Creating a Calmer Home for Special Needs Families

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Creating a calmer home environment for the special needs family has benefits for everyone in the home.

Special needs families have unique and ongoing stressors. It is important to take steps to make your home environment safe. This includes taking steps to reduce stressors and increase calm.

Woman reaching for a cup of coffee. Text overlay reads: Creating a Calmer Home for Special Needs Families.

Special Needs Children and Sensory Sensitivity

One of the first steps in creating a calmer home is to identify stressors.

Many children with special needs have co-occurring sensory sensitivities. Sensory sensitivities can include not liking bright lights, loud noises, or certain smells. Textures and taste can also pose difficulties for many children.

Think about and write down what sensations are difficult for your child. For example,

Tastes that are difficult ex. Sour, spicy, or soft foods.
Smells that are difficult ex. Certain soaps or perfumes, strong foods, heavy detergents.
Textures that are difficult ex. Velvet, denim.
Sounds that are difficult ex. Door bell, phone ringer, microwave timer.
Other areas that are difficult ex. Bright lights, flashing lights, high ceilings.

Once you have a list of the areas your child has difficulty tolerating, make a list for yourself as well. You can also make a list for all the members in the home. Not everyone will have the same levels of aversions or dislikes.

Woman holding a white mug with both hands.

Remove Environment Stressors

Now that you have a clear list of what environmental factors are stressors for you family, you can take a closer look at your home.

For the next step, simply go through each room or area of your home and list what is or may be a stressor in each room. Using the list from above is helpful. You may not find many areas of your home irritating, but as you go through each room with the list of stressors in mind you may see some areas through a different lens.

For example, you may find that in the living room there is an itchy pillow on a couch, bright light bulbs in a lamp and ceiling lights, a fan that makes an irritable sound, and scented plug-in that is rather strong.

If you can, have family members complete these steps with you.

Once you have identified the stressors in each room, it is time to see what can be removed. This is not possible for all situations, but even a few eliminations can have a big impact.

Some examples from my own home include:

Removing some lightbulbs from an overhead light to reduce overall brightness.
Not using a ceiling fan that makes an uneven sound.
Removing the outer shower curtain so the shower was not as dark.

Some things cannot be removed, but could be used slightly differently. For example, we use the garage door, but I open it when my son is in another room or he pushes the button and closes the house door until the garage door is finished opening. Another example is putting a sign on the door to knock instead of using a doorbell if that is a difficulty in your home.

Adding Calming Elements to Your Home

In addition to removing environmental stressors, you can also add several calming aspects to your home.

Again, look at the list of various sensations. But this time, list what are things that your child, family members and you enjoy. Many children are both sensory sensitive and sensory seeking. What are things that you and your family members enjoy?

Some example ideas include: soft textures for clothing and blankets, soothing colors and lights, lavender scents, plants, and gentle music.

Try going through your home and adding one calming element to each room to see how it decreases stress and helps with creating a calmer home overall.

Woman in front of a window about to drink from a white mug.

Unique Ideas for Creating a Calmer Home

Salt Lamps

One way to add a soft glow to your room is through salt lamps. There are various claims about the benefits of using salt lamps from improving sleep to cleaner air. While there may not be ample scientific evidence, I find the salt lamps have created a sense of calm in all the rooms I use them. Each of my children use one in their bedrooms. It is a gentle nightlight for my youngest and provides enough light for me while I sit with him and read as he falls asleep.

Image of 4 Himalayan salt lamp LED lightbulbs.

Another option for using lights for a calming effect are these beautiful galaxy lamps that allow you to choose one of 16 colors.

Image of purple Himalayan Glow Kids Night Galaxy Lamp 5.9-inch 16 Colors LED 3D Star Moon Light with Wood Stand.

Plants

Plants can bring nature into your home. You could start with an aloe plant in the bathrooms. I have also put succulents into teacups for a fun look and a way to repurpose old teacups. Another hardy choice are snake plants.

Image of 11 various succulents in two inch pots.

Image of Costa Farms Snake Plant in a white 4.25-Inch Wide Mid-Century Modern Planter on a wooden Stand.

White Noise Machines to Mask Sounds

Using a white noise machine can create a calming sound such as rain or ocean waves. They are also useful in bedrooms to reduce outside noises from the home or outside traffic from interrupting activities or disrupting sleep.