New Sensory Room Supports Campus’s Neurodivergent Members

 Soft lighting, tactile objects and soothing sounds offer a place on campus for emotional wellness and self-regulation

Belmont recently opened a sensory room on campus in the Lila D.Bunch Library through the collaborative work of the Office of Hope, Unity & Belonging (the HUB), the Bunch and the Disabled Students Union (DSU). 

The idea originated with junior Savannah Bensing, founder and president of the DSU. In her freshman year, Bensing felt overwhelmed by the commotion of her dorm and realized that campus lacked a space where autistic people like herself could regulate when experiencing too much sensory input.  

As a music education major, she had heard about the implementation of sensory rooms in schools and public libraries to offer a more calming environment to students with autism and others who get easily overstimulated. She also realized that there wasn’t a student organization for disabled students to connect with one another and talk about their experiences. This led to Bensing creating the DSU. Its first order of business: proposing the creation of a sensory room at Belmont. 

“I went to a HUB idea session, and I put my idea out there,” she said. “They emailed me back saying that the sensory room seemed like a good idea.” 

Sparked by Bensing’s idea, The HUB was propelled into action, making the sensory room a reality over the course of a year and a half, corresponding with Bensing and the DSU as well as other campus partners like the Bunch Library, Division for Student Formation and the Office of Accessibility Services.  

The goal of the room is to appropriately stimulate or calm the senses through various sensory inputs, including light, sound and texture. The room features a variety of distinct components to meet a breadth of sensory needs while fostering a soothing environment. Based on suggestions from the DSU, it is equipped with several lighting features, calming sound machines, a texture wall with removable squares, weighted blankets, rocking chairs and fidget toys.  

"The primary purpose of the sensory room is to offer a therapeutic environment that helps individuals, particularly neurodivergent persons, regulate their sensory input and manage stress of sensory overload,” said Essence Collins, HUB support and programming specialist. “Since emotional regulation is essential for success in both academic and personal life, the sensory room was designed to provide a supportive environment where individuals can decompress, maintain emotional wellness and better pursue personal and academic growth.” 

The sensory room is located on the third floor of the Bunch Library and is available for reservations during regular library hours in 15-minute intervals for up to an hour at a time. To reserve the room, students can scan a QR code on the door. The space also can be reserved through the library’s LibGuide.