Amid the hustle and bustle of Parker’s Dransfeldt Road sits The Sensory Spot, a place where parents can relax as their children develop their cognitive skills and explore their creativity through play.
It’s an open space with textured walls that kids walk up to and feel, tactile items and rotating sensory bins. There are objects to be sorted, stacked and organized as well as various art stations, including chalk and white board walls to give them the freedom to express themselves however they choose.
“It really allows them to explore without any sort of guideline,” said Kayla Pallace, who opened The Sensory Spot. “It provides them a way to explore their feelings, explore what speaks to them, what feels good to them in a super low pressure way.”
The spot encourages mindfulness activities to promote a different way of problem solving.
With an eight-month-old son, who is neurotypical as far as they know, Pallace and her husband began taking their son out to play, but the situation for him and the Pallaces was overwhelming. They also noticed many museums and venues would hold low sensory hours, but struggled to find options that were more sensory based play.
“And that was just so sad to me because there’s just so many kids who need it,” said Pallace.
Pallace doesn’t have a specific background in child development, but she holds a master’s degree in psychology. With that, Pallace began research into kids who experience the world differently, including those with autism, sensory processing disorders and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Pallace decided The Sensory Spot should be a place where both neurodivergent and neurotypical kids could play in a supportive and creative environment.
“I want my son to know how many kids come from different backgrounds,” said Pallace. “I wanted somewhere where he could feel safe and comfortably interact with kids that were different from him.”
Harvard Medical School says neurodiversity “describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in different ways,” and there is no correct way of learning, thinking or behaving.
Additionally, an article from the Child Mind Institute states the environment the person is in can also have effects and part of the neurodiversity movement is to focus on making changes in the environment to make them more open to those who learn, think and process differently.
Alexa Smith, an employee at The Sensory Spot was a registered behavior technician and worked with children with autism. Smith says neurodivergence differs because each person’s cognitive skills develop independently.
“Our neurodivergent community, the kids can get overwhelmed very quickly and there’s not many activities that you can see or find in normal play spaces that would necessarily be liked by those kids,” said Smith.
While only allowing 25 people in the building at a time – which can be tracked on their website – the spot offers comfort items, such as weighted lap pads and blankets, blackout tents, noise-canceling headphones, fidget toys and a small library.
To create a community feel, the spot holds special events such as movement classes, sensory friendly movie nights, concerts and therapy dog visits
Pallace also wanted to create a space where parents can feel comfortable, whether watching their kids, playing with them or working remotely. Staffers reset the stations and clean them to ensure everything is sanitized.
With the goal to promote understanding and raise awareness of sensory sensitivities and neurodiversity, The Sensory Spot partners with schools, healthcare providers and other community organizations as well as provide resources
“Just giving neurodivergent kids a space where they can really relax,” said Smith. “And also giving neurotypical kids a space where it’s just a place where you can learn and find things to do.”