A space inside Kent State University's Speech and Hearing Clinic has been renovated to serve as the new Sensory Wellbeing Space, where neurodiverse students and their allies can find a welcoming and inclusive environment for gathering or study.
Lisa Audet, Ph.D., assistant professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology and director of the Neurodiversity Research Initiative, and Tina Patel, associate professor of Interior Design in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, conducted the research that guided the renovation of the space, including working with Kent State’s community of neurodiverse students who provided insight into their environmental needs.
The idea for the original space came from a student about seven years ago. While the disHUBility was established for this purpose, Audet said, “It wasn’t truly a sensory safe space. We kind of pulled it together as a quiet space.”
Audet and Patel began working together to collect data from neurodiverse students, to understand their sensory needs and identify interior design that could best meet their sensory needs and promote engaged learning, and well-being.
“We interviewed students who are neurodiverse and asked them what they would like in a sensory safe space, and then, based on what they shared with us, we identified a space in the Speech and Hearing Clinic that I had been overseeing for a number of years and we gutted it and started over,” she said.
The renovations were supported by a grant from the University Research Council, in collaboration with the Brain Health Research Institute and the Neurodiversity Research Initiative.
“We’re really excited about this because it was born out of a research project,” Audet explained.
The students who took part ranged from undergraduate to doctoral candidates, Patel explained.
Their research covered such issues as lighting, sound, colors, patterns and textures in the space, and informed the design of the space. The finished product is a space featuring soft neutral colors without being sterile.
"Such spaces can positively influence behavior, impacting students' learning, academic performance and individual and social well-being," Patel said.
The space was divided into different sensory zones, including a quiet space, tables for study and a space for students to interact with each other.
Seats are cushioned to provide more sensory comfort, Patel said, and there is an area where a curtain can be drawn to create even greater quiet and privacy for a student who may need it. The curtains were designed and fabricated by School of Fashion faculty, including Assistant Professor Krissi Riewe Stevenson.
A peg board that hangs on the wall was created in the fabrication lab at the architecture college.
“We typically design in isolation,” Patel said. “This was truly giving the students a voice in what they wanted in the space.”
Audet and Patel also worked with the Office of the University Architect and Facilities Management to bring the project to life.
“The room was really transformed,” Audet said, noting how Juliann Dorff, senior lecturer emeritus in the School of Art, painted a mural on the wall of the space. “It is really beautiful,” Audet said.
Patel said she hopes the project can be replicated across the Kent Campus.
“Hopefully, we can scale up and create similar spaces in other buildings across campus,” she said.
The Sensory Wellbeing Space is inside the Speech and Hearing Clinic, located in room A126 of the Center for Performing Arts, 1325 Theatre Drive, on the Kent Campus. Regular hours for the Sensory Wellbeing Space are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.