The sensory restricting chair was designed for Collett School, they are a school for pupils with complex learning difficulties and cognitive disabilities. Many pupils at the school have autism, they can come into contact with many triggers which can create a autistic meltdown. 

 

This chair was created to give the pupils a space where they can go when they feel anxious or feel like they are going to have a meltdown. The space has been created by having a hood that the child can bring over them to reduce the sensory input, additionally there is a retractable leg stopper that allows the teacher or assistant to make the chair stationary or rock, depending on the child's needs. 

 

This project was undertaken whilst on placement at DEMAND: Design & Manufacture for Disability, a charity who provide one-off products for people who's individual needs are not met by existing products.

 

The task of designing the chair was undertaken, this included trying to use as little material as possible, ensuring that the centre of gravity was in the correct place and making sure that all design features matched the clients needs. 

 

Many models and prototypes were created, from scaled down to full sized working models. The first stage working model was taken to the school to be tested with the smallest and tallest children to ensure that all children would be able to use it.