The ability to self-regulate is a cornerstone of early childhood development and visible in all areas of behavior. Playgrounds are often a good place to practice the skill of self-regulation. What does the child do who gets overwhelmed with all of the sounds, movement and color on the playground? We don’t want them running away from the area, refusing to participate. Instead, we want to provide them with a small, cozy space on the playground where they can go a regroup before rejoining the activity.
All children need this, but children with autism and/or sensory processing disorder are often over-stimulated faster, with more intensity and more frequently. To ensure successful experiences on the playground, it becomes imperative to provide these types of spaces. Playworld Systems’ Cozy Cocoon provides the type of space a child might need to self-regulate an overload of sensory input.
It is designed:
- So children feel they are completely enclosed, while in reality there are windows that enable a caregiver to watch over the child.
- It is small enough to convey the feeling of being in a contained area and big enough for a parent to get inside to offer the deep touch so often needed for a child to sufficiently calm down.
- So that it can be mounted so that a child can spin, sway and rock; or set up to enable a child to slowly go around in a circle.
This was excerpt from a blog post originally publish by Play by Playworld :