The North Stonington Agricultural Fair is now underway and one of the newest attractions aims to help make the fair more welcoming for everyone: a sensory room.
Carolyn Cote, a mother of four, is behind the sensory room. Cote grew up in North Stonington and has been involved with the fair for years.
She loves it, but she said she had to make the decision to stop attending the fair about six years ago.
"It was just too much," Cote said. "It was hard to go to the grocery store let alone something like this.”
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Cote's oldest daughter, Charlee, has sensory processing disorder. She has also been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Cote said that the fair caused sensory overload and was very difficult for Charlee, who is now seven years old.
"This fair, we strive for it to be a family tradition, but families like mine were left out," Cote said.
That is, until she had an idea. Cote started to notice sensory rooms popping up at some permanent attractions like aquariums and zoos. She asked the organizers of the fair if she could create a sensory room for the fair.
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Jody Whipple is co-chair of the board. She was thrilled with the idea.
“It is a great opportunity and hopefully it is a great opportunity for other families as well," Whipple said.
The sensory room debuted at last year's fair. It was a hit.
“Families are coming from out of town to come because there is no type of thing like this in their area," said Cote, who now lives in Rhode Island.
Inspired by the sensory room in North Stonington, Cote launched a nonprofit. The 95 Collective aims to make events across New England sensory friendly.
“Even if it is a temporary event- at no cost to them," Cote said.
The sensory room is a quiet space for anyone who needs it. They also have fidget lanyards and noise-cancelling headphones for people to borrow. The sensory room will be open and available all four days.
“So that people like Charlee can make it to the North Stonington Fair," Cote said. “We made it adaptive and we figured out a way to include everyone.”
