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Problems With Sensory Learning Center

Both children and adults with disorders such as autism, severe depression, and sensory processing disorder may benefit from visiting a sensory learning center. There are no standard requirements for a center, and many centers contain sensory processing gyms or special rooms that provide sensory stimuli. With the aid of a therapist, people who use sensory learning centers learn how to properly process sensory experiences. While these centers can be helpful, they do have some problems.

  1. Individuals Have Different Needs

    • Different individuals have different sensory needs. A young child with a sensory processing disorder might need a highly tactile environment, while an adult suffering from severe depression might need to sit in a dark, calming room. Because people with different sensory needs can not share the same sensory room, sensory learning centers must either limit themselves to serving specific populations or build multiple rooms, which can be an expensive proposition.

    Sensory Issues Are Not Taken Seriously Enough

    • Although some form of SPD is said to affect 1 in 20 children, some doctors do not believe that sensory processing disorder is a true medical condition. Many health-insurance companies consider sensory processing centers to be experimental treatment and undervalue the benefit of sensory learning centers. When a diagnosis is not taken seriously and a patient can't fully access the center's services, it is difficult for a learning center to work appropriately, no matter how well stocked it is.

    Professionals Are Needed

    • Sensory learning centers are not simple play spaces for children. Nor are they spas where adults go to relax. They are therapeutic atmospheres that provide appropriate stimulation for people suffering from sensory processing disorders. In order to use the rooms properly, the sensory learning center must employ therapists to work with the clients. Clients must have appointments and must pay for the services of a therapist at every session.

    Expensive to Stock

    • Sensory learning centers are often made up of multiple sensory learning rooms that are designated for different purposes. Sensory equipment can include everything from multi-colored lights, bubble tubes, waterfalls and surround sound music to ball pits and balance beams. These centers can be very costly. In Radnor, Pennsylvania, the school district estimated that the cost of equipping one sensory room was $4,000.

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