Sensory Spaces/Facilities
We are acutely aware that our service users have special needs, including those with sensory processing issues, and we are fortunate to offer them a range of sensory spaces and facilities in our service.
These include Sensory Rooms, Modular Sensory Room, and Portable Immersive Interactive sensory projection systems.
Our sensory rooms or spaces are therapeutic spaces in our homes or services, designed with suitable, safe, and stimulating items including lights, colours, sounds, sensory, and soft play items for service users to explore and interact with. This is particularly helpful for our service users with sensory processing impairment as in autism and other special needs. The room enables our service users to process their visual and motor skills and enable them to self-regulate, by interacting with the items around them to build their confidence.
The Portable Immersive Interactive sensory projection system is a body-sensitive system that projects different interactive playscapes, and dynamic games on any horizontal surfaces including floors or tables that are entertaining and educational for our service users regardless of age or disability. It is helpful for their visual and auditory sensory needs as it projects beautiful playscapes in different colours, and sounds, making it a fun way to exercise and improve motor skills and sensory processing.
These sensory facilities provide our service users with an unrestricted and non-threatening space where they can explore at their leisure, where we can see what calms them, rouses them and what they do or don’t like. The other benefits that we have experienced with our service users include the following: –
Sensory rooms provide the stimulation, engagement, and exploration to improve their ability to understand things around them.
A place for learning, play, fun making and problem-solving, where our service users can also learn the cause-and-effect of their decisions or actions on others around them.
Improve balance, movement, and spatial orientation, including visual processing, and motor skills for daily activities.
Interactive sensory rooms can help to engage withdrawn individuals to develop communication skills and vocalisation.
Sensory environments provide immersive moments of comfort and calm for overactive and distressed service users, as well as those who are withdrawn to feel comfortable enough to interact with the world around them.
For those hyperactive service users, focus is a challenge. Sensory facilities help our service users to concentrate for the moment and regulate their focus.
Improvement in our service users’ socialisation skills when using these facilities together in a safe, calm, and stress-free environment.
