Ramona, CA: $4,500 for "much-needed" sensory room in elem school
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Feb 11, 2026, San Diego Union Tribune: Sensory room at Ramona school is a safe, structured place for students with special needs
Where most people simply saw a school storage closet, Stacey Nelson saw a place where special needs elementary school students could get transformative care.
Ramona Elementary is home to a district-wide program for preschool students with special needs, as well as elementary classes for students with moderate disabilities, said Nelson, an occupational therapist with the Ramona Unified School District.
“Many of the students have autism, some have intellectual disabilities, some are nonverbal and many have strong sensory needs,” she said. . . .
Indulge in lychee-frosted sugar cookies with citrus notes and buttercream, and other top Having a special place for these children was the goal for the unique school room, which Nelson named “The Sensory Space.”
“For kids who have sensory regulation needs, being able to use the room helps them have their needs met, so they can focus on what is being taught in the classroom better,” Nelson said. “Having the space has definitely helped.”
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Watch MoreThe space, which opened last May, is used for a variety of purposes, including sensory breaks, small-group regulation activities and individualized support aligned to student goals, said Shannon Lane, a specialized academic instructor at the school who is also the parent of a student with special needs there.
About 50 students have benefited from the safe, structured environment where they can work on sensory integration skills, practice regulation strategies and reset when they are feeling overwhelmed, Lane said.
The room is also used for sensory-based occupational therapy treatment sessions, as well as by the speech therapist when sensory input is beneficial as part of the speech therapy sessions.
Depending on their needs, one to three students access the space at time, accompanied by their teachers. They may spend anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes at a time in the room. . . .
The back room, or calming space, holds large bean bag chairs, weighted blankets and vests, noise-cancelling headphones, a sound machine and several calming activities and games.
“We also have tactile, visual and auditory bins, with items such as kinetic sand, light-up fidgets, weighted balls and stretchy ‘body socks,’” which she described as similar to a Lycra sleeping bag.
A mirror surrounded by pictures of children showing different emotions is used for both self-regulation and speech therapy sessions.
It took about four months to transform the closet into “The Sensory Space,” not counting the time it took the school to have the room cleaned and painted the summer before staff had access to it.
After receiving the grant, Nelson said they had to order all the equipment and wait for it to arrive.
“The hardest part was the three days I spent with another instructor installing the floor tiles,” she said.
Once the floor was installed, it took another couple of days to set everything up, followed by several days of teacher training on use of the various equipment.
In the future, Nelson said they would like to add more items to the calming room and a sensory path outdoors to accommodate some equipment, such as a swing, that is too big for the space.
“The sensory room supports both the student’s sensory needs and overall well-being,” Lane said. “This resource has made a lasting difference for our students and has helped create an environment where they feel safe, supported, and successful.”
