This week, I came across the article ” Snoezelen: A Special Environment for Sensory Challenges” by Lisa Tran (2009) and it inspired me for this week’s blog entry.
I have two students in my classroom with somewhat significant sensory challenges, while many of my other students do not have these challenges. In my classroom, we handle these challenges to the best of our abilities, such as using tactile figets, noise cancelling headphones, etc but sometimes I feel like that is not enough. Snoezelens were created to benefit students with sensory issues, and I believe that they would be a great addition to many schools including mine.
According to Lisa Tran, a Snozelen is a room designed for students who have sensory challenges. When students walk inside of one of these rooms, they will find a calm, dimly lit room that they are able to explore at their own pace, without the directions of a teacher telling them what they have to do. Students are able to choose the experience they would like to have by choosing and manipulating objects that are tactile, visual or auditory.
The goal of the snozelen is not to be a therapy but to be a relaxing environment for students with sensory issues.
While I have never worked in a school with a snozelen, I did work at a summer program with a sensory room, somewhat similar to what was described in the article. I did see the effectiveness of the room, which left a lot of the clients we worked with calm, especially if they were experiencing a high level of stress associated with sensory challenges before entering the room.
I believe that the investment of a place like this for students would be beneficial for students with sensory needs. Perhaps as more research is conducted on snozelens, we will see them incorporated into more school settings.
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