sensory room – A Is For Aoife Not Autism

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

Continuing on from my last post, this week I’d like to discuss sensory rooms and how they can benefit autists.

As I mentioned in my last post, while trying out the sensory pod on the Carlow campus of South East Technological University (SETU), I also had the pleasure of trying out the campus sensory room for students on the spectrum.

But first things first, what exactly is a sensory room and how can it help autists?

Sensory rooms are designated safe, calming spaces where an autist can retreat when overstimulated. Here they can relax and stim in a room designed to stimulate the senses and regulate emotions. As with sensory pods, sensory rooms are all different, but they may have dimmed LED lighting, water features, light projections, soft furnishings, swings, textured pads, sensory toys, punch bags etc. The concept is surprisingly not a new one, dating back to the 1970’s in the Netherlands where Dutch psychologists wanted to awaken sensory perception in individuals with disabilities through sensory stimulation.

Fun fact– they were originally called ‘snoezelen’, a portmanteau of the dutch word to sniff (snuffelen) and to snooze (doezelen).

Here’s a video discussing how sensory rooms can help neurodivergents in their education:

So how did I find the sensory room?

I booked in for half an hour into the sensory room and found that like the sensory pod, it was incredibly soothing. It was so nice to be able to take some time out on the beanbag in this soundproofed room away from the hustle and bustle of the busy student centre. I wasn’t a big fan of the whirring sound from the water pipe in the room, however, one of the great things about the sensory room was that I had the power to customize my experience. I was handed 2 remotes when I walked in which allowed me to control the lighting, water features, projections etc. so I could tailor the room to my needs- an essential feature given the level of diversity in sensory needs. Like the pod, this facility would have been great to have during my third level education to take time out when assignments and exams were frying my brain.

You can check out a quick Tik Tok of the sensory room I visited here:

@setusucw
Sensory Room on campus for our students. #ForYouPage #ITCSU #ItCarlow #OnCampus #StudentReturn #Carlow
♬ original sound – Blake Healey

While facilities like this are great in an educational setting, you can also create your own sensory room at home to allow yourself or your kids some needed respite during an overload. There is no one size fits all model for sensory rooms. Different autists have different sensory needs, so being able to create your own room with sensory stimuli that specifically calm you is a game changer. Here’s a handy article that gives some tips on how to build your own room https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/2022/10/15/a-quiet-place-how-to-build-a-sensory-room/.

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings!

Have a lovely weekend! 🙂

Aoife

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

This week I’d like to talk about sensory pods and how they can be beneficial for autists!

So first things first, what is a sensory pod?

A sensory pod is an enclosed space designed to be calming and relaxing for autists. Each pod can be different but they are generally soundproofed to reduce outside noise, dimly lit with LED lighting (which has been scientifically linked to behavioural improvements) and may have cushions or a comfortable mat to sit on. Pods may also allow you to adjust the temperature, play white noise, project visuals on the wall, and you can further add in sensory toys, weighted blankets, vests, plushies etc. As autists can struggle with sensory processing and overload, sensory pods are an ideal way to help manage an overwhelming situation. You can see a video about sensory pods here:

I recently booked into the sensory pod on the Carlow campus of South East Technological University (SETU) to give it a try. The university has two sensory pods in the library that neurodivergent students can avail of for time out, or even just a quiet place to study.

So what was my experience like?

I can highly recommend the sensory pod. While it was a bit awkward climbing into it as a fully grown adult in her thirties, once I was lying down in the pod it was so soothing. The room was kitted out with an interactive screen on the wall where you could avail of streaming services like Netflix to take some chill time out from your studies. There was a mirror on the wall with a panel of dials to adjust the lighting to your liking- blue, green, red, white and even no lights. The college even provided a USB mouse and keyboard that students could avail of if using the pod to study. Lying there on the squishy mat, I could easily have fallen asleep with the sounds of the library dulled around me. You would forget that you were in the middle of a busy college campus on a Friday evening!

It’s great to see a sensory facility like this for neurodivergents in an academic institution, I would love to have had something like this to study in back when I was in university (then again, I was only diagnosed as I was leaving third level education 🙃).

I also had the opportunity to try out the sensory room on campus which I will talk about in my next post.

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings!

Have a lovely weekend! 🙂

Aoife

Tag: sensory room

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