and fabric scraps for students to run their hands through.

A specially designed trampoline called a “health bounce” includes arches and a plastic circle to keep kids safe.

There is also a platform swing, tubes to crawl through and an area for children who need to find a quiet space to gather their thoughts.

Johnson County Special Service occupational therapist Cindy Webb said the room gives educators a chance to prevent outbursts that some children with autism struggle with.

“We want to be proactive, instead of waiting until they have a meltdown and they have to come down,” Webb said. “If we can identify kids that are having some problems, we try to (intervene early).”

While other Center Grove elementaries have sensory rooms, Price said the Wiggle Room goes a step further by offering specialized equipment and a lending library to give teachers some tools to help special-needs children.

“This one is not even to its full potential. This is roughly $6,000 worth of fundraising,” Price said.

“To get this to the potential that we would really like and need . . . we need to raise probably at least another $10,000 to $12,000.”

About 30 children in Pleasant Grove Elementary will benefit from the Wiggle Room, and more could be added to the list as teachers become more aware.

To help educators and therapists utilize the room, photographs of the kids are displayed near the door. Each photo is on a colored background, such as blue or yellow.

Webb designed the system to help students and educators know what type of activities would best help the child. Areas of the room are painted with corresponding colors, and equipment and devices are situated accordingly.

Price said educators already have seen an improvement in her own son’s behavior, and that releasing his energy in the Wiggle Room has helped him focus on learning in the classroom.

The hope is that the Wiggle Room becomes a blueprint for other school corporations, Price said.

In Perry Township, there is a sensory room at Rise Learning Center, which serves special-needs students from Decatur, Franklin and Perry townships, as well as Beech Grove.

Cara Rhoades, a Rise occupational therapist, said sensory rooms do help.

“They’re becoming more popular, and I’m glad, because the kids really benefit.”

Recalling a young autistic teen in Carmel who was Tasered by police during an outburst last year, Price said she hopes districts embrace the Wiggle Room concept.

“It just made me think, ‘If they had just had a room like this . . .’ “

Source: Cindy Marshall/Indianapolis Star