December 12, 2025 • 15 mins
We share practical ways to make worship accessible for people with sensory sensitivities, from simple bags to mobile carts and affordable rooms. The focus stays on dignity, choice, and volunteer training so inclusion becomes a repeatable habit, not a one-off project.
• scale from sensory bags to carts to rooms
• what to stock: headphones, earplugs, sunglasses, fidgets, writing tablets
• visual schedules and low-cost communication bracelets
• creating calm corners with timers and alternative seating
• zoning rooms by input level and adjusting lighting and textures
• training volunteers and setting clear expectations
• focusing on budget-friendly, realistic builds that serve families
• centering gospel accessibility as the goal
If you want to dive deeper on your own, you can check out the Indispensable People blog or my books on Amazon called The Indispensable Kid or Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:02):
Hey, hey, my name is Tracy Coral and welcome to
Indispensable People.
I'm a pastor, a teacher, amissionary, a mom, a wife, and I
believe that every person shouldhave access to the gospel so
that they can know Christ, growin him, and serve him with the
gifts that he has given.
Over 65 million Americans have adisability.
(00:24):
That's 15 to 20% of everycommunity.
And over 85% of thoseindividuals do not attend
church.
90% of pastors believe that theyare a disability-friendly
church, but only 20% of parentsand families agree.
Let's dive deep into hardtopics, big questions,
(00:47):
perceptions, stereotypes, and somuch more.
Hey, thank you for joining mefor today's episode.
We are answering some frequentlyasked questions, and we figure
that if our readers, ourlisteners, our supporters are
asking this question, you mightalso be too.
(01:10):
So today we're talking sensoryroom and the necessities.
First of all, I want to say thatnot every church can have a
sensory room.
Not every church at every pointin time will need a sensory
room.
But if you are interested, thereare lots of different ways to do
a sensory space, sensory room,sensory cart, sensory bag.
(01:34):
So let's start with the smalland then we'll go to the big.
And the first is a sensory bag.
So here's what I do in our homechurch.
We have sensory bags in thereavailable in certain spaces of
the church.
One primary space is thechildren's check-in area.
(01:56):
They're also in the sensory roomand in the kids' spaces.
And we also have them in ouradult special needs room.
So it's available, it'savailable in multiple spaces.
And here is how, well, here'swhat the purposes are and how we
use it and what's in it.
So first the purpose is anindividual maybe attending
(02:18):
church for the first time.
They don't know what to expect.
And maybe they utilize certainsensory items on a regular basis
and they didn't bring them withthem because they didn't know
what to expect at church.
Maybe they forgot them.
Maybe it's not, maybe the itemsin the sensory bag are not
things that they are aware ofthat they could have.
(02:39):
And so they don't own themthemselves.
And so taking into considerationthe environments in a church and
the needs that might arise withsensory sensitivities, that's
why we have the sensory bag sothat we can serve every
individual that comes into thechurch with potential needs that
they could have.
(03:00):
And so with that, we have themlocated all over the church.
We know that the individuals mayneed them based on their sensory
sensitivities.
And I will tell you that a lotof those sensory sensitivities
are typically heightened ontheir first few visits because
they're unfamiliar with thespace and the people.
(03:22):
And so everything seems a bitmore intense than maybe on their
fifth or sixth visit.
So things they may have used atthe beginning they may not need
later on, but that's okay.
We have that provision and thatavailability, and we want to
make sure that they'reaccessible for those individuals
who may need them.
(03:42):
So what's in the sensory bag?
In the sensory bag, we alwayshave a pair of noise-canceling
headphones, but we also have apair of disposable earplugs
simply because you may thatindividual may have a preference
on what feels most comfortableto them and how they use them.
So we have both options.
We typically also have a pair ofsunglasses, and that's because a
(04:05):
lot of times fluorescent lightsare a little too intense for an
individual with sensorysensitivity.
So we have those in there.
We also have a few fidget tools,and I will always call them
tools.
They're not toys because toolshelp people.
Toys are just for fun.
And so we have different typesof things in there.
(04:26):
I try to have something thatwill help someone who needs a
soft sensory impact or an alsoan item that would be more
intensive for someone whorequires a hard sensory impact.
And in addition to that, I have,and I wish I could think of the
(04:48):
name of what they're called.
They're these little screens.
When I was a kid, it would, youdrew on this paper and then you
flipped up the paper and iterased everything.
This is very similar to that,but you don't flip up the paper,
you hit a button and it all goesaway.
Kind of like an etch a sketch,but not so much, not so intense.
And you can buy them in bulk onAmazon.
(05:09):
I like those because for someonewho has more intense like ADHD
or something that it makes focusdifficult.
This allows for them toparticipate and guide their
focus while using that littlepad to draw on.
(05:29):
And it can help them beinteractive with the lesson
that's going on because they canwrite what they're they're
hearing, they can draw whatthey're hearing, that kind of
stuff.
So it is a little bit moreintensive like that.
So this the sensory bags are arequite simple.
They're not, like I said, notsuper intense.
I do also put a visual schedulethat I have just created,
(05:54):
laminated, and used some velcropieces and also a communication
bracelet.
And the communication braceletjust has it's a slap bracelet.
You can buy plain white ones onAmazon.
I think it's like 80 of them forless than$10.
And I just print out a littlesheet that has bathroom, a
(06:16):
drink, stop, go, and just tiredon it so that they can have some
basic communication modes as apart of it.
So those that's a sensory bag.
That's what is simply in it.
It is not incredibly costly, itis reasonable and it is
available around the differentplaces of the church for those
(06:39):
who need it.
The second consideration is likea mobile sensory thing.
So a lot of times I'll talk withleaders and volunteers at
churches and they'll say, wejust don't have a room, we don't
have space to make a sensoryroom.
So I don't, it's just notsomething that we could do.
So in that thought, if you had acart that had that was mobile,
(07:04):
had wheels on it, you could putsome of the items that you would
find in a sensory room on thatcart.
So extra, you could put theheadphones, you could put the
visual schedules, you could putcommunication bracelets, you
could also have extra fitsavailable there.
So all of those items would bemobile in whatever space that
(07:29):
you're in.
Now you're gonna think, well,that sounds like a sensory bag.
Why don't I just have sensorybags?
You could also add some otheritems that might be a little bit
larger that wouldn't fit in asensory bag that work for the
individuals that you have.
Maybe a weighted stuffed animal.
You could also have some biggerfidget type things that might
(07:53):
engage them, that kind of thing.
So your bigger items can go onthat cart and be available
wherever you are at.
For example, you could alsocreate from that cart like a
calm down corner, a space to gowhen you just need a moment away
for calm and for quiet.
And you could have timers, youcould have a sand timer,
whatever kind of timer you wantto use that works for that child
(08:16):
or that adult or teen.
And that those kinds of thingsmight be very valuable in that
space in that cart.
So I would say all of thosekinds of things.
Plus, if you're gonna have thecart and have the mobile area in
the spaces that you're at,whether it's youth or kids in
the sanctuary, it's a little bitharder.
(08:38):
But if you had some alternativeseating, something that rocked,
something that maybe uh quietlyspinned, or just different
options for sitting in thespaces that you're in, that
would help to kind of completethat sensory, that mobile
sensory space.
So then we're gonna jump rightinto the sensory room.
(09:01):
If you have the opportunity todo that, I want to also say,
whenever it comes to a sensoryroom, not only do people say,
hey, listen, I don't have spacefor that, but then they'll also
say, we don't have the budgetfor that.
And we totally get that.
And we have created a sensoryroom.
The first sensory room that wecreated, we spent$300 and we did
(09:22):
that purposefully so thatvolunteers and leaders could see
that, listen, hey, this isactually really it's it's
doable.
We can make this happen.
Now, you could spend thousandsupon thousands of dollars on
therapy grade things, but it'snot necessary.
You can have it and it'sbeautiful and it's nice, and
parents might be impressed bythat.
(09:45):
But the more doable, realisticsensory room is what we're gonna
focus on.
Always, always, always goingback to the noise-canceling
headphones.
Those we just put hooks on thewall, put the headphones on
there so they're available.
We consider flexible seatingoptions.
So whether it is a ball to siton, an exercise ball to sit on,
(10:09):
whether it is a rocking or aspinning option, a swing type
thing, those things are going tobe incredibly valuable.
Different types of lighting, soyou can turn off the overhead
lights and have maybe somedifferent fiber optic lights,
some low lights going on in theroom.
That's going to be reallyimportant.
Different textures in oursensory room.
(10:32):
We have a giant tree.
The the base of the tree is madewith sequence fabric, and the
top is just a fuzzy green thing,so they can touch it and feel it
and interact with it.
So textures are going to beimportant.
And I would say being able tocompartmentalize some of the
spaces in the room becauseyou're going to have different
(10:55):
sensory seekers in that space.
And so you might need a quieterspace, you might need a more
interactive space, and they'regoing to clash at times when
they're in there together.
So that's just a considerationthat you'll have to make as
you're setting up that room.
Whether you use a room divider,whether you just kind of my
(11:16):
dream of my sensory room was tocreate a sensory cave.
So essentially a closet wherepeople could go in and
experience lights and touchingand all that kind of the sensory
textures that they could touchthroughout the thing, whether it
was the sequence walls, thefuzzy, the bumpy, you know, all
that kind of stuff, the fivesenses.
(11:38):
So lots of different options.
You may even want to consider afew games in the room, just
because if you need to, if achild needs a break and they
need a redirection, that's agame that they enjoy is a great
brain switch.
So those are some great optionsfor sensory rooms.
So you can have the sensory bag,you can have the mobile sensory
(12:00):
unit, you can also have thesensory space.
I will add a pop-up tent isreally helpful, especially for
younger kids.
Don't get me wrong, I haveadults who enjoy kind of
climbing into their own space aswell, but sometimes that's not
doable depending upon theenvironment that they're in.
(12:22):
And so a pop-up tent is greatfor a mobile sensory space and
also in your sensory room.
The options are literallyendless.
You can do this in the mostaffordable ways, and you can do
it in an incredibly costly way.
It is what you choose and whatyour church can do.
I will tell you that just theefforts to include the efforts
(12:45):
to accommodate speak volumes tothat individual and to their
family, and they see yourintentions, even if you don't
have all the things.
And I don't know that theyexpect all the things.
Actually, I know that they don'texpect all the things, but
they're grateful for the thingsthat you have chosen to do.
And so a sensory room seems asthough it might be an extra.
(13:10):
It can be an incredibleaccommodation that makes the
gospel accessible for people whomay need a break, who may need
to step away from what's goingon, so that they can fully
participate in what God has forthem in the church.
So make it accessible, make itdoable, be reasonable for the
(13:33):
space that you have, but alsodon't forget to train your
volunteers on how to use it, aswell as educate the people who
are using it on what is okay andwhat isn't okay.
So expectations are incrediblyimportant when it comes to those
(13:54):
spaces as well.
So you set them, you directthem, you train them, but but
all of it sets the gospel up forbeing accessible.
But here's what we are gonna do: we're gonna keep this (14:28):
undefined
conversation going.
We're gonna make the accessiblegospel available to individuals
with disabilities in ourchurches and in our communities
so that every person has theopportunity to know Christ, to
grow in him, and to serve himwith the gifts that he is given.
If you want to dive deeper onyour own, you can check out the
(14:49):
Indispensable People blog or mybooks on Amazon called The
Indispensable Kid or GospelAccessibility and the
Indispensable People.
Hey, hey, my name is Tracy Coral and welcome to
Indispensable People.
I'm a pastor, a teacher, amissionary, a mom, a wife, and I
believe that every person shouldhave access to the gospel so
that they can know Christ, growin him, and serve him with the
gifts that he has given.
Over 65 million Americans have adisability.
(00:24):
That's 15 to 20% of everycommunity.
And over 85% of thoseindividuals do not attend
church.
90% of pastors believe that theyare a disability-friendly
church, but only 20% of parentsand families agree.
Let's dive deep into hardtopics, big questions,
(00:47):
perceptions, stereotypes, and somuch more.
Hey, thank you for joining mefor today's episode.
We are answering some frequentlyasked questions, and we figure
that if our readers, ourlisteners, our supporters are
asking this question, you mightalso be too.
(01:10):
So today we're talking sensoryroom and the necessities.
First of all, I want to say thatnot every church can have a
sensory room.
Not every church at every pointin time will need a sensory
room.
But if you are interested, thereare lots of different ways to do
a sensory space, sensory room,sensory cart, sensory bag.
(01:34):
So let's start with the smalland then we'll go to the big.
And the first is a sensory bag.
So here's what I do in our homechurch.
We have sensory bags in thereavailable in certain spaces of
the church.
One primary space is thechildren's check-in area.
(01:56):
They're also in the sensory roomand in the kids' spaces.
And we also have them in ouradult special needs room.
So it's available, it'savailable in multiple spaces.
And here is how, well, here'swhat the purposes are and how we
use it and what's in it.
So first the purpose is anindividual maybe attending
(02:18):
church for the first time.
They don't know what to expect.
And maybe they utilize certainsensory items on a regular basis
and they didn't bring them withthem because they didn't know
what to expect at church.
Maybe they forgot them.
Maybe it's not, maybe the itemsin the sensory bag are not
things that they are aware ofthat they could have.
(02:39):
And so they don't own themthemselves.
And so taking into considerationthe environments in a church and
the needs that might arise withsensory sensitivities, that's
why we have the sensory bag sothat we can serve every
individual that comes into thechurch with potential needs that
they could have.
(03:00):
And so with that, we have themlocated all over the church.
We know that the individuals mayneed them based on their sensory
sensitivities.
And I will tell you that a lotof those sensory sensitivities
are typically heightened ontheir first few visits because
they're unfamiliar with thespace and the people.
(03:22):
And so everything seems a bitmore intense than maybe on their
fifth or sixth visit.
So things they may have used atthe beginning they may not need
later on, but that's okay.
We have that provision and thatavailability, and we want to
make sure that they'reaccessible for those individuals
who may need them.
(03:42):
So what's in the sensory bag?
In the sensory bag, we alwayshave a pair of noise-canceling
headphones, but we also have apair of disposable earplugs
simply because you may thatindividual may have a preference
on what feels most comfortableto them and how they use them.
So we have both options.
We typically also have a pair ofsunglasses, and that's because a
(04:05):
lot of times fluorescent lightsare a little too intense for an
individual with sensorysensitivity.
So we have those in there.
We also have a few fidget tools,and I will always call them
tools.
They're not toys because toolshelp people.
Toys are just for fun.
And so we have different typesof things in there.
(04:26):
I try to have something thatwill help someone who needs a
soft sensory impact or an alsoan item that would be more
intensive for someone whorequires a hard sensory impact.
And in addition to that, I have,and I wish I could think of the
(04:48):
name of what they're called.
They're these little screens.
When I was a kid, it would, youdrew on this paper and then you
flipped up the paper and iterased everything.
This is very similar to that,but you don't flip up the paper,
you hit a button and it all goesaway.
Kind of like an etch a sketch,but not so much, not so intense.
And you can buy them in bulk onAmazon.
(05:09):
I like those because for someonewho has more intense like ADHD
or something that it makes focusdifficult.
This allows for them toparticipate and guide their
focus while using that littlepad to draw on.
(05:29):
And it can help them beinteractive with the lesson
that's going on because they canwrite what they're they're
hearing, they can draw whatthey're hearing, that kind of
stuff.
So it is a little bit moreintensive like that.
So this the sensory bags are arequite simple.
They're not, like I said, notsuper intense.
I do also put a visual schedulethat I have just created,
(05:54):
laminated, and used some velcropieces and also a communication
bracelet.
And the communication braceletjust has it's a slap bracelet.
You can buy plain white ones onAmazon.
I think it's like 80 of them forless than$10.
And I just print out a littlesheet that has bathroom, a
(06:16):
drink, stop, go, and just tiredon it so that they can have some
basic communication modes as apart of it.
So those that's a sensory bag.
That's what is simply in it.
It is not incredibly costly, itis reasonable and it is
available around the differentplaces of the church for those
(06:39):
who need it.
The second consideration is likea mobile sensory thing.
So a lot of times I'll talk withleaders and volunteers at
churches and they'll say, wejust don't have a room, we don't
have space to make a sensoryroom.
So I don't, it's just notsomething that we could do.
So in that thought, if you had acart that had that was mobile,
(07:04):
had wheels on it, you could putsome of the items that you would
find in a sensory room on thatcart.
So extra, you could put theheadphones, you could put the
visual schedules, you could putcommunication bracelets, you
could also have extra fitsavailable there.
So all of those items would bemobile in whatever space that
(07:29):
you're in.
Now you're gonna think, well,that sounds like a sensory bag.
Why don't I just have sensorybags?
You could also add some otheritems that might be a little bit
larger that wouldn't fit in asensory bag that work for the
individuals that you have.
Maybe a weighted stuffed animal.
You could also have some biggerfidget type things that might
(07:53):
engage them, that kind of thing.
So your bigger items can go onthat cart and be available
wherever you are at.
For example, you could alsocreate from that cart like a
calm down corner, a space to gowhen you just need a moment away
for calm and for quiet.
And you could have timers, youcould have a sand timer,
whatever kind of timer you wantto use that works for that child
(08:16):
or that adult or teen.
And that those kinds of thingsmight be very valuable in that
space in that cart.
So I would say all of thosekinds of things.
Plus, if you're gonna have thecart and have the mobile area in
the spaces that you're at,whether it's youth or kids in
the sanctuary, it's a little bitharder.
(08:38):
But if you had some alternativeseating, something that rocked,
something that maybe uh quietlyspinned, or just different
options for sitting in thespaces that you're in, that
would help to kind of completethat sensory, that mobile
sensory space.
So then we're gonna jump rightinto the sensory room.
(09:01):
If you have the opportunity todo that, I want to also say,
whenever it comes to a sensoryroom, not only do people say,
hey, listen, I don't have spacefor that, but then they'll also
say, we don't have the budgetfor that.
And we totally get that.
And we have created a sensoryroom.
The first sensory room that wecreated, we spent$300 and we did
(09:22):
that purposefully so thatvolunteers and leaders could see
that, listen, hey, this isactually really it's it's
doable.
We can make this happen.
Now, you could spend thousandsupon thousands of dollars on
therapy grade things, but it'snot necessary.
You can have it and it'sbeautiful and it's nice, and
parents might be impressed bythat.
(09:45):
But the more doable, realisticsensory room is what we're gonna
focus on.
Always, always, always goingback to the noise-canceling
headphones.
Those we just put hooks on thewall, put the headphones on
there so they're available.
We consider flexible seatingoptions.
So whether it is a ball to siton, an exercise ball to sit on,
(10:09):
whether it is a rocking or aspinning option, a swing type
thing, those things are going tobe incredibly valuable.
Different types of lighting, soyou can turn off the overhead
lights and have maybe somedifferent fiber optic lights,
some low lights going on in theroom.
That's going to be reallyimportant.
Different textures in oursensory room.
(10:32):
We have a giant tree.
The the base of the tree is madewith sequence fabric, and the
top is just a fuzzy green thing,so they can touch it and feel it
and interact with it.
So textures are going to beimportant.
And I would say being able tocompartmentalize some of the
spaces in the room becauseyou're going to have different
(10:55):
sensory seekers in that space.
And so you might need a quieterspace, you might need a more
interactive space, and they'regoing to clash at times when
they're in there together.
So that's just a considerationthat you'll have to make as
you're setting up that room.
Whether you use a room divider,whether you just kind of my
(11:16):
dream of my sensory room was tocreate a sensory cave.
So essentially a closet wherepeople could go in and
experience lights and touchingand all that kind of the sensory
textures that they could touchthroughout the thing, whether it
was the sequence walls, thefuzzy, the bumpy, you know, all
that kind of stuff, the fivesenses.
(11:38):
So lots of different options.
You may even want to consider afew games in the room, just
because if you need to, if achild needs a break and they
need a redirection, that's agame that they enjoy is a great
brain switch.
So those are some great optionsfor sensory rooms.
So you can have the sensory bag,you can have the mobile sensory
(12:00):
unit, you can also have thesensory space.
I will add a pop-up tent isreally helpful, especially for
younger kids.
Don't get me wrong, I haveadults who enjoy kind of
climbing into their own space aswell, but sometimes that's not
doable depending upon theenvironment that they're in.
(12:22):
And so a pop-up tent is greatfor a mobile sensory space and
also in your sensory room.
The options are literallyendless.
You can do this in the mostaffordable ways, and you can do
it in an incredibly costly way.
It is what you choose and whatyour church can do.
I will tell you that just theefforts to include the efforts
(12:45):
to accommodate speak volumes tothat individual and to their
family, and they see yourintentions, even if you don't
have all the things.
And I don't know that theyexpect all the things.
Actually, I know that they don'texpect all the things, but
they're grateful for the thingsthat you have chosen to do.
And so a sensory room seems asthough it might be an extra.
(13:10):
It can be an incredibleaccommodation that makes the
gospel accessible for people whomay need a break, who may need
to step away from what's goingon, so that they can fully
participate in what God has forthem in the church.
So make it accessible, make itdoable, be reasonable for the
(13:33):
space that you have, but alsodon't forget to train your
volunteers on how to use it, aswell as educate the people who
are using it on what is okay andwhat isn't okay.
So expectations are incrediblyimportant when it comes to those
(13:54):
spaces as well.
So you set them, you directthem, you train them, but but
all of it sets the gospel up forbeing accessible.
But here's what we are gonna do: we're gonna keep this (14:28):
undefined
conversation going.
We're gonna make the accessiblegospel available to individuals
with disabilities in ourchurches and in our communities
so that every person has theopportunity to know Christ, to
grow in him, and to serve himwith the gifts that he is given.
If you want to dive deeper onyour own, you can check out the
(14:49):
Indispensable People blog or mybooks on Amazon called The
Indispensable Kid or GospelAccessibility and the
Indispensable People.
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