Doras Buí’s Sensory Room / Garden Opens October 2021

Following receipt of a very generous grant from Northside Home Care Services CLG, our dream of creating a multi-sensory space for the people of Coolock and surrounding areas became a reality.  We have long recognised the challenges some children seem to have to handle the information their senses take in—things like sound, touch, taste, sight, and smell; with some also struggling with balance, coordination, and movement. 

When our colleagues in Northside Home Care CLG reported similar challenges for their clients with dementia and other cognitive challenges, the seed was sown, and work commenced to identify how best to meet these needs. Research at home and abroad confirmed the therapeutic benefits of Snoezelen’s—a sensory space developed in the late 1970s in Holland by two Psychiatrists who believed everyone, irrespective of the challenges they faced, had the right to leisure.  The calming, soothing, relaxing space that is a multi-sensory room was born.

A Snoezelen is a multi-sensory environment which is designed to be a relaxing space that helps to reduce agitation and anxiety, but it can also engage and delight the user, stimulating reactions and encouraging communication.

Snoezelen’s are a therapeutic space that research has shown to be of benefit to a wide range of clinical presentations including mental health, learning disability, autism spectrum disorders, cognitive deficits, challenging behaviours, and brain injuries.