He Has Autism - But it Doesn’t Have Us!!

i got a lovely response to my first blog about snoezelen. people wanted to know more about the therapy. a short time ago i was at the school, and the attendance was quite low. i took advantage of the quiet morning to shoot a few more pictures.

the snoezelen is an amazing place. it can excite the senses of an under-responsive person and relax the senses of an over-responsive one. it oringinated in holland in the 70’s. it was began for adults with severe disabilities.

snoezelen is a combination of two dutch words, ’snuffelen’ which means to seek out and explore, and ‘doezelen’ which means to relax. the snoezelen was created as an environment where people of all abilities can enjoy the combination of music lighting effects, gentle vibration and touch. later, some practitioners also included aromatherapy. (our snoezelen room does not.)

free choice, safety and security are the main goals of snoezelen. children have control over their environment and their sensory experiences. children are encouraged to respond to this input in their own unique way without fear of judgement. there are plenty of choices to make. and anyone who works with children with special needs knows that making choices is often a priority and a learning goal.

the snoezelen is now used to treat people with developmental disabilities, mental illness, post-traumatic stress, autism, chronic pain, stroke, brain injuries, dementia and much more.

now the tour:
the bubble tube. making choices at it’s best. and the result is a wonderful sensory experience where the children can control the colour and frequency of the bubbles with an easy-to-hit touch pad.

the solar projector is an exciting and unique visual experience.

fibre optic cables change colour. they can be played in or tossed about. a child with visual impairment or visual sensory dysfunction can discover a world of colours and input.

the ball pit glows in fibre optic colours. the stereo above plays deep, melodic classical music. you can feel the vibrations right through the ball pit. it’s big enough for an adult and child to bury themselves in.

this silky fabric can be to tossed over the people in the pit for a more intense sensory experience.

this is a vibrating mat big enough to wrap up a person.

and oh, there’s always lots of fidget toys!!

this guy sits on the wall beside the door. when you push his buttons he make funny noises and lights up.

while i was there, i also shot a few pictures of the school gym. this is a place designed for children with special needs and typically developing children to enjoy together. there are activities for all abilities. it’s in this room, that sometimes you can’t tell the special needs kids and the typical kids apart!

each child has an individualized gross-motor plan.

phew! i feel like i just wrote a research paper!!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 11:09 am and is filed under autism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.