Multi-sensory rooms known as “Snoezelen” rooms offer a very calming, soothing, and therapeutic environment to children with developmental disabilities, the elderly with Alzheimer’s, or anyone with mental health or sensory issues. It is an environment that introduces sensory stimuli to the brain by using lights, sounds, water, and motion. It does so by engaging the senses in a way that can help a person with a disability learn to focus their thought processes.
Typical multi-sensory or “Snoezelen” equipment will focus on a particular sensation. A “Snoezelen” device that uses lights may incorporate the use of fiber-optics. Any child would appreciate this the same way an adult will appreciate a fireworks display. But a child with a developmental disability often conveys, expresses, and even reads emotions through their senses. Where a child is lacking cognitive process, it’s often the senses that allow a connection. And it’s that connection that can open up a new form of communication that can lead to that child making further strides in his or her development.
Children with developmental disabilities tend to do better in the home and school environment because the mind has been engaged through the senses. Our bodies and minds need exercise and many times, a child with a developmental disability does not get the mental stimuli needed. Most people think that a child with a developmental disability doesn’t the capacity to learn a great deal, so it’s natural to think that stimuli in any form may be too much to digest. But it’s not the amount of information, it’s the form. It’s like singing in another language. You might not understand the words, but the sounds might be appealing, or draw a positive emotion. Thereby calming the mind, making it crave more stimuli. But imagine you’re in another country, where everyone is speaking another language, in the same monotone voices. You become frustrated and thwarted and this can lead to depression and cause you to withdraw.
A child with a developmental disability is not much different than someone in a foreign land. Although their cognitive abilities may be hindered, they digest information differently. For instance, a child with Autism is often over-stimulated by the environment. Where two adults can have a conversation, they can drown out the noises coming from the streets, or sound of the radiator kicking on, or the sound of a fan blowing. A child with Autism has difficultly blocking out those sounds. Where we have a filter for this, for an Autistic child, everything gets in. This is why you see a child with Autism focusing attention on a squeegee ball, or lights, or they flap their arms. They’re looking for something to focus their attention on because everything else becomes overwhelming. A “Snoezelen” room would be a slice of heaven for a child with Autism, and a relief for their parents.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Accept Believe and Change Impact Statement
With the rate of Autism on the rise and the increased awareness of special needs in the United States, the attention to early intervention becomes more urgent. The CDC, the American Medical Association, and the National Institute of Mental Health have all recognized that the early impact on a child with special needs is detrimental to a child’s developmental health if he or she has been diagnosed as such.
However, the attention that has been given to early intervention in the United States has been far less than adequate. The issue has been left up to a system that is over burdened, under trained, and bureaucratic. The average waiting list to evaluate a child diagnosed with a special need is 18 months. Since a special need like Autism isn’t diagnosed until at least 18 months of age, and the critical window for intervention is before the age of 5, time is of the essence. Making an 18-month waiting list, not only a stressful time for families, but a loss of precious time.
With families spending up to 150 thousand dollars to get help for there special needs child, the phrase “time is money” is a gross understatement. Since “special needs” never has a one size fits all solution, most of the money spent is just on individual research to see what is right for their child. A $3,000 communication devices that might work well for one child, might not work well for another child that happens to have the same affliction. It’s not usual for a parent to go through 3 or 4 machines before finding the right one.
That’s why we came up with a communication device library, where we will have a collection of donated and purchased and equipment that parents can have on loan, while they evaluate their child’s usage.
Accept Believe and Change NFP will not only be dedicated to helping these children and their families, but we will also raise awareness within our community especially within schools and community leaders. Most importantly help the families to let them know they are not alone and help is available. Because if you ask any parent of any “special needs” child, their most overwhelming feeling is the feeling of being alone. Since we all come from a generation that used to institutionalize “special needs” children, the parents that now care for these children have no one to turn to. Parents we should call “heros” are being ignored.
Accept Believe and Change NFP has plans to build a early intervention center that will hire an evaluator that will work with schools, have multi-sensory “snoezelen” rooms that will be therapeutic for special needs children, build a communication device library to reduce families costs, and develop communication software that can be used by “special needs” children of ages.
If you believe in our cause, and you know a child with a special need and you know they're family is struggling... please, we urge to donate. Even if it's a few dollars, either send a check or hit the donate button at the bottom of every page in our website.
Make checks payable to:
Accept Believe and Change NFP
PO Box 331
Plainfield, IL. 60544
Thank you,
John Rose, CPA
Life is about the journey, not the destination
john.rose@acceptbelieveandchange.org
With the rate of Autism on the rise and the increased awareness of special needs in the United States, the attention to early intervention becomes more urgent. The CDC, the American Medical Association, and the National Institute of Mental Health have all recognized that the early impact on a child with special needs is detrimental to a child’s developmental health if he or she has been diagnosed as such.
However, the attention that has been given to early intervention in the United States has been far less than adequate. The issue has been left up to a system that is over burdened, under trained, and bureaucratic. The average waiting list to evaluate a child diagnosed with a special need is 18 months. Since a special need like Autism isn’t diagnosed until at least 18 months of age, and the critical window for intervention is before the age of 5, time is of the essence. Making an 18-month waiting list, not only a stressful time for families, but a loss of precious time.
With families spending up to 150 thousand dollars to get help for there special needs child, the phrase “time is money” is a gross understatement. Since “special needs” never has a one size fits all solution, most of the money spent is just on individual research to see what is right for their child. A $3,000 communication devices that might work well for one child, might not work well for another child that happens to have the same affliction. It’s not usual for a parent to go through 3 or 4 machines before finding the right one.
That’s why we came up with a communication device library, where we will have a collection of donated and purchased and equipment that parents can have on loan, while they evaluate their child’s usage.
Accept Believe and Change NFP will not only be dedicated to helping these children and their families, but we will also raise awareness within our community especially within schools and community leaders. Most importantly help the families to let them know they are not alone and help is available. Because if you ask any parent of any “special needs” child, their most overwhelming feeling is the feeling of being alone. Since we all come from a generation that used to institutionalize “special needs” children, the parents that now care for these children have no one to turn to. Parents we should call “heros” are being ignored.
Accept Believe and Change NFP has plans to build a early intervention center that will hire an evaluator that will work with schools, have multi-sensory “snoezelen” rooms that will be therapeutic for special needs children, build a communication device library to reduce families costs, and develop communication software that can be used by “special needs” children of ages.
If you believe in our cause, and you know a child with a special need and you know they're family is struggling... please, we urge to donate. Even if it's a few dollars, either send a check or hit the donate button at the bottom of every page in our website.
Make checks payable to:
Accept Believe and Change NFP
PO Box 331
Plainfield, IL. 60544
Thank you,
John Rose, CPA
Life is about the journey, not the destination
john.rose@acceptbelieveandchange.org
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