Snoezelen or controlled multisensory environment (MSE) is a therapy for people with autism and other

developmental disabilities Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

brain injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or o ...

. It consists of placing the person in a soothing and stimulating environment, called the "Snoezelen room". These rooms are specially designed to deliver stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, color, sounds, music, scents, etc. The combination of different materials on a wall may be explored using

tactile sense Haptic perception ( gr, haptόs, script=latn, italics=yes "palpable", ''haptikόs'' "suitable for touch") means literally the ability "to grasp something". Perception in this case is achieved through the active exploration of surfaces and objects b ...

s, and the floor may be adjusted to stimulate the

sense of balance The sense of balance or equilibrioception is the perception of balance and spatial orientation. It helps prevent humans and nonhuman animals from falling over when standing or moving. Equilibrioception is the result of a number of sensory syste ...

. The person is usually accompanied by an aide or therapist. Developed in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the 1970s, Snoezelen rooms (snoezelroom) have been established in institutions all over the world and are especially common in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where more than 1,200 exist. There is no evidence that Snoezelen is effective for the treatment of dementia.

Term

The term "Snoezelen" (pronounced ) is a neological contraction formed from a blend of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

('to snuffle, to sniff') and ('to doze, snooze').

Approach

Ideally, Snoezelen is a non-directive therapy, controlled by the client and not by the therapist. It can be staged to provide a multi-sensory experience or single sensory focus, simply by adapting the lighting, atmosphere, sounds, and textures to the specific needs of the client at the time of use. There is no formal focus on therapeutic outcome—the focus is to assist users to gain the maximum pleasure from the activity in which they and the enabler are involved. An advantage of Snoezelen therapy is that it does not rely on verbal communication and may be beneficial for people with profound autism, as it may provide stimulation for those who would otherwise be almost impossible to reach. Snoezelen therapy relates to the interdependence of both the space (the physical environment) and the "client-centered" approach of the practitioner (the human environment). The specially designed sensory physical environment together with the input of the "enabling practitioner" initiates changes in arousal by affecting the relaxation process, reducing anxiety/pain (both physical and emotional). It aims to maximize a person's potential to focus on his own free will and to engage on a motivational stimulus (object, activity or person), and thereby to improve communication and functioning. The defining principles of the MSE help the practitioner to focus attention on the basic elements of this approach. The following are the principles. # The experience takes place in a specific physical environment. # The attitude of the practitioners is "client-centered". # Stimuli must be controlled according to the client's needs. # The MSE is a medium for communication. # The sensory environment is neither positive nor negative. # The practitioner relies on the client's point of view. (Shapiro, 2010)

Research

Research on the benefits of Snoezelen treatment is scarce, with variable study designs.Chung JCC, Lai CKY. Snoezelen for dementia. ''The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews'' 2002, Issue 4. Art. No.
CD003152
. A small research study carried out in Brussels compared the behavior of nine adult clients with profound autism in both classroom and Snoezelen settings. Though individual results varied, the study claimed a 50% reduction in distress and stereotypical behavior, and 75% less aggression and self-injury in the Snoezelen environment.

Usage

In 2021, multiple Snoezelen rooms were opened in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The first Snoezelen was opened to the public in the region of

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

. It was created by the

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

organization Espiral de Vontades which in 2017 started therapeutic treatment for the elderly. Early reception to the room was positive. The next room was created in Póvoa de Santa Iria by the Senior Club. They were testing it for a month before revealing it to the public, and also got good reception from patients. It is being used to calm patients with dementia, and also to release stress from patients as a result of

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countri ...

References

External links

Report on the use of a snoezelen room
at

Jackson Memorial Hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital (also known as "Jackson" or abbreviated "MJMH") is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine, and the largest hospital in the United States with 1 ...

, fall 2004 {{Autism resources Therapy Treatment of autism