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 handling 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 are designed to be relaxing spaces that help to reduce agitation and anxiety, but they 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.
A Snoezelen is a multi-sensory environment that is designed to be relaxing spaces that help to reduce agitation and anxiety, but they 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.
Doras Buí Garden 2013 – 2021
Thanks to fundraising and donations Doras Buí was able to add the jungle gym in 2017. Additions were added from 2018 – 2020. The childcare workers offered their artistic skills and added pictures and colours to the garden during lockdown 2020-2021.
It has been our experience that local businesses are very supportive of community organisations. It is often a question of knowing how to make the right approach and to be specific about what we want.