This year we decided to invest in something more therapeutic for him and thanks to Gumtree, Ebay, Ikea, Tesco and good old pound shops, I started our Sensory Room project.
As we don't have any spare rooms in our house, we bought a wooden playhouse style shed for this purpose. We floored it with puzzle piece lino and had electrics installed. The sensory cave, although expensive, was greatly reduced on Gumtree and involved a company dismantling, transporting and rebuilding at a cost.
After that, we found an old paddling pool and filled it with plastic balls, reduced at Tesco. We bought soft play equipment from Ebay as the company that makes them wanted to change almost the same again just for delivery to NI (!)
We pinned some black cloth over the window and added a cheap lighting net which lights up in different coloured combinations. My hubster wall-mounted an old magnetic board which we reclaimed. My eldest also found a fake fur throw to make the room cosy if it gets chilly out there. We are collecting sensory toys as and when, from bargain stores.
Hopefully, we now have access to a much needed chill out zone for several years to come.