In rural areas, it can be hard for people with sensory processing disorders, such as autism, to get help close to home.
A Port Dover church saw that need and turned part of its church hall into a Snoezelen room, a multi-sensory environment that offers therapeutic benefits for kids on the autism spectrum, people with dementia and residents of all ages who need help managing anxiety or sensory overload.
“It can calm and relax or it can stimulate,” said Lynda Bird, the sensory room administrator at St. Paul’s Anglican. “It’s all about engaging the senses,”
She said people with Alzheimer’s and socially isolated clients — who typically lack in sensory engagement — may benefit from more stimulation, while someone with post-traumatic stress disorder may opt for a more soothing experience.
To open the door to the 150-square-foot room is to enter a different environment, with fibre-optic lights hanging from the wall, bubble tubes intermittently changing color and tactile panels offering a variety of surface textures to touch.
During sessions that last 45 minutes to an hour, users operate interactive panels to control the room’s brightness, music and even aroma.
Visitors can try the various features or spend their entire session under a weighted blanket or sitting in a gently vibrating chair.
Lynda’s husband, John, lent his expertise as a professional Snoezelen installer and trainer to the project at his home church, overseeing the volunteers who donated their time and contracting skills to retrofit the room.
The room, which opened in March, was funded by a $25,000 grant from the federal New Horizons for Seniors Program and $16,800 from a community group called 100 Women Who Care Norfolk.
It is the only publicly accessible multi-sensory room in Norfolk County. Anyone in the region can book the space, at no cost, by emailing [email protected].
“There’s no restriction on who can use it and where they live,” said Lynda Bird, noting they have clients who come in from Haldimand and Brant counties.
“It’s not about getting people in the door to go to church. It’s more about what can we do to add value and be of service to the community.”
Julie Pilon of Simcoe said the Snoezelen room has been a godsend for her young daughter, Kaylee, who has difficulty regulating her emotions due to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Pilon said she is waiting for an appointment to assess Kaylee for autism spectrum disorder, which could take more than a year.
“Without this diagnosis, she doesn’t have access to any resources for therapy for her specific needs — which can be extremely expensive and not something I have been able to provide as a single mom of two.”
Pilon said Kaylee looks forward to her biweekly visits to the Snoezelen room.
“It has been some of the very few times I’ve seen her express complete and utter joy in her life.”
As a bonus, Kaylee’s older sister is able to go inside the room and interact with her, which is not always possible at home and school.
“The Snoezelen room has provided a judgment-free zone where Kaylee is able to not only just be Kaylee, but also begin to work on some self-regulation and social skills, as she feels safe when her sensory needs are being met,” Pilon said.
That kind of feedback is music to the ears of church volunteers such as Dean Davies, who welcomes clients to their Snoezelen appointments.
“There’s no restrictions,” he said. “They can come into the room and explore.
“It gives them some sense of calmness, but with excitement, satisfaction, purpose.”
Lynda Bird has shown the room to staff from various agencies who could refer clients. Among them are Haldimand-Norfolk REACH and Lansdowne Children’s Centre, both of which serve children and youth with special needs.
Tamie Aubin, a manager at Lansdowne, said she hopes soon to bring clients from the centre’s Simcoe office to Port Dover.
“Definitely, it is something that we would want to be using with our clients when the opportunity arises,” Aubin said.
“It really was a nice place where you could go and just help anybody who could use that ability to have a more calming or more stimulating environment, depending on what you need. It was nice to see that it was all in one place that was easily accessible.”
Lynda Bird is quick to point out that she and the other volunteers are not experts. They let the caregivers take the lead inside the room.
“We don’t diagnose, and we don’t have any professional training to say, ‘This is what you should do,’” she said.
That is a wise approach, Aubin said.
“Everybody is unique in terms of how they’re going to respond to sensory stimuli,” she said. “So, you definitely want to make sure you’re getting advice from a qualified health-care provider if you’re using it for more of a therapeutic reason.”
John Bird said he is “very proud” that the church is helping people who need unique support.
“Making this available to everybody at no cost — to me, that was the big deal,” he said.
“It’s very hard for us to understand the struggles those folks are going through. And anything that can be done to help that person and their caregivers, you’re doing good work.”
JP Antonacci is a local journalism initiative reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada