Laredo Independent School District held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to present its first Autistic Student Support Sensory Room at Dr. Joaquin G. Cigarroa Middle School.
“Today is about celebrating an initiative so that all of our students can succeed, especially our autistic children because they belong in every one of our schools. Our schools are not built for only one set of kids. Our schools are built for every single child,” Superintendent of School Dr. Sylvia G. Rios said. “This room is one way in which LISD can contribute to the success of our students. We need to be able to provide an environment in which every child can learn and enjoy coming to class and enjoy being part of their schools. We, at LISD, are most proud of this opportunity that will open doors for every single child to be better, to do better, and dream more as to what they want to accomplish.”
LISD is home to approximately 297 students that are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. “This is such a special day. This is a dream that has become a reality to our students. Cigarroa Middle School holds the first sensory room for Laredo ISD, but it will not be the only one. I’m proud to say that the district is working toward nine more sensory rooms across our schools. The equipment for the nine campuses have been funded with federal special education funds. We are aiming for six at the elementary level and three for each of our middle schools,” LISD Special Education Department Director Raul Gomez said.
With a $5,000 grant from Superior Healthcare donated to CMS, the room will provide therapeutic equipment such as weighted products, soft play equipment, ball pit and interactive wall panels, thus providing the perfect space for developing communication skills and thought processes. The goal of the room is to help improve the student’s visual, auditory, and tactile processing, as well as fine and gross motor skills.
LISD Board of Trustee and Founder and President of Families for Autism Support and Awareness Veronica V. Orduño expressed how this idea stemmed from her years of teaching at CMS. As an educator, Mrs. Orduño and her students would notice a teacher aid taking a young lady to the courtyard to relax and destress. “Our kids on the spectrum need to have some sort of calming techniques before the meltdown. This sensory room creates a safe haven when their senses are getting too much reception and they are about to have that sensory processing that you and I can regulate but they cannot, which can cause a meltdown or they are about to hit or about to cry and all of these things that interrupt their learning,” she said.
Sensory rooms will help students regulate their bodies in a way that allows them to achieve success in the classroom. In order to help the students cope with their emotions, the teachers will walk the student over to the sensory room that contains hands-on activities that will help them decompress and calm down. Once the student is ready, they can go back to the classroom and continue learning. “This sensory room ignited the fire that produced this initiative where we are working on nine more sensory rooms in the district. Why do we do this? Because of them, to give them a chance to be productive members of society. I want to thank Dr. Rios, Mr. Gomez, and the Board of Trustees for helping us out with this and having the foresight. I think this is a step in the right direction,” Orduño said.
For more information, please contact the LISD Special Education Department at (956) 273-1500.