In 2017, Jason Rudge, a heavy equipment operator at Pittsburgh International Airport, filled out a comment card at work. “I came up with an idea that I think will help children that may travel through Pittsburgh International Airport,” wrote Rudge, whose son had recently been diagnosed with autism. “I believe that a sensory room could be a great addition to our terminal.”
When airport CEO Christina Cassotis read the card, she was inspired, and championed the project from inception to completion. The room—named after Rudge’s son, Presley—opened in 2019 with a realistic airplane cabin experience for anxious kids to “practice” flying, private soundproof spaces, adjustable lighting, and a sensory-friendly restroom (read: no automatic flushers) that includes an adult changing table and an adjustable sink.
Rudge is proud his idea brought the room come to life.
“For families like ours, this room is so helpful,” he said. “It means a lot to know that long after I’m gone, Presley’s Place will be helping other families be more comfortable while they travel.”
Cassotis agreed and said the facility has become an oasis of calm for all travelers amid one of the busiest airports in the eastern USA.
“We built the room for people with disabilities, but what has surprised me the most is how much it’s being used by people without sensory processing issues,” she said. “People with anxiety about flying come to relax. People who travel a lot come for some quiet. If we can provide an opportunity for people to slow down and spend some time in a place where they can regroup, we’re happy to do it.”
Five years ago, when the airport opened the room, it was considered an investment in a small community of travelers with disabilities; today, low-sensory areas have become an important amenity in airports, stadiums, and arenas around the world. The facilities often are the size of a gate area or luxury suite, and they typically feature low lighting, soft surfaces, and quiet games.
For families like ours, this room is so helpful.
As a whole, the rooms are “a real nod to accessibility,” said Jonathan Sutter, founder of TravelingWiki, a website founded in 2023 that provides information about autism resources available at airports in the United States. Sutter spent more than 20 years as an aviation attorney and launched the site to provide better resources for neurodiverse families and families traveling with individuals who have physical disabilities. The Wiki lists only sensory rooms that Sutter has visited himself and is translated into 10 different languages, including Spanish, Russian, and Hindi. “These rooms offer families a spot of their own; a place where everyone can be comfortable,” he said.
Sutter’s TravelingWiki has roughly two dozen entries for the United States. The list includes Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, and Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport. All four of these particular airports have large sensory rooms that Sutter cited as being popular among travelers. (One that’s not on the list: the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which added a new sensory room at the end of September 2024.)
Airports aren’t the only places adding sensory rooms. Across the country, dozens of arenas and stadiums have also incorporated them. The sensory room at Chase Center in San Francisco, for example, offers comfortable seating, carpeted walls, puzzles, and other sensory-soothing tools. The room at Madison Square Garden in New York City has adjustable lighting, artwork with bubbles, beanbag chairs, and tactile objects. There are two sensory rooms at the Sphere in Las Vegas, and both offer tactile toys.
Most arena rooms also offer “Sensory Bags” for guests to borrow at no cost for the duration of the event. These bags contain fidget tools, noise-canceling headphones, and other resources.
These sensory spaces and many others were developed in conjunction with KultureCity, a nonprofit organization that focuses on sensory accessibility and acceptance for those with invisible disabilities.
The organization’s CEO, Uma Srivastava, said KultureCity rooms are designed for one family at a time to experience for 10 to 15 minutes—just enough time to come in, calm down, and reset before returning to the event. Srivastava noted that KultureCity trains the rooms’ employees in how to identify and respond to sensory overload.
“The way I decompress might be different from the way you decompress, so we want to make sure every family gets their own time in the space,” she said. “If a family is taking too long, we’ll inform them that someone else is waiting outside.”
Sensory rooms are hits with more than neurodiverse families; they also get the stamp of approval from people who work with neurodivergent kids.
Jessie Ginsburg, a speech language pathologist and CEO of the Pediatric Therapy Playhouse in Los Angeles, said there are two ways families can use these spaces. First, she said, is by going to a room when a child is overstimulated and needs a calm space. Second is to use a room proactively and visit before a child becomes overwhelmed to help the child establish a baseline of calm.
Ginsburg added that sensory rooms are safe spaces, which can be reassuring in environments where parents might feel self-conscious about their child.
“One great thing about sensory rooms is that they are judgement-free zones; you’re surrounded by other families who just ‘get it,’” said Ginsburg, who has four children. “It’s always nice to have a place to go for some quiet time.”
