This text is part of the Teachers’ Week special booklet
Since the beginning of the school year, a stimulating and soothing room has been set up at Fleur-Soleil school, in Mont-Tremblant, for two classes of students with autism spectrum disorder. (ASD). Traders have mobilized to participate in this meaningful project from all points of view.
The new sensory room was designed by educator Martin Bouchard, who joined Fleur-Soleil school last September, in collaboration with teacher Émilie Couture. “We had a room available, but it was not adequate. So I asked Martin Bouchard, who has a lot of experience and who knows a lot of people in the region, to put together this space that allows children to rest from outside stimuli, to refocus and to exercise their five sense,” says the teacher.
The specialized educator asked local merchants to decorate and animate the room. “We didn’t want new donations, but recyclable items. I went to see all the companies asking them to give me their “empties” and we had some very nice ones! he rejoices.
A multisensory space
“Everything passes through the eyes”, summarizes Martin Bouchard, describing the room, which is divided into four parts. Each of the children in the two “TSA classes”, aged 5 to 12, is drawn to a corner suited to their current needs. “We have a more physical part with, for example, rubber bands, which allows them to move when they need to be active”, describes the educator. Children can also relax in a corner with cushions, read, draw, play cards or with figurines, or manipulate stimulating sensory objects arranged on interchangeable panels such as handles, samples of fabrics with various textures or brushes that you can run your fingers through.
Martin Bouchard expects very soon another gift that will allow to control the light with the voice, a tool particularly adapted to children with a non-verbal ASD of the small class. The room is constantly changing according to the ideas of the educational team and the requests of the children. “Children with ASD all have different needs and we take them into account,” points out Émilie Couture.
A break to calm down
In the 9 to 12 year old class, Léo really likes “the figurines and the little red lights” and the calm that space brings him, especially at the end of the day when he is tired. His comrade Luka likes to play Uno and the fabrics dimming the light on the ceiling make him feel good. He should soon be able to indulge his passion for the sweeper thanks to Martin Bouchard, who has contacted a company to develop a special and playful model with a transparent pipe.
In the sensory room, the children can be themselves and “empty their cabaret”, according to the expression used by the teacher. “During the day, they absorb a lot of things that accumulate like stimuli, events, lights or smells. This space allows them to do a sort of reset which then makes them more available for learning,” she observes. Not to mention that the duo sometimes takes the opportunity to put into practice certain learning in mathematics or in the field of social skills, for example.
“The sensory room is their space for chill, like coffee for CEGEP students! says Émilie Couture, grateful to local merchants for their generosity, which made it possible to set up the project. “We always say that it takes a village to raise a child. In Mont-Tremblant, people contributed without hesitation. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.