Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association showcases new sensory room at Sycamore Community Center

SYCAMORE – To help bolster support for emotional regulation and the sensory needs of children at play, the Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association invited the public into the Sycamore Park District’s community center, to celebrate the grand opening of its new sensory room.

From the ginormous teddy bear and huge bean bag chair to the fiber optic lights and bubble tubes, the sensory room at 480 S. Airport Road, Sycamore, is a space designed to engage all of an individual’s senses – visual, tactile, smell, touch and auditory – to their comfort level.

“Some kids can’t take all of that in at the same time,” KSRA Executive Director Dawn Schaefer said. “We’re able to control what they have available to them. As they get more comfortable in the room [and] get relaxed, then we can add more things. We start with very basic things just to get them in the room to get them calmed down. Then, as they are calm and they’re self-regulating, then we can add more things to get a little bit more engaged in what’s available.”

The idea behind the sensory room has been a long time in the making, project leaders said.

Schaefer said people are loving the idea of the new space.

“They’re very excited because it’s been two years of this dream to make it a reality,” Schaefer said. “Our families have known we’ve been working on this. We’ve had a lot of community support, donations and things like that that have made this come through. Everybody’s been anxiously awaiting this dream to become a reality. We’re all very excited.”

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Jack Sanderson, 6, from Kirkland, has some fun with an interactive projected image Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, during a grand opening of the Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association’s Sensory Room at the Sycamore Park District Community Center. (Mark Busch)

The sensory room is open to anyone from the public, regardless of age or abilities.

“We created it because of the people that we serve, kids and adults with disabilities,” Schaefer said. “They see the most out of that, but it’s not to say that an adult that does not have any kind of diagnosis can’t go in there, relax and just enjoy some quiet time. It’s all ages and all abilities.”

The association created a program dubbed, Sensory Imagine Program, that has been using the sensory room as part of its class.

At maximum capacity, the room is able to serve three people with one of them being a staff member.

The sensory room will provide a space for the association to start having private and semi-private therapy sessions with families beginning in 2025, according to a news release.

Schaefer said the sensory room will not have public access so individuals will have to register for sessions through the association.

“They can either go to our website to register or call our office to discuss the session options,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer said the Sycamore Park District has been hugely supportive of the association and its efforts.

KSRA is a partner agency of DeKalb, Flag-Rochelle, Genoa, Sandwich and Sycamore park districts aimed at providing recreational therapy programs to address the social, emotional, cognitive, physical and leisure needs of those impacted by illness, injury or disability.

“I was just given this space,” Schaefer said. “Sycamore [Park District] donated it when they knew I wanted to build a sensory room. So, I just filled it with fun stuff.”

Schaefer thanked 100+ Women Who Care of DeKalb and Sycamore for donating the interactive floor cube equipped with about 900 games and local Eagle Scout Ryan Mays for donating the sensory walls that are affixed with fidget spinners, sponges, a calculator, brushes and more.

She also gave thanks to the contributions made by Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) and FNBO.

“It’s taken a community to make this happen,” Schaefer said.