GREEN BAY — Set to open in August, the Emplify Health by Bellin Children & Adolescent Center will be helping to meet the sensory challenges and needs of children and teens with its new sensory gym.
The new Children & Adolescent Center is a specially designed facility that offers state-of-the-art specialty services including a sensory room and all-abilities sensory gym.
“Providing a safe and structured space for children of all ages to develop or fine-tune skills and decompress in one location is something we wanted to make possible,” said Jamie Hagenow-Sekora, Emplify Health by Bellin Pediatrics Specialties and Primary Care Pediatrics and Adolescent Team Leader. “Before the Center, some kiddos would have to have multiple appointments on different times and days. Now, we can make it easier for families to schedule appointments with access to a variety of therapeutic resources all in one spot.”
The sensory gym at the Center will include a custom-made play structure with built in roller slide, twinkle light tunnel, and tactile activities, swings, rock-climbing walls, and a jumping island. A separate sensory room has vibrating furniture, fiber optic light strands, and ways that children can play with colors, sounds, and lights. These features will allow our patients to regulate their nervous systems (through fun and play) and be ready for the next step – whether it be learning a coping strategy in mental health, tolerating a scary procedure, or meeting with a dietician to meal plan.
“We also kept in mind the accessibility of these areas. Our providers can make modifications to the gym or sensory room to create a more unique, accessible, and welcoming experience with each child,” added Hagenow. Each area is equipped to provide changes in lighting, sounds and general placement of furniture or equipment to meet patients’ needs.
Both spaces encourage development, growth, and confidence while providing a safe place for kids of all ages. Many children with special needs have unique sensory experiences and need more or different vestibular and proprioceptive input. These sensory spaces engage multiples senses simultaneously. This helps to regulate the brain’s response to internal and external stimuli. Experiences in a sensory gym can assist with emotion and behavioral regulation, soothing, and preparing to learn. Children and adolescents with special needs can have delayed motor skills. Sensory experiences such as these that will be available in the CAC can help with motor skill development while promoting physical activity, engagement, and overall wellbeing.
The sensory spaces aren’t just for therapy. They can also help kids and teens with distress.
“It can be easy for kids to become overwhelmed or over stimulated during an appointment,” Hagenow-Sekora said. “With the sensory areas we can give them a space to decompress and let off steam. We have found that providing these spaces also helps kiddos open about their issues or roadblocks in their lives.”
“It’s truly a place that makes seeing your provider fun and engaging, for both the kiddos and their parents,” Hagenow-Sekora said.
Parents interested in learning more about these sensory spaces are encouraged to contact their child’s pediatrician or primary care provider. More information about the Children & Adolescent Center is available at bellin.org/emplify-health-children-adolescent-center.