Rest, Regulate, Reconnect
A sensory-inclusive community space coming to Salem
We are actively pursuing a location in downtown Salem. The Nest is becoming real.
The core idea is straightforward: public spaces should support more people than they currently do. Families navigating a shopping trip or an appointment with a disabled dependent deserve a place to land. Autistic adults deserve access without the cost of masking through it. Everyone deserves an environment where regulation is expected and respected.
The Nest is an independent physical facility operating under the Neurodiverse Inclusive Solutions umbrella, alongside Basecamp NW.
Why This Exists
Most public spaces are built for one kind of person
Many families cut trips short the moment someone becomes overstimulated. Autistic teens and adults mask until they shut down. Parents of disabled children often have no place to step away, regulate, and continue their day without leaving entirely. Professionals looking for quiet, sensory-aware meeting space have almost nowhere to go.
These are not edge cases. They are daily realities for a significant portion of the population. The Nest is being built to address them directly, in a location where people already gather, with a design that puts regulation first.
The Spaces
Every room has a purpose
The Nest is not a waiting room or a quiet corner bolted onto an existing layout. Each space is intentionally designed for a specific kind of need.
Regulation Lounge
The heart of The Nest. Soft seating, dim adjustable lighting, quiet corners, hammocks, and weighted blankets. Designed for anyone who needs to pause, settle, and continue their day. A family can bring a child here mid-meltdown. An Autistic adult can decompress after a crowded store. A caregiver can sit down and breathe. No agenda. No time limit. No performance required.
Therapeutic Room
A private, fully equipped space designed for one-on-one therapeutic and support work. The room is stocked with a sand tray setup, an extensive miniature figure collection, anatomical dolls, sensory items, books, and board games, all selected specifically for neurodivergent and disability-informed practice.
Play therapy, family sessions, individual support work, and clinical consultations all have a home here. Providers can book the room knowing the environment and the tools are already calibrated for their clients. Supporters and family members can wait comfortably in the Regulation Lounge while sessions take place.
Providers interested in booking the Therapeutic Room are welcome to get in touch directly.
Sensory-Aware Offices
Private meeting and work spaces with soft lighting, reduced echo, and low visual distraction. Built for neurodivergent professionals, therapists, support workers, and anyone who needs a quiet, predictable place to think, meet, or work.
Low-Stimulation Classroom
A flexible training and programming space designed for workshops, support groups, therapeutic programs, and homeschool meetups. Sound dampening, adjustable lighting, predictable layout. Organizations looking for a venue that actually supports their participants will find it here.
Espresso Bar
A working espresso bar providing structured job training and supported employment for Autistic adults. Open to the public and serving the broader space.
Our Standard
A gold standard model of true accessibility
Accessibility is often treated as a checkbox. Ramps and captions. The Nest is being built to demonstrate what genuine inclusion looks like when it is centered on regulation, sensory design, and dignity from the ground up.
Regulation first
Every design decision starts with how it supports or disrupts regulation. Lighting, sound, layout, and pacing are all considered.
Predictability by design
Consistent environments reduce anxiety. The Nest maintains predictable structure across all spaces so visitors know what to expect every time.
Dignity without performance
Using The Nest requires nothing of its visitors except showing up. No explaining yourself. No masking to access support. No earning your place.
Community, not charity
The Nest is built with the neurodivergent community, not for it as an abstraction. The people who need this space are part of building it.
Employment Pathway
Real work, real skills, real outcomes
The espresso bar inside The Nest is more than an amenity. It is a structured employment program for Autistic adults. Training is built around consistent routine, sensory considerations, and practical skills that carry into other employment settings.
Participants gain real experience in a real working environment, with support structures designed around how they actually function.
Proven in the Field
This has already been tested
In November 2025, The Nest ran a two-day sensory room pilot inside Salem Center Mall. 120 visitors. 85 surveys. 100% positive feedback.
The Autism Society of Oregon has been confirmed as our first programming partner, with three additional nonprofits already in conversation.
This model is already working elsewhere in Oregon. The Moda Center runs a permanent sensory room for Trail Blazers games, and Providence Park recently opened its own sensory suite through a partnership with DSP Connections. A comparable operator is currently running this model inside a mall in the Medford area of Southern Oregon.
Nationally, sensory-oriented concepts are proven traffic drivers for malls. Dopamine Land, an immersive multisensory experience that has welcomed over 700,000 visitors across multiple cities, is currently running at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey.
See It in Action
Watch a walkthrough of purpose-built sensory spaces during a live, high-energy community event with over 400 volunteers. The video captures the range of environments, from calm, open spaces to high-stimulation areas with full decor, and demonstrates how sensory-inclusive design supports participation across different needs without anyone having to leave.
Watch the Sensory Tour VideoHow It Operates
Built to work from day one
Nonprofits that need physical space regularly take over vacant retail locations and open them to the public as resource centers. Malls have strong reason to approve these arrangements: an established nonprofit fills dead space at low risk, brings in foot traffic, and carries none of the buildout or turnover risk of a typical retail tenant. This is the model The Nest is built on, and it is already being repeated in malls across the country.
Staffing during mall hours will draw on volunteer partnerships rather than unfunded payroll. Programs like Easter Seals' senior volunteer initiative, which provides a stipend to volunteers, many of whom have disabilities themselves, offer a near-zero-cost way to keep the space staffed while The Nest's own funding and programming scale up.
The Nest is also evaluating fiscal sponsorship as a way to move faster and reduce risk while its own nonprofit status is finalized. Operating under an established nonprofit's sponsorship provides immediate access to tax-deductible giving and grant eligibility, the kind of structure that gives a landlord and funders more confidence early on.
Stay Involved
This is being built right now.
If this resonates with you, we want to hear from you. Whether you are a community member who has needed a space like this, a family who understands what the Therapeutic Room would mean, or someone who sees the broader potential of what The Nest can become, your voice matters to this project.
Get on the mailing list to stay informed as we move toward opening. Or reach out directly.
The Nest is part of the Neurodiverse Inclusive Solutions family of organizations. | Basecamp NW | NDIS LLC