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Kaufman Children's Center Sensory Gym for Kids with Special Needs
Swings, zip lines, a rock wall and quiet nooks are designed to help children with sensory challenges. Explore a new feature at this West Bloomfield therapy resource.
Kids at Kaufman Children's Center for Speech, Language, Sensory Motor & Social Connections, Inc. in West Bloomfield walked into a new, one-of-a-kind, sensory gym in January of 2013. The renovations welcomed children on a Monday morning and, since then, they've been loving it.
"It's just so bright and friendly, they walk in and just gasp," says Cyndi Davis, community outreach coordinator at Kaufman.
A special kind of gym
Sensory gyms are used in treating children with sensory processing disorders. Activities are designed to assist children in organizing information gathered from their senses, in order to adapt to their environment.
Kaufman Children's Center Sensory Gym
This happy-colored haven, available to kids receiving treatment at Kaufman, is made by a New Jersey-based company called Fun Factory Sensory Gyms. It's one of the first of its kind in Michigan, Kaufman notes in a press release.
What's in store
The gym includes an overhead "quad" track system that's designed for swings, zip lines and other therapy equipment. This allows therapists greater movement, without worrying about getting in each other's way – and makes for the equivalent of four treatment areas in one space.
"The increase in space allows therapists to push the intensity of the therapy to a new level," the release notes, "making therapy more effective in a shorter amount of time."
More fun, but functional, equipment includes rock walls for climbing and a castle-themed slide.
However, if it all gets to be just a little too much to process, kids can take a break in a quiet nook and regroup – supervised by a therapist, of course.
Unique offerings
Davis said "the fantastic staff" sets Kaufman apart from other centers in southeast Michigan, as well as all the services they offer in a sort of "one stop shop" format.
Kaufman provides speech, language, sensory, motor and social connections for children, utilizing a variety of specialized programs for treatment including applied behavioral analysis (ABA), Handwriting Without Tears and therapeutic listening.
To learn more about the center, its programs and treatments and gym, contact Kaufman directly.
