Nine children sit in wheelchairs -- in a room that at first glance seems more fit for play than education. There is a ball pit in one corner, a bubble tube in another and a disco ball hanging above.

At Shelly Baird School, the only campus in Kings County dedicated to special-needs students, these items are essential for learning. It's not through books or a teacher at the board, but through the senses that these children are educated.

"Some of these students aren't going to ever learn the alphabet or how to read," Patricia Deroian, program director for special education in Kings County said. "They learn by their senses -- learning comes through what they see, feel, hear and taste."

After coming to Kings County from Fresno, Deroian said that it was her dream to build what is known as a sensory center -- a room filled with equipment designed to stimulate the senses.

On Friday Deroian held an informational meeting to explain the concept of a sensory center to parents and teachers and seek ideas for how to raise money to build it.

Before coming to Shelly Baird, Deroian worked at the Beth Ramacher Development Center, or Ramacher's for short, in Fresno, a similar school where she helped bring the nearly $50,000 sensory room to fruition.

"We need this room at Shelly Baird," Deroian said. "The kids would just thrive in it."

Deroian said her vision for the room would be much like that of the one at Ramacher's; complete with a black light corner, mirror-lined walls and audio booths.

"The black light corner stimulates visual senses," she said. "We can put white gloves or a white hat on the kids and with the black light those items will glow and help the kids determine where they are in space and where those parts are in relation to other parts of their body."

Deroian said the mirrors help with this, too:

"With flat and concave mirrors the students can be wheeled up and do a number of activities -- they can be used as visual stimulation, body positioning and body awareness."

Along with those items, audio stations would be included.

"A lot of music and sounds are soothing to the kids," Deroian said. "At these stations the kids can learn by listening to different types of sounds, such as rain or thunder, and learn about those things through that."

Teacher Jennifer Parolini said she too thinks a sensory center is a must.

"The most challenging part of my job is creating a program that meets their needs, because each child has different needs and different challenges," she said. "The sensory center would open up a window of opportunities for students where they would be able to explore their senses in a center designed to meet their needs and goals."

Although no concrete plans have been made for the center, mostly because of a lack in funding, Deroian is hopeful that in time the money will come.

"The sky is the limit with this sort of thing; the more money you have, the more equipment you can buy," Deroian said. "But to get it started and have a really decent room we probably need about $15,000 to $20,000."

Deroian said that in the coming year plans will be made for fundraisers for the center, with hopes that the kids will soon be able to experience a place designed especially for their specific needs.

"These are such special kids, and I would love to see them have a place where they can make the most out of what and how they learn."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2424.

(Oct. 28, 2009)