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Sensory room

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Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page).A sensory room is a special room designed to develop a person's sense, usually through special lighting, music, and objects.[1] It can be used as a therapy for children with limited communication skills.[2]

“Sensory Room” is an umbrella term used to categorize a broad variety of therapeutic spaces specifically designed and utilized to promote self-organization and positive change. There are multiple types of sensory rooms and purposes for use that have been created and implemented in different practice areas to date. When used appropriately, sensory rooms:

  • Help to create a safe space
  • Facilitate the therapeutic alliance
  • Provide opportunities for engagement in prevention and crisis de-escalation strategies, as well as a host of other therapeutic exchanges (to teach skills, offer a variety of therapeutic activities, etc.)
  • Promote self-care/self-nurturance, resilience & recovery [3]

Equipment

Sensory rooms are often stocked full of many different types of equipment. This equipment is used to assist students in focusing on the present moment and to better process sensory information. Stocked equipment may be provided for balance and movement (trampolines, balance bars, swings), calming pressure (blankets, stuffed animals), or fidgeting behavior (fidget spinners, puzzles).

Sensory Fidget Equipment

Multi-sensory equipment is a vital and effective part in the treatment of sensory disorders with children and adults alike.[4] Some examples include: projectors and effect wheels, bubble tubes, music equipment, fibre optics, vibrating devices, aroma diffusers and sound equipment. Many schools have "Sensory Kits" which are personalized items of sensory stimulating equipment that are meaningful to the owner. These kits are held in Sensory Rooms as bins, boxes, bags, ect. to be used for preventative purposes and for any crisi that may occur. These kits are also used to help children create self organization skills that can increase cognitive processes and future life skills.

Relaxation is key

Sensory equipment can help develop key life skills including vocalization, gross motor skills, color recognition and tracking. Examples include sensory rooms, sensory pools, sensory bathrooms, and sensory gardens[5].

They are also sometimes called "multi sensory room", "white room", or "quiet room".[6][7][8]

Benefits

The benefits of sensory rooms haven't been researched that much, however, there are significant ways that sensory rooms can help many. The main benefit of sensory rooms is that they are a humane and effective way for individuals to manage their stress levels.[9] Sensory rooms can be beneficial for those that have a history of aggression, because they can be useful in de-escalating aggressive behavior.[10] Adults with mental retardation can use multi-sensory environments to allow emotional exploration and the chance to seek different kinds of stimulation, which can possibly be therapeutic. Relaxation is an important aspect of sensory rooms, and the different variables of multi-sensory rooms can possibly help reduce different kinds of problem behavior in patients.[11]

History

Ad Verheul

The history of the sensory room dates back to the Netherland's in the late 1970's and was invented by psychologists Ad Verheul and Jan Hulsegge. The original name for sensory rooms was, 'snoezelen' [12]and originated from a fusion of the two Dutch words, 'snuffelen' which means to sniff and 'doezelen' which means to doze or snooze. Over time this term has evolved to sensory room, multi-sensory room, and multi-sensory environments (MSE).[13] Originally, Verheul and Hulsegge worked together with individual's suffering from severe disabilities in an institution. The idea behind the sensory room was to provide an environment in which an individual can be exposed to various different forms of stimuli to awaken and release sensory perception.[14] The concept and usage of the sensory room has spread across Europe and the United States in the past fifty years to treat individuals with various different disabilities, disorders, and conditions.[15]

Dementia

There is some promising research that indicates that sensory rooms can help improve the quality of life for people suffering from dementia. In a study conducted by Ball and Haight (2005) [16] we are able to see that when patients with dementia were deprived of sensory stimulation for a time, then had it reintroduced into their routine via Snoezelen they showed major improvement in their quality of life. This is seen as an innovative approach to improving cognitive function in people suffering from dementia.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2012-02-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Discipline of Speech Pathology".
  3. ^ "Sensory Rooms in Mental Health".
  4. ^ "Multi-sensory environments and their use by people with autism". 2017-03-17.
  5. ^ Taher, Amir Vazini (2015). "Effects of multi-sensory stimulation on cognition function, depression, anxiety and quality of life in elderly persons with dementia". International Journal of Sport Studies. Vol., 5 (3): 355–360 – via Science Research Publications. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ "Discipline of Speech Pathology" (PDF).
  7. ^ https://www.ot-innovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/qi_study_sensory_room.pdf
  8. ^ Smith, Suzanne; Jones, Julia (2013-12-04). "Use of a Sensory Room on an Intensive Care Unit". Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services. 52 (5): 22–30. doi:10.3928/02793695-20131126-06. ISSN 0279-3695. PMID 24305908.
  9. ^ Novak, Theresa; Scanlan, Justin; McCaul, Damien; MacDonald, Nathan; Clarke, Timothy (2012-09-26). "Pilot study of a sensory room in an acute inpatient psychiatric unit". Australasian Psychiatry. 20 (5): 401–406. doi:10.1177/1039856212459585. ISSN 1039-8562. PMID 23014117.
  10. ^ West, Monique; Melvin, Glenn; McNamara, Francis; Gordon, Michael (2017-01-31). "An evaluation of the use and efficacy of a sensory room within an adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit". Australian Occupational Therapy Journal. 64 (3): 253–263. doi:10.1111/1440-1630.12358. ISSN 0045-0766. PMID 28138979.
  11. ^ Fava, Leonardo; Strauss, Kristin (January 2010). "Multi-sensory rooms: Comparing effects of the Snoezelen and the Stimulus Preference environment on the behavior of adults with profound mental retardation". Research in Developmental Disabilities. 31 (1): 160–171. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.08.006. ISSN 0891-4222. PMID 19815373.
  12. ^ "History of Multi-Sensory". specialhaven. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  13. ^ "Multi-sensory environments and their use by people with autism". Altogether Autism. 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  14. ^ "History | Snoezelen Multi-Sensory Environments". Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  15. ^ "Multi Sensory Environments: A Short History". www.cdhaf.org. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  16. ^ "Creating A Multisensory Environment for Dementia".
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