A Teacher’s Passion Project Turned Viral Sensation
In the last 6 years, Sensory Paths have become a popular addition to school hallways around the world. Before the founder of The Sensory Path created the Original Sensory Path, teachers were using tape on the floors to create movement activities and offer students a break from sitting in their desks. Some OTs were also creating these movement markers to help support their therapeutic objectives and offer students a visual aid in where to place their hands and feet.
After more than 8 years of research on movement and the effect on cognitive ability, Holly Clay, founder of The Sensory Path, Inc., conceptualized a new, more creative and engaging way to prompt movement by creating interactive floor graphics that turn a boring school hallway into a thematic and developmentally appropriate space for intentional movement that targets the internal sensory system. Through a unique, research-based movement series, The Sensory Path works to provide input to both the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. You can read more about the what, why, and how Sensory Paths work in this article.
The bright, colorful graphics are intended to draw students into the space and can serve as a ‘distraction’ to the therapeutic benefits of the movements so that kids don’t even realize they’re doing the activities the therapist wants. As students complete each carefully sequenced activity, their internal sensory system becomes more aligned and tension within their neurological system is cleared so that students are more regulated and better able to attend to tasks inside the classroom.
When Holly posted a video of the Original Sensory Path she created for her students to Facebook in 2018, The Sensory Path movement was started. Overnight this humble video garnered more than 5 million views! The video has since been seen over 41 million times with over 1 million shares. People from around the world began calling and emailing asking where to get one of these “Sensory Paths!”
The Sensory Path, Inc. was then founded to get this newly conceptualized product into as many schools as possible. Since that fateful day in 2018, The Sensory Path, Inc. has been the leading source for Sensory Paths. And if you ask us, we’re the only company you should consider working with. And here’s why:
Often Imitated, Never Duplicated
As with any viral moment on social media, there’s always a fast rush to market. At first glance, it looks like a Sensory Path is just a set of stickers on the floor with prompts that say “Jump” or “Squat.” But truthfully, there’s more to it than that.
The purpose of a Sensory Path is to intentionally target the internal sensory system in developmentally appropriate ways without overstimulating a child. Without thoughtful consideration to what moves are incorporated and in what order the movements are presented, it’s easy to quickly amp up an already overwhelmed child. Instead of offering a space for the student to calm down and self-regulate, you could unwittingly push them closer to a meltdown.
In addition to getting the movement series and sequencing down, it’s also important to know how to properly use a Sensory Path and when it can be most impactful to work into the school day. The Sensory Path is the only company that provides this type of education with each order and via our Sensory Path School resource page.
Because of the research behind our Sensory Paths, we have received the designation as a Certified Autism Resource by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards. This prestigious designation sets The Sensory Path, Inc. apart from others attempting to capitalize on our viral success.
You Get What You Pay For
Unfortunately in our digital age, all small businesses are forced into competition with the mighty giant, Amazon. In this open marketplace, sellers from around the world can easily list their products for sale to customers world-wide. When researching Sensory Path floor decals for your school, you may be tempted to go with the sellers in China offering packages priced much lower than products from The Sensory Path, Inc. However, you’re going to be severely disappointed with the materials you receive!
With deceptive photoshopping, these packages often look comparable to the products we offer, but they’re not even within the same stratosphere in terms of size or quality. In addition to being very tiny decals that will barely be visible when applied to your floors and of such low quality that you’ll be lucky to get them to last more than a few weeks, the colors are dull and not visually stimulating. It’s also highly likely that the materials used to produce these imitating products could damage your floors or be a nightmare to remove!
Beyond the size and quality issues with the materials available on Amazon, you also receive zero information on what to do with your new “sensory path”. The decals are quite useless without resources on how to best implement and use them in your school.
See the image above comparing a product from China-based Amazon seller. The decals sold by this Amazon account are only 4 inches versus The Sensory Path’s 13-inch cloud.
In the images below, you’ll see the difference in how decals sold from Chinese sellers on Amazon use deceptive photoshop to manipulate the appearance of size. Don’t be fooled by deceptive sellers!
Principals of Economics - More is More
Maybe you already realized that the Amazon offerings are too good to be true, and you’ve found other companies that look reputable and offer products made within the USA. They may be offering packages that look similar to ours and are magically priced just below ours. While you may be unhappy with the disinteresting graphics, you think it’s close enough and cheaper so you should just go with the cheaper option. But, you really need to look at what is provided within the package. Businesses are quick to use deceptive pricing schemes to trick customers into purchasing incomparable packages.
For example, say you were interested in adding an animal walk activity to your hallway and found our Bear Paws Sensory Path Element. This package includes 22 pair of bear paws. This provides enough paws to create a meaningful animal walk. Our price per pair of paws is only $14.06.
You may find “comparable” bear paw floor decals from other suppliers that look as if they’re cheaper. But when you read carefully, you’ll notice that the quantity of items is smaller than The Sensory Path, Inc. bundle. Each pair is actually priced more than $20 per pair! That’s more than $6 more per pair AND then you only have a fraction of the number of paws and thus a much shorter animal walk that provides LESS sensory input.
You’ll be further disappointed when this more expensive product comes without application tools or useful information regarding how to properly use the animal walk. What a bummer!
If you apply this exercise to other “comparable” products, you may realize they’re not actually comparable at all. For more information regarding product comparison between The Sensory Path, Inc. and others, read this blog post on what to look for in a bid.
The Sensory Path, Inc. understands that school budgets are limited and every dollar spent matters. Since we manufacture all of our materials in house, we are happy to create custom bundles that meet your unique needs and budget. To get more information on a custom quote or comparable bid, please contact us directly and let us know what your budget restrictions are. We’ll make sure that you maximize every dollar available without sacrificing on quality, quantity, or design.
People You Can Trust
The Sensory Path, Inc. is proud to be a small, women owned and operated business. While the quality and economics of our packages speak for themselves, when you work with The Sensory Path, Inc. you’re working with REAL people who prioritize customer support.
When you call our offices, you’ll never reach an automated message system. You will always speak directly to an energetic, friendly, and knowledgeable person. Our goal is to make the purchasing process as stress free and simple as we can. Whether you need help choosing the right packages for your organization or have questions about the purchasing process or maintenance of our products, we love talking to our customers! Give us a call anytime to discuss your school’s unique needs. We can’t wait to work with you.
Our promise to you is that we will lead with honesty, integrity, and genuine care for your students. Every school should have a Sensory Path and we’re here to make sure your school gets the only the best!
