Breathe a new lease of life into your sensory room!

When considering a new multi sensory installation or portable equipment. One must firstly reflect on the philosophy in the room. The multi sensory room is not a magic place where miracles are going to occur on a daily basis. It should be considered as a creative learning, and play area with varied tools and a host of opportunities. I use the word play in the sense that play is not a wasted activity, but a catalyst for the development of life skills and academic learning. We all know that to inspire a child the learning process should not be treated as laborious repetition. It has to be creative, inspiring and fun!

It is increasingly recognised that the “studio” approach is suitable in a mixed ability setting. Portable equipment used in the home may be viewed as a set of toys, which can help all children learn and advance, and this includes brothers and sisters who may enjoy and benefit from the tools. The tools can achieve varied outcomes but importantly these tools can be relaxing, exciting, innovative and fun. At school the studio can offer a host of tools , which make learning at any level appropriate and interesting.

To create a space which fulfils the above criteria the practitioner must understand the meaning and use of the multisensory room. Practitioners with varied roles and goals may view the philosophy of multisensory rooms and the tools within, in varied ways. I therefore believe that the word "studio" is an expression that more accurately reflects the varied needs of the space and helps to overcome the stigma of a room which has traditionally been seen as the place where children with profound and multiple learning disabilities go!

The "studio" should not be treated as a separate entity, but a part of the school or centre. Consider it as a drama or dance studio, an art studio, or even a creative science lab. What we have then is a studio with a set of tools - a range of lighting, sound and tactile equipment.

The studio at school I did the story of ‘The Rainbow Fish’ in a studio at Kilronan School in Northern Ireland. I read the book, which was accompanied by many effects or tools, which would assist all the children to gain from the session. The sound of waves, a tactile starfish and an octopus, and an effect wheel for the projector was made, which allowed the children to see the pictures in the story, projected onto an umbrella!

The scenario was not complex or unachievable for the staff to repeat, but most importantly it was fun and a wide range of children shared the experience which was appropriate. Without using these tools vital information could have been missed and the magic of the special effects' made the story come to life.

The outcomes in a session like this will be varied; one child may understand the full concept, another maybe just a part. This could be split into many levels of understanding, but for simplicity I have broken it into just three.

Level 1 experiential
A child may experience the session at a level of understanding where the information gained will be experiential.

experiencing vision - light/ dark/colour/form/shape
experiencing sound - frequency, soft/loud, fast/slow, stationary, directional, moving
experiencing touch - soft/hard/smooth/rough/stationary/moving
experiencing taste - bitter/sweet/ salt/sour/related
experiencing smell - pleasant/unpleasant/related

Level 2 understanding elements
A child may experience the session at a level of understanding where the information gained will not be in full but certain elements may be understood.

experiencing vision - the child will understand in part what the images are e.g.
may see the stars but not link them to the sky theme.
experiencing sound - the child may hear the sound and understand the sound in
part but not the relevance to the theme e.g. may hear the sound of water and understand the sound means wet, but not link it to the story of the Rainbow Fish.
experiencing touch - the child may tolerate tactile work and experience and match some items and sensations.
e.g. they may understand the soft ball is for throwing but not link it to the beach theme.
experiencing taste - the child will understand the taste and relate it to the object but not make the link to the situation
e.g. the taste of the apple is recognisable but the child does not link the taste to the picnic.
experiencing smell - the child recognises the smell but does not relate it to the theme e.g. the child recognises the smell of the daffodil but does not link it to the colour theme.

Level 3 experiencing the whole concept, no need to explain!

Studio approach in practice

New studios are utilising more portable equipment than seen in the traditional multisensory room and Beatrice Tate School in London offers a radical design approach. Alan Black the Head Teacher needed a very flexible space, which could be used for communication, sensory and curriculum work.

After a couple of training days and much discussion they decided to take the minimalist approach and create a blank canvas. The area is totally flexible and can be used for almost anything!

One important factor of the design is that they have an adjoining storage room where mats sensory trolleys and theme boxes are stored for easy access and use. There is also a small room which houses the DVD, computer and sound system control.

This design works extremely well. Questioning members of staff reveals each has a different view on what can be achieved with the space, ranging from complex DVD and power point curriculum presentations to visual stimulation with sensory tools. In short, I think of the Beatrice Tate studio as an "anything room".

Things to learn from Beatrice Tate • the designer and purchaser must have an understanding of everybody's expectation of the studio. They must also understand the complexity or simplicity and the potential of the equipment they are considering.

• some staff will no doubt be very used new technology and have the skills to adapt new equipment to assist their role. However some will need a space where the equipment is used in a more incidental way perhaps to simply create the ambience required for an activity.

• the studio must be accessible to all staff and should be easy to operate and use for any given purpose.
• the equipment should have good instructions and staff training should be implemented to ensure that a member of staff is not only confident to apply the technology, but also to ensure that the tools are used in a safe and appropriate manner. When the tools are used with little imagination and skill they become limited the tools! Even if you cannot match the Beatrice Tate example, think about the multisensory room as a flexible space for everybody to use. The principles of the old multisensory room philosophy are still clear, but with some flexible planning and thinking the studio can be so much better.

Richard Hirstwood