Ashleigh Dunkley was using the cupboard under her stairs to store junk but after seeing how the sensory room at nursery was helping her son CJ, she decided she wanted to use the space to create her own.
The mum-of-two, from Buckie, Scotland, created a sensory experience with materials they already had and some she picked up on Amazon, Facebook Marketplace and Poundland.
She filled it with a latch board, cogs, a lava lamp, a chair, cushions, magnetic numbers and a crocodile wall toy that were being kept elsewhere.
Then she bought some foam mats, paying £10 for 30, 10m of LED strip lights for £13.99 on Amazon, a bubble lump she bought secondhand on Facebook and some lights for £1 and £1 in Poundland.
She put together the ball pit with some that friends and family were throwing out and some that she bought on Facebook for £30.
Altogether, the room cost around £80 to put together.
She got the idea after seeing how the room at CJ’s developmental nursery was helping develop his senses through light, sound and touch.
Ashleigh told Tyla: ‘The effect it has on him was instantly clear to see. He’s settled, happy and content. We had looked into purchasing large sensory boards for home use but soon found out that these cost thousands of pounds for one panel.
