Sensory Spaces

Sensory spaces matter

People with disability and neurodivergence can often find events with many people attending overwhelming as there is so much sensory input coming from crowds, noises, or even the unpredictable nature of live performances and attractions. Sensory spaces allow them to step away when needed to a quiet place where they can focus on a calming activity, put some headphones on, or just take some time out. This means people with disability can attend an event, stay for longer, and have a positive experience like everyone else.

Make sure your guests have the experts on hand

Having a best practice sensory space is about more than just the space itself, but about the people running and manning the space. This is especially important when the space is potentially used by children and young people. Because of the intended use of the space, it is quite common for it to be utilised by children and young people who may be highly stressed or anxious. It is important in this instance to have professionals on hand who are qualified allied health professionals. Our sensory spaces are manned by our therapy and behaviour support team, meaning you can rest easy and offer attendees practicing child therapists who are legally certified to deal with children with disability (both physical and intellectual), developmental concerns or neurodivergence (such as ADHD).

It is quite common to see parents online who have been disappointed to find a sensory space provided for their child was inadequately supervised by staff who did not know how to properly interact with their child and diffuse their stress or meltdown. Make sure your event isn’t one of them.

A sensory space tailored to your needs and budget

At Lifestart, every service begins with listening! Talk to us about your event and tell us about what experiences the event will entail, what your anticipated audience and attendees will be like, how many people will be there, what the environment will be like (will it be loud? Is it accessible?)-as much as you can for us to get a picture of what kind of experience the sensory space will be operating within.

Next, we’ll create a package from two options:

1. Complete Sensory Space Package
   With our full package, you don’t need to provide anything on the day – we’ll bring the physical space (including toys, hideaway spaces and activities) and, depending on the size of your event, the right number of staff.
2. Qualified Sensory Space Staffing
   If you have already have a sensory space but need qualified therapy staff to man it, we can provide the staff to do so at a rate of $250 per hour ($375 per hour on Sundays) per staff member, including travel time (but we have staff across Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong).