High school freshman Lucy Boyd gave up most of the summer to design, plan and organize the construction of a sensory room for special needs children at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas.
The congregation’s new Preschool Sensory Room offers special fixtures, decorations and furnishings specially designed to soothe children experiencing episodes of emotional overload during Sunday school and worship.
Boyd tackled the job as part of her Eagle Scout project with Scouting America Troop 890G, and the payoff has been enormous.
Kelly Akins
“I have had children who were upset because mom left them here (during services) and they come here and they are able to find a calm that helps get to Sunday school,” said Kelly Akins, minister to preschoolers at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Alliance of Baptists affiliated congregation.
Time in the room is limited to neurodivergent children in need of emotional and physical reset, Akins said. “Visits always have a clear purpose and are never presented as punishment or as simple play time. They are always accompanied by a trusted adult.”
But even adults who visit the room have found it calming, Akins added.
Boyd, who attends the Classical School of Dallas, said she never tires of hearing comments of the positive experiences and reviews the sensory room generates.
“This is definitely one of the most rewarding things I have ever been a part of. Hearing Ms. Akins talking about children being able to use the room and knowing these kids and their families are accepted at this church means a lot to me.”
The concept was born from Wilshire’s need for a way to help special needs preschoolers during heightened emotional and physical reactions on Sunday mornings, Akins explained. “I had seen sensory rooms in various places and kind of knew what I wanted.”
Lucy Boyd at Wilshire (Photo: Bill Boyd)
The final piece fell into place when a church member and Eagle Scout connected Akins to Boyd, whose family attends nearby Eastside Community Church. Not only was the teen in search of an Eagle project, but she was intimately familiar with sensory rooms from attending and volunteering at a camp with her special needs brother.
“She had seen the rooms and had seen what could be done and what the impact could be on kids. So, it all came together. We had the space and she had the vision and the knowledge,” Akins said.
Boyd had been impressed by the sensory spaces at Camp Barnabas, a Christian summer camp in Southwest Missouri.
She was moved by the effectiveness of the camp’s sensory room in helping children work through those short-term crises. “I was fascinated with the little textile squares stuck to the walls, the sequin fabrics, pieces of fur. All the campers loved playing with them, so I incorporated [them] into my design at the church.”
Wilshire’s design includes shelves matching those in the church’s preschool area, play objects, a Lava Lamp with floating fish, a Lego wall, lamps, fuzzy rugs, bean bag chairs and picture frames displaying Bible verses such as “Be still and know that I am God.”
But equally impressive was the project-management approach Boyd took to acquiring and assembling the individual elements of the room, said her faither, Bill Boyd.
Lucy and friends build Lego wall (Photo: Bill Boyd)
“She really did a stellar job driving this project. Sometimes, Scout projects can be dad-driven, but she did a good job driving this one herself. Sometimes I had to remind myself she was only 14,” Boyd said of his daughter who turned 15 in September.
The tasks included researching the materials needed to construct each element and to ensure the project remained within the $500 provided by Wilshire. She used SignUpGenius to recruit and organize more than 20 volunteers, including family members, friends and fellow Scouts. Each was assigned tasks and dates on which to complete them.
“I even got my grandmother to help make curtains. I bought the fabric and it took a whole weekend sewing at her house and there was another weekend spent building cabinets,” Boyd said. “A lot of Eagle projects involve about one day of labor. This project took the whole summer, and it came together in little pieces. Then we had one giant install day to put everything together.”
While the project was a huge step toward earning Eagle rank, it was also an expression of faith, she added.
“Children with special needs feel like outcasts, non-priorities. Sensory rooms like this show them they are just as valued as anyone else and that the Lord made them perfectly as they are. I wanted this to be a place where they will know the Lord loves them no matter who they are.”