Unique classroom helps unique students make sense of it all

The multi-sensory room at Laremont School is a darkened but delightful place.

About the size of a one-car-garage, the classroom is unique in Lake County.

Fiber optic strands hang like illuminated spaghetti. Five-pointed stars glow in black light. Colored water bubbles in plastic tubes. Their hues are constantly changing. First sunshine yellow, then hot pink, then Halloween orange.

Aromas fill the air, too. A spritz of peppermint, a spray of lemon.

It's sensory overload, and that's exactly the point.

Laremont School in Gages Lake serves students with severe mental impairments and multiple disabilities.

A visit to the multi-sensory room is not only therapeutic, it's a bit like recess for those who can't swing on the swings or hang on the monkey bars. It's a break from the routine, and a break from the wheelchair. With the help of teachers, it's a time to stretch their legs and listen to music.

There are kids with autism, seizure issues and a host of profound neurological disorders. Most are in wheelchairs. Most are nonverbal. Some are tube-fed.

In the therapeutic sense, the lights, sounds and smells rev up the passive students and calm the overloaded. In the recreational sense it's a chance to yank on lengths of coarse rope, or to feel the cold steel on a section of chains. A time to recline in a vibrating chair or run their fingers across artificial turf.

While holding 5-year-old Christian Arroyo on her lap, teacher Kristine Erikson says she even enjoys her time in the multi-sensory room. "This is a fun place," she says. "It's a place to explore, a place of freedom."