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Children in Confinement: Seclusion in Schools

Not a seclusion room

Calming & sensory rooms are not the same as seclusion rooms

Seclusion rooms are very different from calming or sensory rooms. Students generally use calming or sensory rooms at their will, as opposed to being restricted or physically placed in a seclusion room by an adult. These rooms are generally larger than seclusion rooms, have various colored or soft lighting to create a calmer environment, and contain sensory tools such as bean bags, hammocks, foam mats, punching bags and other occupational therapy equipment. All schools that had seclusion rooms also had calming or sensory rooms.

A large room with counters and cabinets against one wall and whiteboards against another. Multicolored cushions and pads are on the floor against the wall.
Calming sensory room with therapeutic tools such as brightly colored cushions, balls, mats and toys. This is not a registered seclusion room. River Trail Learning Center – Coon Rapids, MN
An adult and child standing in a room with miscellaneous occupational therapy equipment.
A young child and adult staff member utilize the calming room with therapeutic tools, including yoga balls, swing, trampoline, and large floor bean bag. Northwinds Elementary School – Buffalo, MN.
A large room with white walls. There is a chalk board on one wall, a therapy swing, medicine balls, weighted balls, tactile mats, a balance board, and a hula hoop.
A sensory room with colorful chalkboard wall and therapeutic tools such as yoga balls, swing, hula hoop, and balancing tools. Concord Education Center – Inver Grove Heights, MN
A room with a rocking sensory chair and a TV mounted to the wall. Blue fabric over the ceiling light casts the room in low blue light.
A calming room with soft blue lighting created by transparent fabric hung over overhead lights. The room includes a large television, large chair or bed, and yoga balls. River Trail Learning Center – Coon Rapids, MN
A room with a wood half-wall barrier with an open door. On the other side of the barrier is a black bookshelf with children's books and a house plant.
A calming room with a plant and books, with bright natural light, and half-wall that allows an adult viewer to give a child privacy in the room but never being separated by a full wall. Bemidji High School – Bemidji, MN
A room with a pink dollhouse, thick floor cushions, and a small table. Visuals on the wall appear to create windows to farm animals outside the room.
Sensory Room 3, filled with floor mats, cushions, a doll house, and cheerful wall art. Concord Education Center – Inver Grove Heights, MN