Cubbie: A snug and safe place to help neurodiverse children cope with the world - The Irish Times

The Cubbie is a self-contained sensory booth designed to fit into schools, hospitals, libraries and other childcare-related environments

Industrial designer David McIntyre was inspired to create the Cubbie by his youngest daughter, Ava, who is on the autism spectrum. The idea was to create a snug, safe place where a child with additional sensory needs can go to be calm or stimulated depending on what’s right for them.

The Cubbie is a self-contained booth, measuring 1.7m square by 2.3m high and is designed to fit into schools, hospitals, libraries and other childcare-related environments. The booth comes with a suite of images, sounds and lighting and can be programmed to suit the sensory profile of each child.

McIntyre designed the Cubbie from the ground up, and the idea was to keep it compact while also ticking the boxes for wheelchair and hoist accessibility. The child can be in the Cubbie on their own or with an appropriately trained adult. If the child is alone, a glass panel allows them to be supervised from a distance. The booth has a beanbag and a swinging seat, and a child will typically spend five to 15 minutes inside.

Read more Cubbie: A snug and safe place to help neurodiverse children cope with the world – The Irish Times