Lazer Zone Family Fun Center in Ada, Oklahoma, can be an exciting experience for children, teens and adults. However, for individuals with sensory processing differences, it can be both overwhelming and overstimulating.
This is why, after attending training about variations in brain functioning, the team at Lazer Zone decided to implement a new feature — the Sensory Safe Zone.
Cassie Sawatzky, executive officer for integrated services at the Chickasaw Nation Department of Family Services, connected with Lazer Zone after staff reached out requesting a class to help them better understand and support individuals with different developmental and cognitive needs. The training was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
After the training, Corinna Smith, party coordinator at Lazer Zone, suggested they put in a sensory room for guests with different needs. They had just finished a major remodel on the facility and happened to have an empty room. Smith was up for the challenge and took the lead on the project.
Research and collaboration were the first necessities for the new project. The staff at Lazer Zone reached out to Sawatzky and the department of family services pediatric mental health collaborative team, which includes project director Courtney Lasater, clinical lead Alicia Baker, navigator Micah Fornea and project coordinator Rylee Slinger. This team provided the insights necessary to make the Sensory Safe Zone a success. Grant funds were used to provide resources for the project, including a bubble machine and noise-canceling headphones.
“Through this grant, our work focuses on increasing access to pediatric mental health support, not only in health care settings, but in the everyday spaces where children and families live, learn and gather, like Lazer Zone,” Sawatzky said. “We are thankful to the Lazer Zone team and their leadership for inviting us to provide training and for their enthusiasm in carrying ideas forward to create and implement the Sensory Safe Zone. Their commitment highlights the importance of collaboration and community in expanding access, understanding and acceptance.”
In addition to contacting Sawatzky and her team, the team at Lazer Zone also collaborated with Chris Johnson, the school age/after school manager for the Chickasaw Nation Department of Education. Johnson’s team shared practical insights from their own experience operating a sensory room and gifted items to the effort.
Marcia Jack, the special education manager for the Chickasaw Nation Department of Education, also met with them and helped them find other helpful items for the sensory room.
Although the project had no allocated funding, the team was able to obtain the items they needed through the generosity of other programs within the Chickasaw Nation.
Smith, who is also a local artist, used her vision to bring it all together. She repurposed cardboard boxes from the Impa’chi (Let’s Eat!) food program to create sensory fun boards using found objects like corrugated paper, crochet, squiggly ribbons from leftover balloon bouquets, a piece of carpet and a cut up sparkly dolphin that had belonged to her daughter.
She painted on old vinyl records, transforming them into planets for decor. She painted bubbles on the walls, rising up toward the planets, and Chickasaw-inspired water waves below an alligator toy hanging on the wall.
She carefully considered visibility and safety, painting at a lower level and hanging decorations higher. As the mother of a 7-year-old with autism, Smith was able to bring her own experiences into the creation of the Sensory Safe Zone.
“Originally, I think everybody thought that it needed it to be more of a blank space with very limited items — not too colorful or overwhelming,” Smith said. “But these kids enjoy colors too. They like to get lost in things. I thought about my son and what he would like to see, but also what would be too much.”
Once the Sensory Safe Zone was finished, a grand opening took place. The next day, a school visited Lazer Zone for a day trip. When staff mentioned the new sensory room, school officials said they might have a kid who could use the room.
“He loved it,” Smith said. “He came over to the bubble machine and rested his cheek against it, feeling the vibration. We hadn’t even thought about that before, and we realized that the kids are going to show us new ways to use the room.”
For Smith, seeing a child utilize the Sensory Safe Zone was a satisfying conclusion to the process of developing the room, though she is still looking for ways to continue improving the experience for the guests.
Smith said she hopes the room gives children a place to self-regulate and relax when visiting the facility. Beyond this, Smith said she loves how the space is inclusive to everyone.
“As the mom of a child with autism, for me it says that my family and my child are welcome here,” Smith said. “At times it can be a little isolating, because you don’t know if your child is invited or wanted in a space. But here, you know the answer is yes. Come have fun, and if your child needs a moment, they are welcome here.”
The Sensory Safe Zone provides a safe and inclusive space for those with different needs. Lazer Zone staff accomplished this by working together across many different disciplines and departments.
“This Sensory Safe Zone reflects what’s possible when education and partnership come together to better support children with neurodiversity and sensory processing differences, as well as and their families,” Sawatzky said. “Sensory-safe environments help meet children where they are and promote safety and dignity.”