A space built around how children feel

Our new Balcatta home was designed around how children feel as well as how they move. Here is what families can expect, and what is running now.

Picture walking into a big, echoing hall for the first time when you are a child who finds loud spaces hard. The waiting feels long, the noise bounces off every wall, and nobody has told you what happens next. For many of the families we work with, that first moment can decide whether a session feels possible at all, which is why we think sensory friendly exercise in Perth begins with the room itself as much as with the program inside it.

A skilled Accredited Exercise Physiologist and a well-planned session can only do so much if a child is already overwhelmed by the space around them. Children notice sound, light, crowding and unfamiliar surroundings long before they take in anything we say, and a body that is busy coping has very little left over for trying something new. So when we thought about our new home at 5/2 Gibberd Road in Balcatta, we kept coming back to one simple question: how will a child feel when they walk through that door?

We have been listening to families for fifteen years, including through our Youth and Parent Advisory Groups, and a lot of what we know about helping a child walk in and stay has come from those conversations. Children tend to settle more easily when they know what to expect, when the first few minutes are unhurried, and when the adults around them are relaxed about how they arrive. Parents have also taught us how much a comfortable place to wait and watch can matter.

Every design choice in the new space has a reason behind it, so here is what we did and why. Play is often the way in, especially for a child who is wary of anything that looks like exercise, so the main floor has monkey bars and a climbing wall, with plenty of open space and sports gear nearby for trying out new skills.

Kids and teens who want to learn to lift properly have a strength training area of their own, where one of our team can work alongside them on technique.

We also made room for families to train together, or side by side in the same session, so a parent can be active too and a little one who likes a grown-up close by never has far to look.

For children who need a break from the noise there is a quieter reset space, and we use visual schedules, sensory friendly equipment and quieter times to suit different sensory preferences. Grown-ups have a comfortable waiting area with a drinks bay, tables and space to work, and there is an accessible toilet and shower on site.

Last of all, our team of exercise physiologists and exercise scientists spans different genders and ages, so most children find someone they click with.