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Inspired by the needs of her young son, a Massachusetts mother has opened a sensory-friendly play space in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Little Wanderers Sensory Play is a space designed specifically for children with sensory sensitivities, which can be experienced by people with autism, ADHD, OCD, or no official diagnosis at all.
For owner Melissa Carreiro, it’s a passion project and a family affair. She got the idea for the business from her son, Maddox, who has autism.
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"I got started once I adopted my son, Maddox, and realized that as he was growing up. He had a lot of difficulty being in loud spaces, bright spaces, anything that was too overwhelming."
Carreiro, who has two older children, adopted Maddox and his younger sister a few years ago. As she considered what she needed to do for her son, she came up with a simple, but impactful goal – create a place where kids like Maddox could gather, have fun and feel safe.
The business is self-funded, and she says the community support was overwhelming, including everything from fundraising help to individual purchases.
"Without this, those people and the community, we wouldn't be open today. The community has opened their doors, and I still get phone calls (asking me) Can I buy anything else or anything?"
Carreiro says a great deal of research and planning went into finding ways to keep kids engaged without getting overstimulated. The playroom was designed with children ages 0 to 8 in mind, but there is no set age limit. She is always looking out for new toys or ideas to keep the space fresh.
“You'll notice, like everything's meticulously placed so that they have their own space to play with that toy. They can take it down and go into a space where there's not a lot of other things around them. Muted tone colors just so it's not so overwhelming.”
It’s not uncommon for parents of children with autism to wind up isolated, less likely to go out because of concerns of a public meltdown. While many places will offer sensory-safe events, rooms or time slots, Carreiro’s goal was to create that safe space any time, any day.
“You're like, I don't want to go out in public because my son is going to be overwhelmed or I don't wanna go to that birthday party because he can't go. Like, How do you tell your kid you can't go to that birthday party?” Carreiro explained. “This place is where you don't have to explain that to your kid.”
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Some families come just to play. Others use the space for early intervention services. Carreiro hosts group events and has a room for events like birthday parties. She’s also working on creating a “quiet room” kids and caregivers can use to escape if things get too busy in the main space.
In just three months, Carreiro says she’s seen hundreds of kids and that the space is becoming a community for families dealing with autism or other conditions that can make it hard to spend time in public.
“They come here and they'll tell me like, I've never seen my kids stay in a place and have fun. It's comforting. More like your kids are having fun, but we're also like leaning on each other now and we're telling stories and we're all becoming great friends,” she said.
She added some wisdom, pointing out it can be hard for parents to know what to do when their child is labeled with a diagnosis. Her message for any parent who may be struggling is this:
"Your kid will learn at his own pace. Your kid is going to be okay no matter what. They're going to be fine. Don't let anybody else tell you what scale they need to be on."
Little Wanderers offers a variety of options for families interested in trying it out, including day passes, punch cards, memberships and events. They also offer a foster family discount.
The play space is located at 418 Quequechan St., in the same building as the AMP Academy. To learn more, visit their Facebook page.
