In touch with their senses
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
Jill Grumbo and Laura Tweeten have a seemingly peculiar goal for the new feature at Washburn Public School – they hope it isn’t used.
The two ladies work together in the school’s sensory room, which was introduced last fall and is currently being revamped for its second year.
The room, filled with colorful tools meant to hone in on certain parts of the brain, is dedicated to filling sensory needs that students are lacking.
Some items, like the large purple item resembling a canoe, applies pressure to a student in order to elicit a calming sensation. Another piece of equipment works on balance and training the left and right sides of the brain to work together.
Many pieces are geared toward simply getting students moving, something Grumbo and Tweeten said is less common as of late.
“You drive around town and almost never see kids outside running and climbing trees like we did when we were young,” Tweeten said. “They aren’t active anymore.”
